What's in a Name? by J. Robbins
Have you ever read War and Peace or Crime and
Punishment and been confused by the fact that the
characters are called different names at different times?
This trend in Russian literature reflects the fact that
Russia, along with several other Eastem European
countries, uses a patronymic naming system.
When a child is born in Russia, his or her parents only
have to come up with one new name for their baby. This is
the first, or given, name. Some common Russian first
names are Ivan, Mikhail, and Aleksandra. First names can
also be shortened into diminutives, which are similar to
nicknames. One diminutive form of Aleksandra is
Sashenka. Diminutives are used between close friends
and family members.
A patronym follows the first name and is derived from
the name of a person's father. It is based on this formula:
first name of father + suffix meaning "son of" or "daughter
Of»
Men's patronymics most often end with the suffixes
-ovich, -evich, or -ich. Women's patronymics most often
end with the suffixes -ovna, -evna, or -ichna. For
example, Ivan, son of Mikhail, would be Ivan Mikhailovich,
and Ivan's sister Aleksandra would be Aleksandra
Mikhailovna.
Finally, the family's name follows the patronymic. Some Russian family names you may be familiar with are
Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky. For many Russian women, last
names are changed to add an -ova or an -a. If
Aleksandra Mikhailovna married a man with the last name
of Gorbachov, she would be Aleksandra Mikhailovna
Gorbachova.
Respecting a person's naming system is one way of
showing respect for his or her culture. When using the
Russian patronymic naming system, there are some
important things to remember. The use of all three names
together is reserved for formal paperwork and public
speeches. Addressing a person by his or her first name
and patronymic together is considered polite. For
example, this would be an appropriate form for a college
student addressing a professor, two people meeting for
the first time, or colleagues talking in a work environment.
The use of a person's first name by itself is considered
informal and occurs most often among friends or family
members. Only very close friends and family members
address a person by his or her patronymic alone--it would
be impolite for a stranger or new acquaintance to do so.
What is the primary purpose of the visual included with the passage?
A. It shows that the Russian patronymic naming system is becoming obsolete.
B. It introduces the name of the inventor of the Russian patronymic naming system.
c. It provides an example of the proper usage of the Russian patronymic system.
D. It advertises a major Russian author who has written about patronymic systems.