民族名，国名，言語名はお互いに関連が深い，これらの（固有）名詞は名前学 (onomastics) では demonym や ethnonym と呼ばれているが，目下少しずつ読み続けている名前学のハンドブックでは後者の呼称が用いられている．
　ハンドブックの第17章，Koopman による "Ethnonyms" の冒頭では，この用語の定義の難しさが吐露される．何をもって "ethnic group" （民族）とするかは文化人類学上の大問題であり，それが当然ながら ethnonym という用語にも飛び火するからだ．その難しさは認識しつつグイグイ読み進めていくと，どんどん解説と議論がおもしろくなっていく．節以下のレベルの見出しを挙げていけば次のようになる．

　17.1 Introduction
　17.2 Ethnonyms and Race
　17.3 Ethnonyms, Nationality, and Geographical Area
　17.4 Ethnonyms and Language
　17.5 Ethnonyms and Religion
　17.6 Ethnonyms, Clans, and Surnames
　17.7 Variations of Ethnonyms
　　　17.7.1 Morphological Variations
　　　17.7.2 Endonymic and Exonymic Forms of Ethnonyms
　17.8 Alternative Ethnonyms
　17.9 Derogatory Ethnonyms
　17.10 'Non-Ethnonyms' and 'Ethnonymic Gaps'
　17.11 Summary and Conclusion

　最後の "Summary and Conclusion" を引用し，この分野の魅力を垣間見ておこう．

In this chapter I have tried to show that while 'ethnonym' is a commonly used term among onomastic scholars, not all regard ethnonyms as proper names. This anomalous status is linked to uncertainties about defining the entity which is named with an ethnonym, with (for example) terms like 'race' and 'ethnic group' being at times synonymous, and at other times part of each other's set of defining elements. Together with 'race' and 'ethnicity', other defining elements have included language, nationality, religion, geographical area, and culture. The links between ethnonyms and some of these elements, such as religion, are both complex and debatable; while other links, such as between ethnonyms and language, and ethnonyms and nationality, produce intriguing onomastic dynamics. Ethnonyms display the same kind of variations and alternatives as can be found for personal names and place-names: morpho-syntactic variations, endonymic and exonymic forms, and alternative names for the same ethnic entity, generally regarded as falling into the general spectrum of nicknames. Examples have been given of the interface between ethnonyms, personal names, toponyms, and glossonyms.
   In conclusion, although ethnonyms have an anomalous status among onomastic scholars, they display the same kinds of linguistic, social, and cultural characteristics as proper names generally.

　「民族」周辺の用語と定義の難しさについては以下の記事も参照．

　・ 「#1871. 言語と人種」 ([2014-06-11-1])
　・ 「#3599. 言語と人種 (2)」 ([2019-03-05-1])
　・ 「#3706. 民族と人種」 ([2019-06-20-1])
　・ 「#3810. 社会的な構築物としての「人種」」 ([2019-10-02-1])

　また，ethnonym のおもしろさについては，関連記事「#5118. Japan-ese の語尾を深掘りする by khelf 新会長」 ([2023-05-02-1]) も参照されたい．

　・ Koopman, Adrian. "Ethnonyms." Chapter 17 of The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming. Ed. Carole Hough. Oxford: OUP, 2016. 251--62.

[ ツイート | 固定リンク | 印刷用ページ ]