Names as linguistic capital

Abstract

This chapter explores how the preference for particular languages from a basket of available languages can lead to the chosen languages being seen as commodities and objects of economic value. Ultimately this preference is the result of actions taken by powerful agents conferred with the right to make these choices. It is therefore argued that linguistic commodification is intimately linked to language planning. The chapter specifically focuses on name choices in the context of Malaysia, a nation that shows a high degree of complexity in terms of linguistic preferences. Two sets of data are contrasted: The changing street names of the capital Kuala Lumpur, representing christenings by agents of the state; and the names of residential buildings in the country, representing christenings by private enterprise. Street names show strong preference for the national language, Malay, whereas building names show a preference for English, with a significant representation of Romance languages such as Italian. The chapter then discusses reasons for this divergent linguistic treatment of names.