The Socio-onomastic Features of American Cattle Brands
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: The use of hot-iron brands as marks of livestock ownership is a tradition that has been practiced by successive generations of American cattle ranchers for over two hundred years. Research carried out by Lombard (2015 Lombard, C. 2015. The socio-onomastic significance of American cattle brands: A Montana case study. PhD diss., University of the Free State. [Google Scholar]) in the State of Montana shows that in addition to signifying ownership, cattle brands in this region of the country function as important cultural icons and that this cultural symbolism is largely underpinned by a variety of socially motivated naming conventions. This paper examines some prominent onomastic features of American cattle brands and explains how socio-onomastic processes play a central role in establishing and maintaining cattle brands as symbols of socio-cultural identity in Montana.
Source: Names
Authors: Carol G. Lombard, Theodorus Du Plessis
Institution: University of the Free State
Language: English
Topic: Language and Culture
Subfield: Linguistics and Language
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2924737997