Sandra Herling

Dr. Sandra Herling is a Researcher in the Faculty of Romance Studies at the University of Siegen, Germany. With a PhD in Romance Linguistics (2007) and a career spanning since 2001, her work bridges Onomastics, Colonial Linguistics, and Popular Linguistics with a focus on Toponyms, Zoonyms, and Special Languages.

• Education: Master's degree in Romance Linguistics and Literature, Applied Linguistics (2001-03), followed by a doctorate on Catalan and Castilian in the Balearic Islands (2007)

Research Interests include:

• Colonial and Postcolonial Toponymy (geographical names as memory carriers)
• Anthroponymy in language conflict zones
• Ergonyms (product/company names)
• Human-Animal Studies via zoonyms
• Lay Linguistics and Special Languages (e.g., thieves' argot)

Her 15 most recent articles (2025-2018) reveal three major trends:

• Colonial naming systems (4 articles on Caribbean/French colonial contexts)
• Onomastic commercial applications (3 articles on wine/pet food brands)
• Sociolinguistic name activism (2 articles on BLM movement impacts)

Scientific Awards:

• Recipient of the Brigitte Schlieben-Lange Prize (2002) for early-career research excellence

Academic Networks:

• Member of German Association of Romance Languages, German Catalanist Association, and International Society for Special Language Research
• Co-editor for special issues in Österreichische Namenforschung (2023) and Manuel de linguistique populaire (2024)