Thanks.

Post #31,288 by static 3/7/02 10:03:28 PM Reply	Thanks. But I was guessing at Bjork's father's name. All I know for sure is it starts with a 'G'. I think at the time I read about it, Bjork was considered a single mum and I think she was causing waves by saying her kids' surnames would be Bjorksson or Bjorksdottir. Other than that, I had forgotten the patronymy vs matronymy aspect. And yes, I did already know about the "Andersson" => "Anderson" progression. I am a casual student of the history of language and words and this includes names. I first discovered this construct many years ago when a friend's father worked for Ericsson and I noticed the double S. :-) Wade, who would be surnamed Brucesson with such a naming convention. "All around me are nothing but fakes Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
Post #31,325 by CRConrad 3/8/02 7:22:27 AM Reply	That's funny; I wouldn't have thought it would "raise waves" Wade Brucesson writes: But I was guessing at Bjork's father's name. All I know for sure is it starts with a 'G'. Ah. Well, now you know -- 'Gudrun' is a woman's name. :-) I think at the time I read about it, Bjork was considered a single mum and I think she was causing waves by saying her kids' surnames would be Bjorksson or Bjorksdottir. That's weird, IMO: The matronymyc isn't all that unusual, as I understand it (just less usual than the patronymic); I gather it's fairly widely used in precisely those circumstances. And it's not as if the Icelanders were a particularly religious, or otherwise opposed to single-motherhood, people. The practice is fairly old (as in, centuries), AFAIK. Oh well, what with her being an "international star", perhaps things change. Maybe a stink was raised abroad, or perhaps it even was Icelanders, fearing that she'd "present a bad image" of the country, who complained -- somewhat ridiculously, if so, for being "holier than the holy" for no real reason at all as far as they themselves are concerned. Christian R. Conrad Of course, who am I to point fingers? I'm in the "Information Technology" business, prima facia evidence that there's bats in the bell tower. -- [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=27764\|Andrew Grygus]
Post #31,451 by static 3/9/02 2:02:33 AM Reply	Heh. I really don't know. CRC writes: Well, now you know -- 'Gudrun' is a woman's name. :-) Yah. Thanks. (-: That's weird, IMO: The matronymyc isn't all that unusual, as I understand it (just less usual than the patronymic); I gather it's fairly widely used in precisely those circumstances. And it's not as if the Icelanders were a particularly religious, or otherwise opposed to single-motherhood, people. The practice is fairly old (as in, centuries), AFAIK. All I remember was that she effectively said her daughter would have a matronymic name, and that commentators familiar with aspect of Icelandic life thought it unusual. I don't know why; I was only theorising (e.g. maybe she was still married at the time). Much of my knowledge about Icelandic names comes from - of all places - a Hardy Boys' novel set in Iceland. They had to look someone up in the phone book at one point and found it most confusing until a native explained it all to them (and the readers). It was more recent, though, that I found out about the -dottir suffix. shrug Wade. "All around me are nothing but fakes Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"

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