Costruire l’identità attraverso il nome: dinamiche onomastiche nella narrativa per ragazzi di Cornelia Funke

Abstract

This article investigates how Cornelia Funke deploys onomastic strategies in children’s literature to construct and negotiate childhood identity through proper names and nicknames. Focusing on Die Wilden Hühner and Gespensterjäger, the study demonstrates how speaking names, hypocoristics, nominal compounds,
and classificatory acronyms function as linguistic and social instruments in shaping group dynamics, establishing hierarchies, and enabling processes of belonging. Particular attention is paid to the Italian translations, which systematically neutralize the pragmatic and symbolic resonance of names. This analysis reveals onomastics as a critical lens for examining strategies of ideological rewriting in children’s literature.