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Ethnicity, Language and Populations

In: Names, Ethnicity and Populations

Author

Listed:
  • Pablo Mateos

    (CIESAS
    University College London)

Abstract

In an increasingly globalised world, ethnicity, or the question of defining one’s personal identity with reference to a “group of common descent” has become very prominent in political as well as scientific debates. Ethnicity is socially constructed and defined subjectively by a combination of aspects related to a group’s ancestry, cultural customs, language, religion, national identity, kinship networks and even physical appearance. This slippery nature has made ethnicity the most difficult variable to conceptualise and measure in social as well as medical and biological research. This chapter reviews the main definitions of ethnicity, and the related concept of “race”, as well as some of the approaches to measure it. It then proposes a multidimensional approach that conceives ethnicity as an outcome, disentangling some of the processes that end up constituting a group’s identity. Finally, it justifies the need for alternative measures of ethnicity, one of them being the use of personal names’ origins and forename-surname networks in attempting to disentangle such processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Pablo Mateos, 2014. "Ethnicity, Language and Populations," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Names, Ethnicity and Populations, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 9-27, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:adspcp:978-3-642-45413-4_2
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-45413-4_2
    as

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