Pseudonym
June 15, 2008
June 15, 2008
: The text version of the Pseudonym page as Louis-Raphaël Leygyes had tried to modify it in Wikipedia
(part in red)
The '''pseudonym''' or '''pseudo''' (common abbreviation) is a borrowed name used by someone who does not wish to carry out a certain activity under their real name.
Most Wikipedia users, for example, use it most of the time. Few sign with their real name. Thus, they do not take responsibility for their views, making their articles appear unreliable and questionable to a large part of the readers. Thus, they lead this wonderful idea that is Wikipedia towards a questionable level of opacity, due to its administration system.
The use of pseudonyms is common in literary or artistic circles. In some cases, it allows to maintain [[anonymity]]. The pseudonym differs from the [[nickname]] in that it is chosen by the person who uses it rather than being assigned by a third party.
'''War name''' is an expression that appears as is in French in several cultures and languages, including American English, to refer to certain pseudonyms.
== In the arts == * For activities related to writing (writers, journalists, etc.), one speaks rather of '''pen name''', and for activities related to images (actors, comedians, etc.) of '''[[stage name]]''' or '''artist name'''.
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During the [[Renaissance]], many Italian artists named themselves after their father's profession or place of origin: Le [[Caravage]] (from the village of [[Caravaggio]]), the [[Giuliano da Sangallo|Da Sangallo]] (working at the Saint Gall gate in Florence), the [[Antonio Pollaiuolo|Pollaiolo]] (from the father's profession, chicken breeder), [[Jacopo del Sellaio]] (the seller) from his father's profession.
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Some works of [[ancient literature]], whose true author is unknown, were falsely attributed to a known author. When the error was recognized, the name of this author was preceded by the suffix ''Pseudo-'' and one speaks of [[Pseudépigraphe (littérature)|pseudépigraphe]].
== In politics or wartime situations ==
For various reasons (war, resistance, political opposition, clandestinity, and to ensure the safety of the person concerned or their family), it is sometimes necessary to encode messages and civil names of the protagonists.
Thus, most Russian revolutionaries took a pseudonym
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Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known as [[Lenin]]
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Lev Davidovich Bronstein, known as [[Trotsky]]
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Joseph (Iossif) Vissarionovich Djugashvili, known as [[Stalin]].
In France, during the [[First World War]], Gustave Dupin, a labor activist, took the pseudonym [[Ermenonville]] in order to publish various works on this war.
During the Second World War, resistants or fighters from occupied countries who joined the Allied forces took '''war names''' or resistance names. Some names remained attached to the original civil name, especially for the most prominent personalities, sometimes even replacing it. Some examples:
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Jacques Delmas, resistance name Chaban, became [[Jacques Chaban-Delmas]]
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Henri Tanguy, resistance name Rol (in memory of [[Théo Rol]]), became [[Henri Rol-Tanguy]] in 1970.
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Philippe de Hautecloque, war name Leclerc, became [[Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque]]
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Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm, clandestine name [[Willy Brandt]], which became his legal name when he recovered his German nationality in 1948.
The term "code name" will also be used.
Currently in France, in certain political circles accustomed to the practice of anonymity (mainly the [[Trotskyist]] milieu), sometimes for reasons of clandestinity because of an outlawed movement or for the practice of infiltration in other political movements or organizations, a pseudonym is sometimes called a ''blaze'' :
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[[Robert Barcia]] was thus long known by his only ''blaze'' [[Hardy]].
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[[Pierre Boussel (politician)|Pierre Boussel]] is also known under the name [[Pierre Boussel (politician)|Lambert]], a name used in political and union clandestinity during the [[Second World War]].
== The tag and the graffiti ==
The graphic and pictorial practices of [[tag]] and [[graff]] are originally intended to use a pseudonym, called [http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/blase blase] or [[blaze]] in this milieu, as a support for a form of calligraphy, it is one of the most important sources of pseudonyms of our time after the Internet.
== Usage on the Internet ==
The regular use of a pseudonym has experienced an unprecedented boom thanks to or because of [[Internet]] and its discussion forums where registration is subject to the choice of a pseudonym. So much so that often, participants do not know each other's real identities, even when they meet "in real life".
==Bullfighting==
In the world of [[bullfighting]], [[bullfighters]] sometimes become known to the general public under a pseudonym, the [[apodo]], a pseudonym chosen according to their city of origin, a physical characteristic, an old profession, etc.
== Prostitution ==
In their activity, [[Prostitution|prostitutes]] use a pseudonym they call a "war name".
== The law ==
=== In France ===
In [[law]], the use of a pseudonym is commonly accepted. It is, for example, entirely possible in [[France]] to have one's pseudonym appear on one's identity card, provided it is accompanied by the real nameSee [http://portaildulivre.com/pseudoident.htm portaildulivre.com]. It is also possible to open a bank account under a pseudonym.
The use of a pseudonym is even sometimes explicitly authorized, for example in [[copyright law]]: the [[Intellectual Property Code]] organizes the rights of the [[author]] who publishes under a pseudonym.
== Introduction of the pseudonym ==
In [[French]], a person's pseudonym can be introduced after their real name by preceding it with ''« alias »'' (from [[Latin]] meaning ''otherwise'', ''elsewhere''); for example, for [[Romain Gary]], the author who wrote under the pen name Émile Ajar: ''Romain Gary, ''alias'' Émile Ajar''.
Under the influence of [[English]], ''« aka »'', an abbreviation of ''« also known as »'' (literally ''known also as''), can also be used.
== Anecdotes ==
Some anecdotes regarding the use of pseudonyms have become famous, such as the writer [[Romain Gary]], whose real name was Romain Kacew, who won the [[Goncourt Prize]] once in [[1956]], and again in [[1975]] under the pseudonym [[Émile Ajar]] (noting that the same author is not allowed to receive this prize more than once).
== See also ==
=== Notes and references ===
=== Related articles === * [[List of pseudonyms]]
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[[List of diminutives]]
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The use made by the [[ancient Rome|Romans]] of the nickname, or ''cognomen'' in [[Roman names]]
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[[Heteronym]]
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[[Anonymity]]
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[[Pseudépigraphe (littérature)|Pseudépigraphe]]
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[[:Category:Pseudonym]] contains many links to articles about people with pseudonyms.
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[[Author naming]]
=== External links === * [http://www.vrai-nom.com/ The real name of stars]
- [http://www.ecrivosges.com/pseudo/ Search for literary pseudonyms]
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