Introductory portion to: Beider, Alexander. 2001. A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names: Their Origins, Structure, Pronunciation, and Migrations. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu. (original) (raw)
These introductory chapters to the dictionary of traditional Ashkenazic given names cover the following topics: (1) Ashkenazic naming traditions (including the use of religious [shemot ha-qodesh] and vernacular [kinnuim] personal names for men, the use of double given names, frequency), (2) inception of names (calques, borrowed from non-Jews or Jewish texts, plain creation), (3) creation of hypocoristic and pet forms (with / without suffixes), (4) phonetic changes related to the development of Yiddish phonology; (5) origins of communities analyzed using onomastic data.
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