Proper Names Research Articles

Актуализация дискурса имени собственного (на материале лингвистического эксперимента)

The article describes the results of a linguistic experiment aimed at expanding a proper name discourse by the addressee. A consecutive model of the experiment on the proper name inclusion in different stages of discourse generation was built on the assumption that the name actualizes the discourse of the onym. The study enrolled within three stages: an associative experiment, a discursive experiment on modelling dialogical statements and a discursive experiment on provoking the addressee to create a monologue text. Functioning in urban discourse names of commercial objects, or ergonyms, were chosen as the material. The method of the linguistic experiment was the "But-test", the specifics of which can be called "anti-orientation". The informant had to continue a negatively constructed statement, thus "pulling out" deep (background) knowledge about a particular object to the surface. As a result, various types of statements were identified, with the onym playing the role of a trigger mechanism (stimulus) provoking a number of onymic statements-reactions, which lead to expanding the onym discourse. The statements under analysis were divided into dictum (existential, actional and perceptual) and modus (positive, negative and mixed) ones. The dictum-type statements deliver objective information, which refers to the life experience of the speaker, while the modus-type ones are based on the subjective assessment of facts and events. The onym theme-statement directs the unfolding of onym discourse and actualizes the spheres, which are connected with the cognitive activity of the recipients, for instance, the spheres of events, wishes and intentions, comparison, evaluation, attribution, background knowledge. The onym discourse embraces the explicit and implicit meanings, it unites the personal (individual) and collective (social) experience.

Evidential strategies in English: not just lexical

Abstract English is generally considered to lack grammaticalized evidential markers (Aikhenvald 2004. Evidentiality. Oxford: Oxford University Press). However, Mélac (2022. The grammaticalization of evidentiality in English. English Language and Linguistics 26(2). 331–359) argues that certain uses of seem and other English verbs have grammaticalized as evidentials. He also offers several other examples of what he calls “(semi-)grammaticalized” evidentials. In this article I provide evidence that English also has grammaticalized evidential strategies in the choice between the present and past tenses when either is possible in a particular context, as well as in the use of certain determiners with proper names referring to specific individuals. The relevant contexts involve representation of particular points of view relating broadly to information source through tense and determiner choices. This analysis supports the work of researchers such as Figueras-Bates and Kotwica (2020. Introduction: Evidentiality, epistemicity and mitigation in Spanish. Corpus Pragmatics 4. 1–9: 13), among others, that evidentiality is best seen as “a discursive-pragmatic phenomenon.”

Preposition à la in Public Discourse of German Language

The functioning of the French-origin preposition à la in the modern journalistic corpus of the German language is analyzed. The relevance of the study is due to the lack of linguistic description of this preposition in domestic and foreign German studies, despite its productivity in the German language. Combinations including the preposition à la were identified through a comprehensive sampling method in the DWDS corpus. The authors consider the preposition as synonymous with German derived prepositions that denote “similarity, likeness”: nach Art von, im Stile von, in der Art von, nach dem Prinzip von. It is noted that proper names (à la Agatha Christie) and predicative units (à la “Klinsmann liebt Leipzig”) serve as the main carriers of the preposition, with fewer examples involving concrete, abstract, and animate nouns. A paradigm of variable government for this preposition is proposed. The authors conclude that the choice of case government for the preposition is influenced by the structural characteristics of prepositional constructions, namely the presence / absence of an article or accompanying word after the preposition, as well as the gender and number of the governed noun.

Causal Influence of Linguistic Learning on Perceptual and Conceptual Processing: A Brain-Constrained Deep Neural Network Study of Proper Names and Category Terms.

Language influences cognitive and conceptual processing, but the mechanisms through which such causal effects are realized in the human brain remain unknown. Here, we use a brain-constrained deep neural network model of category formation and symbol learning and analyze the emergent model's internal mechanisms at the neural circuit level. In one set of simulations, the network was presented with similar patterns of neural activity indexing instances of objects and actions belonging to the same categories. Biologically realistic Hebbian learning led to the formation of instance-specific neurons distributed across multiple areas of the network, and, in addition, to cell assembly circuits of "shared" neurons responding to all category instances-the network correlates of conceptual categories. In two separate sets of simulations, the network learned the same patterns together with symbols for individual instances ["proper names" (PN)] or symbols related to classes of instances sharing common features ["category terms" (CT)]. Learning CT remarkably increased the number of shared neurons in the network, thereby making category representations more robust while reducing the number of neurons of instance-specific ones. In contrast, proper name learning prevented a substantial reduction of instance-specific neurons and blocked the overgrowth of category general cells. Representational similarity analysis further confirmed that the neural activity patterns of category instances became more similar to each other after category-term learning, relative to both learning with PN and without any symbols. These network-based mechanisms for concepts, PN, and CT explain why and how symbol learning changes object perception and memory, as revealed by experimental studies.

Representing the poetic styles of Hamlet in equivalent Chinese: Perng Ching-Hsi’s literary translation of Shakespeare

ABSTRACT As a professor emeritus of the Department of English, National Taiwan University, Perng Ching-Hsi (1945-) has dedicated his lifetime to literary translation and Shakespeare Studies for more than half a century. His Chinese translations of Shakespeare’s plays are adopted by local Taiwan drama companies for their outstanding lingual performability on the stage for the audience of our times. The paper seeks to explore how Perng manages to render the various Shakespearean poetic styles of Hamlet into equivalent, readable and performable Chinese language. First, the investigation will focus on the way Perng resorts to sophisticated domestication strategy in translating the proper names of the play into corresponding Chinese character names, names that are in most cases highly revealing of the characters’ essential roles as well as dramatic functions in the play. Second, the research will probe into Perng’s special literary expressions in the Chinese language, a language that hallmarks formal and semantic fidelity to Shakespeare’s original rhetorics and poetics. Altogether, I argue that Perng Ching-Hsi’s Chinese translation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet features a dual contextualization, with which he attempts not merely to represent the original poetic styles of the play, but also to incarnate the poetics of Chinese literary convention.

Are there “weak” definites in bare classifier languages?

This paper motivates a new view on the typology of definiteness that integrates (quasi-)names. The primary data is drawn from Cantonese and Bangla, where both bare classifier constructions and bare nominals are recruited for definite expressions. We argue that these bare nominals, while often analyzed as the so-called “weak”/unique definites in other languages, are indeed name-like expressions akin to the quasi-name Mom in English, in contrast with the definite descriptions denoted by bare classifier constructions. We propose that quasi-names, as well as proper names, are derived by a definite determiner that encodes a functional relation between the discourse participants and the referent. We further discuss cases where quasi-names compete with definite descriptions and proper names. The findings not only suggest that names should be brought into the picture, but also shed light on how pragmatic principles interact and determine the choice of referring expressions.

‘Took my money, called me a guy, and made me sleep in jail overnight’: police procedural failings when interacting with trans folx

ABSTRACT Poor interactions between police and trans folx have been well documented in academic literature and non-profit reports. However, most of these focus on the most egregious of offenses, when police insult and assault trans folx as a result of their identity; yet, there is more nuance to these interactions. Trans folx are more likely to interact with police who are not outwardly violent towards them yet can be misidentified and misgendered. While these interactions can be rooted in a difference between the person in front of the officer and the picture, name, and gender marker on identifying documents, police have a duty to use facts (proper name and pronouns) to facilitate respectful interactions. This article seeks to explore this dynamic between officers who fail to identify trans folx properly as a policy and procedural issue, use participant narratives, as well as provide substantive considerations for training and policy recommendations.

"A Rare Vocabulary Dictionary based on school curriculum literature": theoretical issues of creation and methodological prospects for use

The article describes the principles of compiling the Rare Vocabulary Dictionary based on school curriculum literature  (hereinafter referred to as the Dictionary) and its methodological potential for being used as an electronic educational resource in teaching schoolchildren. Moreover, the study examines the specific features of the Dictionary in comparison with similar existing lexicographic publications. The Dictionary creation is relevant as there is a   need to make Russian classical literature texts more understandable for the modern reader. As a result, the resource can promote the culture of reading literary texts and the formation of students’ linguistic personality, as well as enhance learning efficiency. The Dictionary materials were comprised of Russian authors’ works included in the school literature curriculum for years 5 to 11. The paper pays particular attention to the innovative solutions concerning the principles of glossary compilation and dictionary entry creation. The research relied on corpus linguistics methodology and its tools for working with text, which enabled us to select vocabulary based on objective criteria (low frequency in modern Russian) and describe the meaning of a  particular word relying on the entire set of contexts of its use in the literature under study. The focus of lexicographic interpretation was an extensive layer of rare vocabulary of various semantic groups (including proper names and occasionalisms) and different parts of speech. Semantic description demonstrates the history of word meanings in the language in conjunction with contextual interpretation of a  lexical unit. The entries contain encyclopedic information and a   detailed cultural and/or philological commentary. Maximal attention is given to authorial neologisms. Some entries are accompanied by images of the item being described. The Dictionary is implemented as a  module of the new   Russian Classics   cross platform mobile application. The article also describes the operating principles and capabilities of the application.

Some Aspects of the Development of Anthroponyms in the Kyrgyz Language

This study examines proper names, which contain cultural information and reflect national and aesthetic attitudes. This fact is associated with various periods of the social and cultural life of any nation and is characterized by stereotypes about the functioning of society, reflecting events in the political or spiritual life of the country. The authors of this work made an attempt to show the principles of anthropocentrism in the Kyrgyz linguistic picture of the world. The reasons for the “longevity” of anthroponymy and its close connection with ancient national traditions, which are characterized by stability, resilience and the traditional patriarchal consciousness of the Kyrgyz, manifested in respect for their ancestors and their names, are analyzed. It has been proven that anthroponymy provides rich and unique materials for the study of historical patterns of Kyrgyz word formation and Kyrgyz ethnic history. The study of proper names from the point of view of synchronization and diachrony allows us to move from the description of certain patterns to a broad study of anthropological issues.

What the Schwartzes Told Me about Allomorph Priority

In Standard Yiddish, -s and -ən are used as default allomorphs for plural word formation. It is argued here that the choice is left to the phonology, with -s acting as a default within a default. This status is used to explain the exclusive use of -s in the pluralization of proper names, which are claimed to be formed with no sensitivity to the phonological form of the base.

Revisit Prophet Muhammad, Mecca, and the Beqaa Valley: A Combined Method of Holy Quranic Model and Contemporary Research

Nowadays, more than 180 million people believe that the Holy Qur'an was sent by the Almighty Allah through Prophet Muhammad in 610-632 A.D in Mecca and Medina. However, the word Mecca (Q: 48:24) is mentioned only once in the entire Holy Qur'an, which is not related to the birth of the Prophet or any worship. Conventional Islam is mostly based on the hearsay of some Islamic narrators published in the eighth and ninth centuries. To think deeply and conduct research on the verses of the Holy Quran has been mentioned (special urge) directly and indirectly by this Holy Scripture itself many times but it would not be wrong to say that there is no scholarship on the verses of the Quran based on the research method described in the Holy Quran until the present century. Therefore, this paper has been dared to carry out by combining the methods of research followed in the Holy Quran and the academically accepted research methodology. The analysis shows that the results of almost fourteen hundred years of mythological history of conventional Islamic narrators are opposites. First of all, the proper name of the Prophet revealed by the Holy Quran is Ahmed, but Muhammad is an adjective and there are many such names. Secondly, this prophet was not born in Mecca, KSA, nor in 570/571 A.D, but in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, between the third and fourth centuries. Thirdly, the Muslim Hajj (pilgrimage) of Mecca is celebrated entirely according to the Lahwal Hadith (idle tales) (Q: 31:6) in the language of the Holy Quran. Originally the place designated for pilgrimage was in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon. This article will have a double influence on the Muslim world, that is, Islamic scholars will think again deeply and research new ways of scholarship of the Holy Quran, instead of based on the hearsay of idle tales (Lahwal Hadith). On the contrary, those who are stubborn Islamic narrators, since they have already rejected the Holy Quran, will not hesitate to violently attack the researchers and they will not be positively motivated by this paper. This article specifically urges Islamic scholars to conduct in-depth studies on the most important issues of Islam using the Holy Quranic research method.

ИМЕНА СОБСТВЕННЫЕ В ЯЗЫКЕ, ПЕРЕВОДЕ И ПЕРЕВОДЕ КУЛЬТУРЫ

The paper focuses on onomasticon’s problematic status in language and linguistics. In particular, we posit the following research questions: (1) What is place of onomasticon within a language’s lexicon? (2) Is the current lexicographic practice adequate to the language reality and the users’ needs? (3) Does the modern applied linguistics serve as an adequate theoretical framework for the current practice of intercultural communication, translation and foreign-culture-oriented discourse? The review of approaches towards the nature of the proper names and their place in a language’s lexicon prevalent in the fundamental linguistics allows us to conclude that regardless of the research aspect (semantic, grammatical, or functional), fundamental linguistics treats proper names as a specific category of words, opposed to the rest of the vocabulary basing on a series of parameters. A review of approaches to proper names within branches of applied linguistics, aimed at optimizing the communicative function of language, indicates that they inherit the biased attitude towards proper names, that has been established within fundamental linguistics. This bias results in the theory being inadequate to practical language use. Proper names are characterized by richness and dynamic semantics, formal variability, and functional complexity. Onomasticon in general is highly heterogeneous, with each class of proper names having its functional peculiarities. If we hold it that applied linguistics is meant to solve the problems of language users, facilitate and optimize the language functioning, then excluding a large and highly problematic lexical category from its object, applied linguistics defeats its purpose.

The cultural codes of Tunisia in the work of G. A. Makhrova "My Tunisia"

The subject of this article is the linguistic means of creating a linguistic and cultural image of Tunisia in the memoirs of Galina Aleksandrovna Makhrova "My Tunisia". The studied linguistic units are considered as representatives of the linguistic and cultural codes of Tunisia – subject, spatial, biomorphic, temporal, spiritual. The linguistic and cultural code in the article refers to the verbally implemented code of national culture. The functions of such linguistic units as vocabulary with a national cultural component (vocabulary of the thematic groups "Clothes", "Cosmetics", "Food and drinks"), proper names (toponyms and anthroponyms), adjectives with a color component in the space of the Russian literary text are analyzed. The influence of the author's linguistic personality as a representative of another (Russian) linguistic culture and a representative of a certain profession (artist) on the choice of linguistic means of creating an image of the country as both his own and someone else's space is assessed. Research methods: descriptive method, methods of analysis and synthesis, linguistic and cultural analysis of a literary text, the method of continuous sampling of linguistic units with a national cultural component and the method of component analysis to identify culturally specific semes of their lexical meaning. The novelty of this study is related to the research material (memoirs of G.A. Makhrova) - the subject of the study (the linguistic and cultural codes of Tunisia are studied in terms of its perception by a native speaker of a different linguistic culture, who feels himself a part of both Tunisian and Russian linguistic cultures) - description of the linguistic and cultural code of Tunisia, taking into account the peculiarities of the linguistic personality of the author of the text: G.A. Makhrova perceives many linguistic and cultural details in a special way, since he is a professional artist. The analyzed language material allows us to draw the following conclusions: 1.In the Tunisian subject code, the linguistic units of the thematic groups "Clothing", "Cosmetics", "Food and drinks" are of particular importance. 2.The spatial code is mainly represented by toponyms, among which the names of hills, as well as beaches and resort towns predominate. Among proper names, a group of names associated with the history of Tunisia stands out, which creates the image of Tunisia as a country with a rich past, located at the crossroads of civilizations. 3.The phytonymic symbol of Tunisia in the work is jasmine. 4. G.A. Makhrova is a professional artist, and therefore adjectives of color play a significant role in creating the image of Tunisia. 5.The names of the deities are associated with the spiritual code of Tunisia.

Проблемы нейминга с позиции потенциальных имен собственных

The article discusses the main problems that the nominee has in the naming process. The main attitude is that future specialists, creating their name, primarily seek to express their own perception of onim without thinking about the consumer. The study is based on an analysis of hypothetical (potential) proper names (names) obtained as a result of a questionnaire of future lawyers. Using the example of collected names, it was possible to identify and describe the main errors made by nominees when creating the names of their own enterprises. It has been proven that in addition to originality, transparency of the name in terms of field of activity, memorability, the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance is the main cognitive mechanism for creating exotic names. The analysis of the collected onyms made it possible to identify several directions focused on the relationship between the cognitive-mental characteristics of the nominee and the recipient’s reflection. The following processes were attributed to such areas: standard onimization; word-forming creativity; case studies; foreign language creative naming. As a conclusion, we can state that future lawyers, like many nominees of existing organizations, are not only unfamiliar with the naming criteria, but also explicate absolute indifference towards customers and the consumer. The main violations of naming include: lack of communicative targeting; indifference to the consumer; creating names with fuzzy semantics (abbreviations, foreign-language words), as well as the use of precedent onyms that lead to the creation of cognitive dissonance in the chipper; impaired associative capabilities of onym. The result of the study is the conclusion that the study of the basic requirements and criteria for naming is the implementation of an integrated approach in the study of not only the creative capabilities of linguistics, but also the cultural-specific values of Russia.

On Defence of Kripke

One of Kripke’s innovations concerning the philosophy of language is the doctrine that the truth of some metaphysically necessary propositions is only known a posteriori. The typical example he gives is the identity statement consists of two different proper names that refer to the same referent, like “Hesperus = Phosphorus”. By metaphysically necessary he means that the proposition is true in all possible worlds and by a posteriori knowledge he means that its truth is known by experiment or investigation. Some philosophers have given arguments against Kripke’s doctrine and claimed that such propositions can, also, be known a priori. In this paper, I will defend Kripke’s view by showing that his approach to the issue is linguistic not metaphysical, opposite to his critics.

Changes in the grammatical norms of the number in proper and foreign names of shoes

Footwear and its various models are primarily the subject of study in merchandising; however, for linguistics, it is an equally interesting object of research in synchronous and diachronic aspects. In particular, the grammatical characteristics of footwear nouns have not yet been the subject of separate research. The plural form of the noun ʻfootwearʼ is more commonly used in modern linguistic practice, determined by the significance, for human existence, of the semantics of a com- plete pair of footwear. The singular form of the noun name ʻfootwearʼ is less common, as it disrupts the integrity of the concept of a ʻfootwear pairʼ with the semantics of an ʻindi vi- dualizedʼ object. The choice of the number form of footwear nouns as a register is deter- mined by different principles of compiling lexicographical publications and their distinct purposes: explanatory dictionaries prioritize the meaning of an unanalyzed plural, while re- gis ters prioritize the plural form of the noun expressing the semantics of a type of footwear. In orthographic dictionaries, the indication of another numerical form represents the inflec- tional component of the number category of fixed nouns in this semantic group. The grammatical significance of the number in the core of footwear names consists of nouns with a numeral pair, where the codification of the singular form is conditioned by the proportional origin of lexemes and the completion of the grammatical assimilation of foreigh lexemes. Lexicographical sources inconsistently record the singular form of footwear nouns from the core sphere. The change in the grammatical qualification of some footwear names from ʻpluralia tantumʼ to ʻgrammatical significance of singular and pluralʼ attests to the dynamics of morphological norms in contemporary Ukrainian language in general and the process of grammatical adaptation of predominantly foreigh lexemes in particular. However, more often, discrepancies in the printed and ele ctronic dictionaries regarding the grammatical number of nouns from the core sphere of footwear (either plural nouns or nouns with a numeral pair) are caused by subjective factors. The periphery consists of ʻpluralia tantumʼ nouns, most of which are of foreign origin and only make up a part of the lexical composition of the Ukrainian language. The infre- quent functioning of singular forms of nouns from the peripheral sphere in modern speech indicates the incompleteness of their grammatical adaptation. Predominantly foreigh foot- wear names that are not represented in any of the analyzed dictionaries reside outside the delineated spheres, and their use in the plural form in the texts of the 16th version of the Ukrainian National Corpus (HRAK) and in advertising posts on the social network ʻInstagramʼ illustrate the beginning of grammatical adaptation to the morphological norms of the modern Ukrainian language. We see the perspective of research in studying the dynamics of grammatical assimila- tion primarily of those footwear names that are only included in the lexical system of the Ukrainian language and have the grammatical status of ʻpluralia tantumʼ nouns, predomi- nantly used in modern speech either exclusively or mostly in the plural form, with the sin- gular form of these nouns not recorded in any lexicographical publication. The observa- tion of changes in the grammatical number of those footwear names whose singular form is not codified, as it is inconsistently represented in dictionaries, also remains relevant. Keywords: number category, noun, footwear name, pluralia tantum, nu me ral pair, parsed plu- ral, unparsed plural, dynamics, dictionary.

A Political Theology of Interpellation: On Subjection, Individuation, and Becoming Nothing

Abstract: This essay argues for the political-theological significance of Louis Althusser's theory of interpellation by analyzing the import of the "Christian religious ideology" in his argument. It suggests that the subject as a complex dispositif —of (self-)recognition in relation to a transcendent call, which bestows a proper name, a place in the world, and freedom in obedience—anchors both the Christian and the secular domains. In reconstructing the subject's constitutive elements, this essay argues that interpellation does not merely recruit individuals but itself acts as an operation of individuation . Moreover, the interpellative matrix of the subject works as a sorting mechanism that segregates those who cohere as subjects from those who do not. Turning to the fourteenth-century mystical figure Meister Eckhart, the essay theorizes deinterpellation as a delegitimating force against the interplays of transcendence and subjection wherever they are operative. Rather than opening the self to a transcendent call, Eckhartian deinterpellative becoming nothing affirms an anoriginary freedom detached from the entire matrix uniting interpellative transcendence and the subject.

Normative and registration functions of the dictionary of toponyms

The instability and lack of uniformity in the spelling of toponyms in both official and informal communication poses a significant social concern in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The nominative function of geographical names is directly associated to their stable orthography. However, currently, there exist inconsistencies and significant discrepancies in the spelling of toponyms in official documents and reference books, including the state register, that are responsible for registering the correct spellings of geographical objects. This increases errors in all areas where this vocabulary is used. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that standardisation of proper names, including toponyms, is understudied in modern linguistics, and there is an urgent need to develop the principles of strengthening the spelling and pronunciation of names of geographical objects, in particular oikonyms, taking into account regional characteristics. The aim of the work is to consider the problems of standardising the oikonyms of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in various normative and reference sources and suggest ways of their registration in the toponymic dictionary in accordance with language rules. The article analyses the main types of spelling errors made in the existing toponymic sources and suggests strategies for choosing the spelling of geographical names. The complicated cases of fused/separate and hyphenated spelling, the choice of letters e/ ё, the use of lowercase or uppercase letters in compound words, as well as the discrepancies in choosing a grammatical gender of an oikonym are considered. The article describes the ways of standardising all the listed cases as well as spelling options used in the ‘Dictionary of Toponyms of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia): Settlements’ and suggests the options for their standardisation.

Character, Ridiculousness and Shame in the Latin Satire. The Use of Proper Names at Martial

Character, Ridiculousness and Shame in the Latin Satire. The Use of Proper Names at Martial

《山海经》动物专名英译的范畴转换模式分析

《山海经》动物专名英译的范畴转换模式分析