A comparative analysis of functions served by characters’ proper names in Terry Pratchett’s “The Fifth Elephant” and its Polish translation

This article is devoted to functions served by characters’ proper names in Jingo by TerryPratchett. The analysis of 258 characteronyms is based on the theory of two acts (Gibka2019). For the study to be conducted, the models of the naming act and the act of usinga name in Jingo were created. The first part of the article deals with secondary permanentfunctions which are performed from the moment a character is named. The second partof the article focuses on secondary momentary functions which emerge in individual usesof particular proper names.

<p>Celem artykułu była analiza porównawcza funkcji nazw własnych postaci w powieści Terry’ego Pratchetta zatytułowanej <em>Jingo </em>oraz w jej polskim przekładzie. Badanie przeprowadzono w oparciu o teorię dwóch aktów. Studium pokazało, jakie funkcje pełnią analizowane onimy, jaka jest ich częstotliwość oraz które z nich zostały zachowane w tłumaczeniu, które zostały zmienione, a które utracone. Pozyskane informacje zostaną wykorzystane w badaniach nad metodami tłumaczenia, umożliwiającymi zachowanie wszystkich funkcji literackich onimów.</p>

Nominative symbolism in fantasy is a tool to attribute certain traits to literary characters and thus to convey meaning which enriches the readers’ comprehension of the fictitious personality. Proper names in the English naming tradition are not generally seen as means of alluding to the character of a person, yet they have sometimes been chosen purposefully by writers so as to reveal the idea that a symbolic name tries to convey. The paper therefore aims at investigating the origin and author’s intended meaning behind the names of some recurrent literary characters in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series from the viewpoint of their structure and the allusions they evoke in the reader’s imagination. The analysis includes five names presenting three different structures: neologisms based on syntactic composition, imitations of borrowed structures that are foreign to the English model of naming, and typical English naming models where name symbolism is due to the lexical choice of the components in the name.

This article analyzes intertextual elements in Good Omens, a novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, and compares the original English text with its Polish translation, Dobry omen, by Julisz Wilczur Garztecki and Jacek Gazka.The study focuses on the use of Christian mythology, British and American pop culture, and satire in the source text, examining how these elements are rendered for a Polish-speaking audience and how their reception may diverge from the original intent.The findings suggest that Dobry omen prioritizes fidelity to the source text over adherence to the prevailing translation norms, although the applied strategies appear inconsistent.

Key words: eponymization, onimization, transonimization, signified, signifier, anthroponym, toponym, semanticization, desemanticization In the article, the perception of the linguistic reality of eponym in modern linguistics has been studied. On the basis of it the term eponym and the process of eponymization have been characterized and clarified. The study was conducted by comparative analysis. In the work, due to the need to solve the set problems, an examination and analysis of the linguistic observations of the concept of eponym has been performed. As a result, the proposed views have been grouped into three main groups: 1. the starting unit of the eponymization process is considered an eponym, 2. the word generated in the end result of the eponymization process is considered an eponym, 3. both sides of the eponymization process are considered eponyms – both the starting unit and the final word. It has been considered acceptable to use the term eponym only for the linguistic unit resulting from the process of eponymization, since theoretically all proper names can become eponyms. In the work, an attempt has been made to clarify the characteristics of the concept of eponym. Thus, it has been defined as a proper or common name, which emerged as a result of the semanticization or polyfunctionalization of the homonymous proper name. It has been noted that an eponym is a word created as a result of the process of eponymization, which has the primary function for a linguistic sign unit, i. e., to name the phenomenon by reflecting it in the system of linguistic sign units. For the process of eponymization, which has been considered beyond the limits of the change of lexical meaning, two main ways have been put forward: semanticization and polyfunctionalization of the proper name. The process of eponymization, which is related to the development of various social spheres that determine human activity, has been evaluated as an important means of enriching the vocabulary of the language, examination of which leads to the necessity for intercultural, sociolinguistic and interdisciplinary studies.

Proper names are considered within the framework of the macrotext on the example of the texts of modern authors. The role of poetonymsis revealed when working with the image of a hero: naming as an indicator of social status, self-perception of a name, a name in communicative situations, etc. Currently, there is an increase in interest in the study of onomastics, including literary onomastics. A work of art is a special area of the functioning of proper names: here the words correspond not only with the real world, but also with the created reality; not only with modern discourse, but also with the language of the work itself. In the text, onymic units establish associative links. Proper names are an important component in the system of means of artistic expression. There are not so many works devoted to the study of the language of modern prose. In the scientific literature, the proper name’s role in works of fiction has not been fully studied. The subject of this study is proper names in a literary text. The object is the proper names of a literary text in modern prose. The theoretical and methodological basis was the work of domestic and foreign linguists. In the analysis of practical material, a descriptive method was used, systematization of onomastic units was carried out, as well as a generalization regarding the binding role of these linguistic elements in a literary text. The name is the bearer of a certain meaning, which reflects the conceptual intent of the author. It has been established that the choice of proper names in an artwork is determined by the context and is subject to the author’s intention. Proper names play a particularly important role in the structure of a literary text, serving as a key for expressing the author’s creative individuality, principles, beliefs and attitude to the real world. If the writer successfully chooses a name for his hero, then such a name acquires a certain semantic and stylistic load and deepens the emotional and artistic impression of both this image and the whole work as a whole.

The article treats the concept of proper name in Juri Lotman’s semiotics, taking into account also studies in the same field by other authors of the Tartu-Moscow school (V. Ivanov, B. Ogibenin, V. Toporov, B. Uspenski). Focus is laid at three sub-topics: name and myth, name and text, name and artistic creation. One of the sources of treating proper name for both the program article by J. Lotman and B. Uspenski (“Myth — Name — Culture”), and works by several other semioticians of the Tartu–Moscow school is confidence in the connection between proper name and mythical (a-semiotic) thought: semiosis equals here with nomination. Proper name plurality, different re-namings affirm the continuing importance of mythical thinking in later culture. Proper names (such as personal names, place names) belong, in addition to natural language, also into a certain individual system, forming thus an interlinguistic layer located on the boundary of language. J. Lotman stresses that art has a specific power of uniting general and proper name (proper name characterized here by individuality, explosiveness). An artistic work is even doubly of proper name character: both the act of creation and its reception are by nature individual and unrepeated. In the opinion of the authors the treatment of proper name by the Tartu-Moscow school contains fruitful and promising standpoints for the analysis of contemporary culture that, however, have been applied unjustifiably little.

Name crafting has been and still is of importance when devising a literary character with certain traits and features that are meant to outstand a character’s personality. Thus, literary names serve as a handy tool in any piece of writing, since they complete their bearers in a discrete, yet a vivid way when given an appropriate name by the author of a piece of writing. As far as fantasy is concerned, the choice of literary names is freer, but still requires more creativity, given the fact that fantasy names can be translated. When rendered from one language into another, names undergo various structural alterations, semantic modulations, or even syntactic reconstructions. Therefore, the current paper aims at analysing literary names in Terry Pratchett’s fantasy novel “Wyrd Sisters” with focus on their rendering into Bulgarian. Etymology and semantic interpretations are to be sought for as well as morphological and syntactic structure of names in both languages of interest in favour of the hypothesis that literary names carry meaning which, when revealed, gives a more concrete idea of a personage in a novel.

The Processes and Methods of Czech and Polish Translation – the Equivalence of Biblical Realities In this article the Author focuses on issues related to the widely understood process of translation. The subject of the analysis are mainly Czech and Polish biblical verses which use proper names (geographical terminology and executive functions performed). At this point, the Author analyses cultural elements - perceived as figure translation – that is the way they were transferred from the source text to the target text. During the process of translation one may observe the phenomenon associated with both foreignization and domestication (depending on the kind of translation). One is also dealing with a mirror image of the original text, widely understood linguistic adaptation and conversion, direct transfer, definitional development, the so-called metatranslational mistakes consisting in reducing the cultural element or functional equivalence translation. The translated biblical realities narrowed down to, for example, geographical names, means of payment or executive functions performed may be connected with cognitive models, sometimes giving them different terminology, which could be culturally conditioned.

The aim of the article is to introduce a new term in the Latvian language – poetonīms ‘poetonym’ – which would give one name to a set of proper names of fiction, which are used both in other works of art and in the description of cultural and artistic developments, phenomena, images, both in general lexicon and special lexicon, including terminology. In the proper name system of the Latvian language, the place and usefulness of a new term, which names a well-known concept, a set of proper names from fiction, is identified, marked and explained. It covers not only the set of personal names, but is also related to other proper names – toponyms, ethnonyms, zoonyms, patronymics, matronymics, chrononyms, etc. The term poetonīms was not created in the Latvian language, it has parts of speech characteristic of internationalism, and it is introduced by referring to the works of the Ukrainian philologist Valery Kalinkin. Methodologically, the article is based on cognitive onomastics, which combines the theory of onomastics and the theory of cognitive linguistics. Cognitive onomastics analyses the functioning of proper names in the minds of language users, emphasising the existence of the lexical meaning of proper names alongside the pragmatic aspect. The term biblionīms ‘biblionym’ is also applied as the name of a related concept – a proper name that comes from the Bible.

The article describes the main approaches in compiling a projective electronic dictionary of proper names homographic with common nouns. The authors have found that the existing dictionaries of English proper names often give a general idea of onyms, their semantic, grammatical and etymological characteristics rather than a detailed description of the features of their pronunciation. In addition, homonymic groups of words that include a proper name are not mentioned in such dictionaries at all. Currently, there is no single onomasticon with representation of the entire range of phonetic variation and variability of lexical units. Thus, a dictionary of homographic proper names and common nouns, which is currently being compiled, will fill in some gaps in the system of lexicographic works. The research object is proper names that make up graphic homogroups with appellatives (about 200 groups) with a focus on their pronunciation determined by their semantics and grammatical features, as well as all possible phonetic variants of homographic proper names and appellatives registered in modern English pronouncing dictionaries - English Pronouncing Dictionary by D. Jones (EPD, 1-18 editions, 1917-2011) and Longman Pronunciation Dictionary by J. Wells (LPD, 1-3 editions, 19902008). The main aim is to develop the principles of compiling a digital dictionary of homographic proper names and common nouns. Using the resources of Oxford English Dictionary (OED), it is possible to create a more complete (combined) dictionary with indication of semantics and registration of all existing pronunciation variants of the entries. The article describes the initial stage of dictionary compilation and discusses the microstructure of lemmata for the letter “A” (9 graphic homogroups). The comparative lexicographic analysis carried out by the method of continuous sampling in EPD and LPD revealed inconsistency and insufficiency in the registration of both proper names and their meanings, as well as their British, American and some social pronunciation variants. The authors compiled a list of differences, regarding pronunciation, phonetic variants order, and semantics indication; checked the obtained information, using the OED online dictionary; then summarized and complemented the data from all three dictionaries and presented them in the entries (lemmata). The conducted linguistic research and the dictionary project are relevant for studying the problem of the English language variability. In the theoretical aspect it provides new data on the dynamics of the English language development, clarifies the dependence of the word pronunciation on its semantics, and the mechanisms of meaning conveying. In practical terms, the study provides a wide range of English language users with systematized data on the semantic and phonetic features of homographs. Their systematized layout is important for their correct usage in oral speech as wells as for the compilation of manuals, various dictionaries and reference books focused on the correct usage of English homonyms. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

The article is devoted to the study of the onomastic space of Volodymyr Lys's novel «The Century of Jacob». The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that in modern linguistics the potential possibilities of literary and artistic anthroponyms of prose texts by famous authors have not yet been sufficiently studied. Studying the proper names of the heroes of artistic works requires special attention. It was found that the source of character names is traditional Ukrainian anthroponymy. The author uses Polish and Jewish names. It is proved that literary and artistic anthroponyms in the novel are characterized by detail, quantitative and structural richness, and this is manifested in the reproduction of typical national features of Ukrainian anthroponymy. It is proved that literary and artistic anthroponyms in the novel are characterized by detail, quantitative and structural richness, and this is manifested in the reproduction of typical national features of Ukrainian anthroponymy. A large number of diminutive and caressing forms of proper personal names of the main character Yakov and his family have been studied. Diminutive and caressing variants of names serve as a characteristic of the character. The proper names in the novel by V. Lys vary in structure: one-part, two-part, three-part models. The author created a number of expressive nicknames and family names that were given to the whole family. The composition of the toponymic space of the novel «The Century of Jacob» includes macrotoponyms, choronyms, oikonyms, hydronyms, urbanonyms, oronyms. The onomastic periphery of the novel «The Century of Jacob» consists of mythonyms and theonyms, names of religious holidays, names of religious books. Literary and artistic anthroponyms from V. Lys's novel «The Century of Jacob» reproduce the specific Volyn anthroponymic uzus. The writer presents the traditional Polish anthroponymy scrupulously and in great detail. The study of the literary and artistic anthroponyms of the novel «The Century of Jakov» by V. Lys made it possible to come to the conclusion that the anthroponyms characterize the characters by national and social origin, by age characteristics, family relationships, and reproduce the color of the village. Zagoryan, reflect the author's attitude to the characters.

Theoreticians of Literature and Proper Names (Introductory Remarks) The article expands and modifies the contexts in which literary onomastics currently operates. This strictly interdisciplinary field of research, primarily originating from linguistics, has sought out the contexts that triggered non-obvious meanings of names readable in the artistic work from the outset. The references were varied – stylistics, textology, philosophy, structural poetics. All of them significantly enriched onomastic nalyses, leaving some fundamental sense of insufficiency at the same time. That is the reason why we propose the project of the connection between literary onomastics and — now extremely extensive — theoretical thought. The article is not the end of this discussion, but rather an exploratory study and the beginning of scientific research. Consequently, there is no one ordering and chronological concept with a clear conclusion, but the main aim is to show the analysis of the claims relevant for further research. Therefore, several concepts of theoreticians interested in proper names in literature were discussed (far from a common phenomenon in this case). From the research projects analyzed, including among others: U. Eco, J.F. Lyo tard, P. de Man, there emerges a clear conviction of the need to end the search for a referential, texted name. In this place it refers, on the one hand, to itself, establishing its own unreal meaning (image-forming, phonic, intertextual); on the other, it concerns the author’s system of naming (and beyond), which is also an epistemological concept. The starting point of these diagnoses was the thoroughly interpreted self-analysis of artistic works made by Marcel Proust; for further analysis, the thesis of Walter Benn Michaels was also employed, which brings interest in proper names from literature to the domain of artistic experiences. The conducted analysis (designing future literary onomastic research) leads to the final conclusion that the proper name indicates the essence itself, the arche of our existence.

This article attempts to identify ways of translating proper names from Yakut into Russian, in particular anthroponyms, toponyms, based on the translation of the novel by Nikolai Mordinov – Amma Achchygyya “Saski kem” (“Springtime”). The relevance of the research lies in studying the issue of the functioning of a proper name in fiction and the problem of transferring Yakut proper names into Russian. The problem of translating anthroponyms and toponyms with ethnic and cultural specifics is one of the controversial issues in translation studies. The translator faces a difficult task: the translation of a specific word that has no analogue in the target language, taking into account the phonetic, lexical and grammatical features in the literary text. The purpose of the work is to conduct a comparative analysis of real and fictional proper names in the original language and in the target language (Russian) in fiction. Descriptive, comparative, contextual methods of analysis were used during the work. As a result of the study, we propose a classification of the main methods of translating anthroponyms, such as transliteration, transcription, creation of a new word, descriptive and literal translations; dividing toponyms into real and fictional proper names. Having analyzed the translation of the proper names in the Mordinov’s novel “Springtime,” we came to the conclusion that the most common was the translation of the anthroponym using transcription, this method translated 43 of the proper names out of 72. Of the 27 toponyms, 6 are real geographic names. The author uses toponyms in the work to give specificity to the actions of characters in a real geographical location to show the scale of the civil war for the establishment of Soviet power in the central and northern regions of Yakutia.

The presented paper argues the importance of proper names in fantasy and science fiction in general but focuses primarily on the highly successful Star Wars franchise. Worldwide popularity of George Lucas’ creation resulted in the need of translation of Star Wars materials to other languages. Translators were given a task, among others, of creating a glossary of proper names essential to the overall story, including such as Jedi and Sith. This paper is an analysis of translation of these proper names in Star Wars novels released before the year 2000 in German (61), Polish (39) and Russian (18). It presents all variants proposed by the translators before the final one was canonized and comments on their choices and used strategies. The analysis shows that while German and Polish translators usually retained use of previously established versions, Russian translators proved to be less consequent in this matter.