Problems in Greek-to-English transliteration

Abstract

The language of the Greek immigrants' gravemarkers reveals their process of acculturation; in the initial stage, the markers are monolingual Greek; during the conflict stage, they are bilingual; finally, in the acculturation stage, they are predominantly monolingual English. The low literacy level of the early immigrants is revealed through morphological and spelling errors; the tension between the two languages is reflected in the various transliterations of Greek names; the increasing acculturation of the immigrants is evident in the abbreviation and translation of their original Greek names. In fact, close examination of the markers reveal the successive loss of overt ethnic variables (last name) and replacement by covert ethnic variables (such as first name since according to the name-giving cultural practices, children are named after their grandparents). Copyright 2006 by The American Name Society.