Investigating the Relationship between Identity and Shiraz Restaurants’ Names from a Socio-onomastic Perspective

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of English Language Teaching, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

2 M.A. in English Language Teaching, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

In accordance with the prominence of names and their influence on social relations, this study intended to investigate restauranteurs' attitudes on socio-onomastic factors (national, international, and religious identities) and restaurants' names in two areas of high and low socioeconomic status in Shiraz. The target population in this study was 60 restaurant owners from two different districts of Shiraz city. In order to assess the target population, a questionnaire adapted from Hussein, Nofal, and Mansour’s (2015) study was applied in this research. The results revealed significant differences in the attitudes of the restaurant owners in the area of high socioeconomic status compared with the area of low socioeconomic status in that they were more optimistic toward the choice of foreign names in bringing positive commercial outcomes, and being more interesting, unique and prestigious. Contrarily, significant differences of restauranteurs in the area of low socioeconomic status demonstrated more inclination and positive attitude toward using religious names as being more unique and prestigious. The results of this research valuable insights for experts in the field of linguistic, EFL researchers and students.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Algeo, J., & Algeo, K. (2000). Onomastics as an interdisciplinary study. Names, 48(3/4), 265-274.
Boonpaisarnsatit, N., & Srioutai, J. (2011). A semantic and pragmatic approach to brand naming: A case study of Thailand's exported food brand names. Interdisciplinary Discourses in Language and Communication, 61. 61-73.
Bright, W. (2003). What is a name? Reflections on onomastics. Language and Linguistics, 4(4), 669-681.
Chen, L. N. (2018). Of Authenticity and Assimilation: Names of American Chinese Restaurants. Names, 66(1), 3-13.
Gholi Famian, A. R., & Kolahduz Mohammadi, M. (2016). The study of linguistic patterns in shop signs of Tabriz. Journal of Culture-Communication Studies, 17(33), 109-125.
Farnia, M., & Barati, S. (2019). A survey of Esfahan shop owners’ attitudes in naming businesses. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 2(3), 57-68.
Ghanbari Odivi, A. (2013). The impact of religion on naming in Chaharmahal-o-Bakhtiari. Culture and Folk Literature, 1(2), 83-107.
Goudarzi, H., Bakhtiari, M. (2016). The extent of consideration towards the national identity elements in naming the main streets of Tehran. National Studies Journal, 17(65), 53-70.
Grice, H.P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In P. Cole & I. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and Semantics, 3, 41-58.
Kazem Hajizadeh, K., &, Dehghaniyan,H.(2016). Places, names, and place identity: a case study of Tehran, Marifat Farhangi and Ejtemaii, 6(4), 41-62.
Hussein, R. F., Nofal, M. Y., & Mansour, A. J. (2015). The language of shop signs in Amman: A sociolinguistic study. International Journal of Educational Research and Reviews, 3(2), 155-164.
Nazari, A. A., Hassan Pour, A., & Hassan Pour, M. (2013). Culture, politics and representation of names: Review of the Islamic Republic of Iran broadcasting in the 2000-2010. Journal of Iranian Cultural Research, 5(4), 1-22.
Nejati, H. S., & Afshar, S. (2010). The change in the process of children naming in the city of Tehran. Youth, Culture and Society Research, 3(1), 141-163
Sperber, D., & Wilson, D. (1995). Relevance, communication and cognition. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Zandi, B., & Ahmadi, B. (2016). Cognitive socio-onomastics; A new domain in interdisciplinary studies. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 9(1), 99-122.
Zandi, B., Rovsan, B., & Amirykhah, M. (2018). A comparative study of naming traditional cafes and coffee shops in Tehran from a Socio-onomastic perspective. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 1(2), 30-41.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics