Abstract

FEIJO, Rui Graça. Language, name and identity in competitive plurilingualism: the case of East-Timor. Etnográfica [online]. 2008, vol.12, n.1, pp.143-172. ISSN 0873-6561.

This essay discusses the interplay between language, name and identity in the plurilingual context of East-Timor. Namely, I will approach the relationships between given and family name as one of the distinctive characters of the Timorese linguistic system. Through names and naming practices in East--Timor, and the way they are construed and articulated with other contemporary phenomena, I will discuss the different levels of cultural identity and the bases that support the configuration and sense of Timorese national identity.

Keywords : East-Timor; naming; plurilingualism; identity.

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