Multiple Last Names

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digitaltheologian
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2021 2:36 pm

Multiple Last Names

Post by digitaltheologian »

Good morning,

I can seem to find on the forum or figure out how to enter an author with spaces in their last name. For example, I have an author - Frederick Van Zyl Slabbert - who shows up incorrectly in my citations and bibliography as Slabbert. I recently switched over to Bookends so am still learning the ropes with this software and would appreciate any help. I would prefer not to have to do this manually and missing a reference in my current assignment.

Blessings,
Stephen
digitaltheologian
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2021 2:36 pm

Re: Multiple Last Names

Post by digitaltheologian »

To be clear, the last name is Van Zyl Slabbert.

S
Philologist
Posts: 166
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2015 9:17 am

Re: Multiple Last Names

Post by Philologist »

Hello Stephen,
if you want the cited author to be
Van Zyl Slabbert, Frederik

then enter Van Zyl Slabbert, Frederik into the Authors field. A comma after a string causes it to be output exactly as you entered it.
----

In this particular case, I'm not sure whether "van" should actually be considered a name. Isn't this similar to Ludwig van Beethoven and Herbert von Karajan? You would enter these two names into the Authors field as
Beethoven, Ludwig van
and
Karajan, Herbert von

So my consideration is, shouldn't you rather enter Zyl Slabbert, Frederik van into the Authors field and have "van" in lowercase?

Regarding this author, I'm a bit confused because I have seen people refer to him as

1. Van Zyl Slabbert
2. Zyl Slabbert
and
3. Mr. Slabbert

In German libraries he can be found under: Zyl Slabbert, Frederik Van.

WorldCat doesn't seem to be quit sure and cites him therefore sometimes as
1. Slabbert, F. van Zyl
https://www.worldcat.org/title/politica ... ef_results

and sometimes as

2. Van Zyl Slabbert, F.
https://www.worldcat.org/title/moderniz ... ef_results
digitaltheologian
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2021 2:36 pm

Re: Multiple Last Names

Post by digitaltheologian »

Well, exactly. I am not sure of the best way to cite this author as I have seen five ways now:

1. Slabbert, Frederick Van Zyl
2. Slabbert, Frederick van Zyl
3. Zyl Slabbert, Frederick Van
4. Zyl Slabbert, Frederick van
5. Van Zyl Slabbert, Frederick

I am going to give it my best effort, keep it consistent, plead ignorance, and see what the professor says.

Thank you for that solution Philologist, I had not tried that one.

S
digitaltheologian
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2021 2:36 pm

Re: Multiple Last Names

Post by digitaltheologian »

Incidentally, "van" in Afrikaans means surname and this is from a South African author so the lower case on the "van" may be appropriate. Hmmm, something for me to consider before making my final submission.

S
Philologist
Posts: 166
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2015 9:17 am

Re: Multiple Last Names

Post by Philologist »

"Van" is obviously equivalent to "van" in Dutch and to "von" in German, and it (originally) means "from"; so "van Zyl" originally meant 'from Zyl', I suppose. It's now used as a surname. Or in other words, it seems this guy has two surnames.

You have four options, I think:
1. Ask your supervisor (which always has the final word.)
2. Ask a good librarian (in the country you submit your thesis)
3. [Just for fun (and to get confused):] Check how renowned online sources cite the author. An example:

• Google Scholar cites him as Slabbert, Frederick Van Zyl
and
• Library of Congress cites him as Slabbert, Frederick van Zyl

4. Check out if there exists a Style Manual for your citation style. Such style manuals often give a detailed instructions about to how to handle problems like this. — Judging from your username "digitaltheologian", you might perhaps be using the SBL style (just a guess.) If that's the case, the book "The SBL Handbook of Style. For Biblical Studies and Related Disciplines" contains information about how to deal with problems like this.

What citation style are you using?
digitaltheologian
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2021 2:36 pm

Re: Multiple Last Names

Post by digitaltheologian »

You guessed correctly, I am using SBL. I have the SBL 2nd edition and could not find a definitive answer yet so I have punted this to my supervisor for review. I have learned that Slabbert is considered a last name on its own in South Africa and it's plausible that Van Zyl may be a middle name, Van Zyl Slabbert is a last name, but it is unlikely that Zyl Slabbert is the last name. For interest, I will let you know what my supervisor concludes on this matter.

Thanks again!
digitaltheologian
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2021 2:36 pm

Re: Multiple Last Names

Post by digitaltheologian »

I finally got some feedback from my supervisor:
“Van” is always a part of the surname, so Frederick Van Zyl Slabbert in a works cited list becomes: Van Zyl Slabbert, Frederick.
Here is some additional guidance:

Afrikaans and French surnames with prefixes like Le, Van, Du, etc. are entered under the prefix. Van der Linden, Van Deventer, Le Roux, Du Toit, etc.
In German surnames with prefixes like Von, the surname is entered with the initial. The prefix follows. A. Von Maltitz becomes Maltitz, A von; Ludwig Von Beethoven and Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe become Beethoven, Ludwig von or Goethe, J. W. von. (https://www.uj.ac.za/library/research-s ... 202017.pdf (page 12, #2.14)

https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/voices.uc ... f93p03.pdf (pages 36-37)
macvet
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Nov 22, 2009 9:06 am

Re: Multiple Last Names

Post by macvet »

Philologist wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 8:50 pm
You have four options, I think:
...
I'd like to add a fifth tip: Look at how people with challenging names cite themselves.
Nikitas
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 11:43 am

Re: Multiple Last Names

Post by Nikitas »

digitaltheologian wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 3:19 pm I finally got some feedback from my supervisor:
“Van” is always a part of the surname, so Frederick Van Zyl Slabbert in a works cited list becomes: Van Zyl Slabbert, Frederick.
Here is some additional guidance:

Afrikaans and French surnames with prefixes like Le, Van, Du, etc. are entered under the prefix. Van der Linden, Van Deventer, Le Roux, Du Toit, etc.
In German surnames with prefixes like Von, the surname is entered with the initial. The prefix follows. A. Von Maltitz becomes Maltitz, A von; Ludwig Von Beethoven and Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe become Beethoven, Ludwig von or Goethe, J. W. von. (https://www.uj.ac.za/library/research-s ... 202017.pdf (page 12, #2.14)

https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/voices.uc ... f93p03.pdf (pages 36-37)
This is correct. The German "von" and the French "de" are not generally used in listing last names. It is thus Savigny, Friedrich Carl von; Vareilles-Sommières, Gabriel de. But Du Moulin or Dumoulin and of course today it's du Plessis, Paul. And Dutch language "van" is often used in the beginning of the last name (my experience mostly with Belgium, e.g. Vander Elst). But some "de" have become part of the main last name, e.g. in Dutch.

Sorry for resurrecting the topic, some time later. The fifth tip points to the right direction, btw.
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