How to publish research on offensive familiy nicknames? Some ethical considerations in anthroponomastics

Abstract

This article discusses ethical considerations regarding the publishing of research on family nicknames. Family nicknames function, unlike surnames, as indices which have not completely lost the transparency of their semantic background and are used as labels which refer to a salient feature or a memorable episode from the history of a particular family. They reflect how the community perceives a specific group within the community. Some of the family nicknames are considered to be offensive to the persons and groups that bear them and are consequently not used by members of the community in direct communication with them. The question of whether it is ethically justified and responsible to publish such family nicknames needs to be considered. An overview of the main principles in research ethics is presented, and five possible courses of action are described and discussed.

Keywords

• anthroponomastics
• family nicknames
• research ethics
• publishing ethics
• Croatian language
• Kajkavian dialect