PRÍMENÁ SLOVÁKOV V SLOVENSKÝCH OSADÁCH BÁČSKOPETROVSKEJ OBCE
NICKNAMES OF SLOVAKS IN SLOVAK SETTLEMENTS IN THE COUNTY OF BAČKI PETROVAC

Summary/Abstract: The appearance of nicknames is a thriving sociolinguistic process with an important historical factor. Our goal was to record the nicknames found in the living memories of the current, ethnically-Slovak inhabitants of Bački Petrovac, Gložan and Kulpin.The results of our investigation can be summarized as follows: in Bački Petrovac we recorded 432 nicknames from 181 last names, in Gložan 299 nicknames were recorded from 101 lastnames, and in Kulpin 94 nicknames from 37 last names. Some families with many branches in these Slovak villages have up to 20 nicknames. Even though one-word nicknames are most frequent, we also recorded two-word and three-word nicknames. There are cases where one person has two nicknames and vice versa, in which one nickname sometimes refers to several people. The giving of nicknames is often influenced by both the Central Slovak dialect spoken in all three villages and Serbian, which is the region’s official language. We also recorded nicknames given on the basis of first names from other langauges. The majority of nicknames were derived from personal first and last names (the total from all three villages: 358), the next largest group of nicknames were based on function, employment, or practice (total: 135), the next group were based on psycho-physical characteristics and states (87), and so on.Nicknames in a way reflect the history of these villages and thus characterize the way of life of people living in certain times and localities with all their local and regional specifics. In Bačka, the census records a long and ongoing decline in the population of the Slovak speaking national minority. Therefore, we find that recording nicknames is part of preserving an important, non-material cultural and traditional heritage.

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