Tame the Name An Analysis of the Treatment of Persian Names in English-Speaking Contexts

• Published in: Theoria (Pietermaritzburg) Vol. 71; no. 180; pp. 23 - 48
• Main Author: Heidari, Amin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Afrikaans; English
• Published: New York Berghahn Books, Inc 01-09-2024
• Subjects: Colonialism; Dominance; Languages; Naming; Orientalism; Otherness; Power
• ISSN: 0040-5817; 1558-5816
• DOI: 10.3167/th.2024.7118002

Abstract This article examines two mechanisms in treating Persian names in English-speaking contexts: name projection and name adoption. The article adopts Edward Said's Orientalism, noting Western-centric naming and colonial division with Western superiority. The treatment of the Oriental name will be discussed within the frame of linguistic Orientalism which refers to the portrayal or study of Eastern languages and cultures through the lens of Western superiority or exoticisation. Previously, this mindset projected the coloniser's preferred names onto the territory and individuals of the Other. Today, the name of the Other is governed as the subjects from different backgrounds are propelled to conform to the coloniser's preferences in choosing Anglo-sounding names. I will conclude that the shift from the authoritative name projection to the disciplinary name adoption manifests a Foucauldian trajectory from ‘sovereign power’ to modern ‘disciplinary power’ in taming the name of the Other.