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Originally posted by Tarpex It's also completely stupid, as most of the second names in Russian especially express affiliation; Pankratov -> Of Pankrat (family)... Magnetonium correct me if that is not specifically the case, Slovenians and Russians have a lot of linguistic similarities

Yes, we are all Slavic brothers and sisters ;-) This "ov" ending in surnames has nothing to do with Russification, as its pretty obvious - many Bulgarians have the same surname ending, some others in Eastern bloc countries too, like yours (Slovakia) ... Russia, for example, is a country with so many ethnic groups, we have some Slovakians for sure, though not many.

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Originally posted by Lira hmm... I do know that happened here, but I don't think it was mandatory (I think my great grandmother changed her Italian surname because she though her surname resembled that of "mafiosi" (?), for example). Did it happen in your family? I wonder how much the names have changed... I know "Kimmel", as in Jimmy Kimmel, was supposed to be "Kümmel", but I wonder whether this Americanisation was really this subtle.

LOL ... MANDATORY? Your grandmother changed her last name according to her own wishes, VOLUNTARILY, you're confusing the different concepts here.

As for the Kummel case, its a different language, slightly different letters, so the family had to ADJUST the letters. Just like in Russian we have some letters that you guys don't in your language. So its adjusted to the ORIGINAL sounding of it, closest possible to the original. So when moving to another country, surnames can sometimes have to be adjusted. Pankratov is his last name, sounds and even spells the same in Russian and Latvian, NOT Pankratovs. Thats not just CHANGING LETTERS, thats forced assimilation. Its a big difference. Clearly his last name is not translated - as the proper and actual translation to Latin is Pankratov, but Latvian officials insist to Latvianize him. He rightfully refuses, because he wants to keep his cultural identity, his history. Its pretty obvious that even the Geneva Conventions and European laws state that too.

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Originally posted by Lira I doubt there are any linguists involved in this bizarre incident, that's outrageous.

Who do you think actually comes up with these ridiculous ideas to change people's last names? They're the ones who originally shaped up the language, surnames, and all. He also blames government for not hearing his case. And actually, a lot of Latvians do end up with "s" ending last names. Here's HER last name: Jaunzarins. In Russia, at least, we have all kinds of last names and their components that identify ethically the person ... most common endings for last names are "ov", "in", "enko", "oy", "skiy",

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Originally posted by Lira Tarpex reminded me of something: His name shouldn't be "Pankratov", because "Pankratov" is in the genitive case. If they really wanted to Latvianise his name, it should be something llike "Pankratu". Right?

No, now THAT WOULD make him more Lithuanian, actually, LMAO! You're mixing up the countries, hehe ;-)

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It's quite the opposite, actually: Latvians want his name to end with "s"

Well, obviously not, especially with a large Russian minority (15-25% of Latvian population), and with this case, quite a few people dont want to have their surnames changed ...

This guy is Latvian, not ethnically, but he is a citizen of Latvia, and he definitely doesn't want his last name forcefully changed. I believe that European Convention has that covered as well.

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