Naming the other: counter-exonyms and identity resistance in marginalized communities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24201/clecm.v12.345Keywords:
ethnonyms, raciolinguistics, epistemic resistance, minoritized identities, linguistic decolonialityAbstract
The study of ethnonyms, or names that identify groups and communities, reveals a complex interaction between language, power, and identity. This work introduces the concept of "counter-exonyms" to analyze how marginalized communities refer to and conceptualize dominant groups, resisting imposed categorizations. Counter-exonyms are concrete acts of naming from minoritized communities toward groups that assume dominant identities, incorporating elements of imposed identity constructions (exonyms) while demonstrating the will to reappropriate historical narratives. Examples such as "yori" (used by the Yoreme people), "chabochi" (used by the Rarámuri people), and "HEARER" (used by signing persons) illustrate this practice. This analytical concept brings together these discursive relationships without presupposing fixed identity categories, focusing on the act of signification and epistemic resistance. An enactive perspective is proposed, viewing language as a dynamic and intersubjective event, and the need for multimodal empirical studies to document these naming and self-determination practices is emphasized.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Luis Daniel Escobar L.-Dellamary, Stephanie Cortés Aguilar, José de Jesús Velarde Inzunza
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