Everything about Ethnonym totally explained
An
ethnonym (
Gk. έθνος
ethnos, 'tribe', + όνομα
onoma, 'name') is the name applied to a given
ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (where the name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms (where the name is created and used by the ethnic group itself).
As an example, the ethnonym for the ethnically dominant group in
Germany is the Germans. This ethnonym is an exonym used by the English-speaking world, although the term itself is derived from
Latin. Conversely, Germans themselves use the autonym of
Deutsch.
Variations
Numerous ethnonyms can apply to the same ethnic or racial group, with various levels of recognition, acceptance and use. The State Library of South Australia contemplated this issue when considering
Library of Congress Headings for literature pertaining to
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Some 20 different ethnonyms were considered as potential Library of Congress headings, but it was recommended that only a fraction of them be employed for the puposes of cataloguing.
Change over time
Ethnonyms can take on a political aspect over time, when they evolve from socially acceptable terms to socially unacceptable terms. For instance, the term
Gypsy has been used to refer to the
Roma. Other examples include
Vandal,
Bushman,
Barbarian and
Philistine.
The ethnonyms applied to
African Americans have demonstrated a greater evolution; older terms such as
colored carried negative connotations and have been replaced by modern-day equivalents such as
black or
African-American. Other ethnonyms such as
negro have a different status. The term was considered acceptable in its use by activists such as
Martin Luther King in the 1960s, but other activists took a different perspective. In discussing an address in 1960 by
Elijah Muhammad, it was stated "to the Muslims, terms like Negro and colored are labels created by white people to negate the past greatness of the black race".
Four decades later, a similar difference of opinion remains. In 2006, one commentator suggested that the term is outdated or offensive in many quarters, although its use remains in organisations such as the
United Negro College Fund.
In this context, an ethnonym has the potential to mimic the phenomenon of the
euphemism treadmill.
Linguistics
Main article: demonym
In English, ethnonyms are generally formulated through suffixation; by applying an -n to people of Austria, their nationality is known as
Austrian. Ethnonyms can be used erroneously in determining the language spoken by an ethnic group. A child may assume that people from India speak "Indian", despite there being no such language which is called by that name.
Popular Culture
The subjectivity and occasional confusion with ethnonyms was demonstrated in
The Simpsons episode
Much Apu About Nothing:
Apu: Today, I'm no longer an Indian living in America. I'm an Indian-American.
Lisa: You know, in a way, all Americans are immigrants. Except, of course Native Americans.
Homer: Yeah, Native Americans like us.
Lisa: No, I mean American Indians.
Apu: Like me.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ethnonym'.
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