stellingname

Stellingname is a Dutch term used in linguistic and rhetorical contexts to denote the naming or labeling of a specific proposition, claim, or stance within a discussion or text. The word combines stelling, meaning proposition or thesis, with naam, meaning name, to indicate the act of identifying the central claim under consideration.

Etymology and scope: The term derives from the everyday Dutch words for proposition and name and is employed mainly in theoretical discussions of argumentation, rhetoric, and, occasionally, in legal or parliamentary writing where a thesis must be explicitly identified. It describes not just the claim itself, but the formal act of naming that claim to frame subsequent analysis or debate.

Usage and examples: In scholarly writing, stellingname helps anchor the reader to the primary claim being examined and distinguishes it from subsidiary points. In conversation, a speaker may introduce a stellingname to frame the discussion. For example, one might begin a paper with the stellingname “De stijgende kosten rechtvaardigen beleidsinterventie” to set the thesis for argumentation. In Dutch, the phrase “De stellingname luidt…” or “De stellingname is…” is commonly used to reference the labeled proposition.

Related terms: Stelling refers to the proposition itself or thesis; related concepts include position, claim, proposition, and argument. Stellingname is thus a metalinguistic or formal labeling device within argumentation, rather than a stand-alone argument.

See also: stelling, thesis, proposition, argumentation, rhetoric.