Onomastica

This article addresses the issue of the interpretation of proper names in poetry. The state of research on the functions of proper names in literature is well described, but it is possible to note the lack of a fixed interpretation strategy in poetry which means that, despite little interest in poetry, its researchers often try to propose their own methods of analysis. The authors of the article, who tackle onyms in the poetry of Bruno Jasieński, present their own methodological approach to the matter, based on B. Waldenfels’ concept of the “phenomenology of the alien”.

The study aims to contribute to research on the onomastic-stylistic diversity of Polish prose in the late 20th century. In focus are those onomastic properties of literature that reveal connections between names and language in the process of creating non-mimetic, literary-style fiction. These properties also point to the nature of proper names as they function in a literary work of art — that work being a post-modern intellectual-literary game. The names used in the novel (anthroponyms, toponyms, chrematonyms, also zoonyms) mainly derive from the author’s linguistic creativity: they contribute to the world-view projected through the text. That world-view is “purposefully and totally unusual”, different from the real world.

The paper studies the work by Andrzej Urban entitled “Pamiętnik. Nasz ród, moja rodzina i moje przy niej losy” [A Diary. Our Kind, My Family and My Life with Them], a farmer from the Podkarpacie Region who was born in Lutcza. It was published twice, in 1936 and in 2015, and not only significantly enriched Polish diary literature, but also serves as a source for recently developing research into oral history. The analysis in this article is based on the second edition of the “Diary”, which repeats the text written by the author verbatim, with all its spelling, syntactic and stylistic imperfections. It is a precious piece of material for research for not only historians and sociologists, but also for linguists.

The material basis for the article are numerous official and unofficial anthroponyms occurring in Urban’s narrative. These are authentic onyms that have mostly reference, informative and expressive functions. Their use, especially referring to generally known persons in the social micro- and macro-scale, has a positive effect on the authentication of the described events. They also characterise the author of the text indirectly, showing, for instance, his somewhat deep onymic awareness and historical knowledge.

The main aim of this paper is to propose a terminological approach to the standardization of onomastic terminology. Attention is paid to the primary importance of conceptual systems and to the onomasiological approach typical of terminological work. Terminology is presented as a discipline devoted primarily to the study of concepts. Then the main concepts of terminology are discussed and the relations between a conceptual system and a terminological system are explained. An outline of the issue of conceptual systems of onomastics and of their internal structure is made. Then two important metatheoretical concepts are introduced and defined: 1) the concept of theoretical legitimacy of concepts and 2) the concept of economy of conceptual systems. In the final part of the article, several suggestions concerning the standardization of onomastic terminology are made: 1) terms referring to concepts belonging to separate conceptual series are not to be used interchangeably; 2) terms based on different roots (in the English onomastic terminology: -onym, -onymy, -onomastics, in the Polish terminology: -onim, -onimia, -onomastyka) are to be reserved respectively for the concept of a single (type of) proper name, for the concept of a set of proper names and for the concept of a specific onomastic discipline; 3) concepts used or newly introduced in a text are to be defined clearly in onomastic works, 4) onomasticians aiming for standardization of onomastic terminology should start their work by (re)constructing conceptual system(s) of onomastics and only then assign terms to concepts; 5) one completely unitary conceptual (and terminological) system of onomastics cannot be achieved due to the theoretical pluralism of the discipline; 6) the first goal of any conceptual and terminological standardization of onomastics is to define its range: should the standardization cover the concepts of philological or general onomastics? should it cover only empirical (descriptive) concepts or highly abstract theoretical concepts as well?

Previous onomastic research into proper names in the Internet has typically been based on traditional and classic onomastic methodology. As a result, researchers have focused on the classification of names, the analysis of their structure, etymology, or function. In this paper, this traditional approach is compared with the new possibilities afforded by medioonomastics, a fast growing method which is combining the onomastic tradition and mediolinguistics. This paper provides only an outline and is only preliminary, although some analysis is also presented. It reviews onomastic techniques and the medioonomastic analysis of the names that function within the various types of texts in the Internet. Some examples are taken from Internet memes, as well as from Facebook profiles. One of these names is the Polish given name, Janusz, which is a brilliant example of the specific new functions, connotations and general semantic values generated by the Internet. This name has gained a new meaning: ‘a typical Polish man’, ‘unfashionable man’, ‘a redneck’. Another name is the title of the Facebook profile Chujowa Pani Domu, based on the TV-series Perfekcyjna Pani Domu, as a kind of semantic and pragmatic re-construction of the latter name. In the conclusion, the necessity of considering not only the type of object-named, but also the medium and especially the Internet, is emphasized. Such studies may offer a correct procedure for analysis which include the new medioonomastic methodology.

The author of this article carries out an analysis of the evolution of the term ‘commemorative names’ in the aspect of municipal onomastics. She primarily researches how the scope of this term has changed and which name groups have been included with that term. Moreover, she researches how the commemorative names themselves have changed. She concludes that the names of symbolic motivation that refer to cultural competencies of their users do not form a homogenous group, but they differ in genetic and motivational terms. Thus, four such groups may be identified: 1. commemorative names bearing real meaning, 2. conventional discretionary names (honorifying), 3. commemorative-discretionary names referring to local heroes, places and events, 4. names resulting from the broadly understood ‘cultural memory’, commemorating ideas, values, literary and movie characters, titles, Slavonic mythology and Polish legends, faith in its various dimensions, literary trends, artistic styles, art, etc. All four groups have their dual functions in common: deictic and cultural.

The article analyzes the names given today to the children of inhabitants of Przemyśl — followers of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, at the same time showing their differences and similarities within both religions. In the same urban, communication and cultural community, Catholic and Orthodox live side by side (often for many generations). Despite everything, they to some extent retain their own identity (culture, traditions and customs), which also manifests itself in the names given to children. For a more complete picture of the situation, the names of the two older generations (parents and grandparents) were also presented.

The article discusses the monks’ names mentioned in the village register books of Kasina Wielka in the 17th and 18th century. The majority of them are the names of the priors of the Dominican monastery in Krakow and monks performing particular duties, for example stewards. There are 65 names of these kinds from a total of 89 male monastic names. All of them “had” a patron saint (except for Alan and Przecław). Only a few of them were also given to peasants. The names come from various languages and are interesting to study from the onomastic point of view.

In 2018, the 90th anniversary of Professor Vasiliy Danilovich Bondaletov`s birth will be celebrated. The aim of the article is to remind readers of the quantitative and qualitative method of statistical analysis in anthroponomastic research developed by Professor Bondaletov, as well as to show its advantages over simplified descriptions of the frequency of personal names. In this article, the detailed analysis of male Christian names found in customs books from Northern Russia (1633–1636 and 1678–1680) was conducted. The comparison of statistical data, according to the suggestion of Professor V. D. Bondaletov, enabled us to observe subtle differences between the abovementioned resources, namely to estimate the level of their (dis)similarity and describe the dynamics of the evolution of the resources of male Christian names throughout the 17th century, as well as changes in the popularity of various names.

This investigation focuses on the modern Ukrainian surnames derived from a person’s appearance. The author analyzed different approaches to the systematization of such surnames that were applied in onomastic research, finding some differences in these classifications. For example, there is some controversy as to the scope (content) of this group. For example, some investigators do not include surnames derived from proper names of persons on the basis of their strength, health, clothing and so on as a part of this group surnames. On the other hand, some other researchers believe that it is necessary. Doubts have also been expressed as to the appropriacy of including some surnames which are derived from the names that described the gait of the person or their gender. Developing our approach to the classification of surnames derived from the proper names of persons on the basis of appearance, the author used the achievements of gabitology that uses characteristics of human appearance for the identification of the person. Fixed surnames were distributed according to the semantics of lexemes in the following subgroups: general physical (they can characterize the appearance of the person in general), anatomical (they can characterize body type, organs of the human body) and functional (characteristics of human appearance that are seen in motion). Surnames were also differentiated within each subgroup. For example, the author identified the surnames derived from the proper names whose meaning are connected with the features of human growth, body type (skinny build, slim build, chunky, fat), unusual shape, size, and color of organs of the human body. The important thing to note is that the namegivers focused on those characteristics of human appearance that were original, relatively constant, and helped to identify a person.

Many performing artists in the interwar period in Poland assumed stage names, which were considered a tool of promoting one’s image, but also served other functions, such as the concealment of identity. Over two hundred such pseudonyms — together with the respective artists’ birth names — have been collected and analysed in the article. Approximately in the case of half of them was the original given name retained, and only the surname underwent a change. The comparison of the assumed names with the real ones shows that many names were shortened, and/or made to sound foreign or exotic. Minority surnames — Jewish/German, Russian, Ukrainian — were frequently made to sound Polish, while the Polish ones were foreignised (to make them look English, Italian, French) or vaguely exoticised.

The article contains an analysis of the word formation of proper names which are used in the texts of advertisements. The analyzed examples are drawn from the texts of advertisements found on television, radio, press, the Internet etc. which were produced at the end of 20th century and the beginning of 21st century. The article analyses two categories of these proper names: word formations which are used in contemporary Polish language (f.e. Robuś, Marysia, Stefcia, Kasia, Jasio, Krzyś, Rozalka, Basia, Bartuś, Sabinka, Julka, Karinka, Tomek, Adaś, Goździkowa) and neologisms f.e. Zapobiegalska, Zarażalski, Kichalska, Krzywonogi, Przyklapiusz, Musztarderowie, TurboDymoMan, SuperEs, Zozolka, Łazienkowo). The analysis conducted in the article proves that both types of proper names, which are word formation derivatives, appear relatively often in the texts of advertisements. This is the case since they are easy to form (advertisements take the majority of them from usage) and can perform many functions, which advertisements willingly use for their own needs. Proper names that are word formation derivatives and just proper names serve mainly as an assessment as they connote the values appreciated both culturally and socially and the values attributed to proper names are carried on the advertised products. Proper names which are derivatives create a desired picture of advertised products more expressively than other proper names, thanks to their clear word formation structure. Moreover, they expose their commercial assets so they fully use and at the same time cocreate the system of values of consumption culture.

The article is dedicated to the analysis of ideologically meaningful proper names, mainly oikonyms, and also to the indication and description of the three main tendencies noticed in Ukrainian oikonyms from the end of 1989 until 2016, during the social and political transformations in Ukraine and the decommunization processes connected with it. Using examples, the authors illustrate the phenomenon of korenizatsiya (nativisation), namely the recovery of historical names from before sovietisation, allusiveness, ensuring a neutral nature for names by referring to objects outside the area of politics and ideology, as well as glorification, the honoring and memorializing of events, heroes, and symbols connected with the past and modern history of Ukraine.

The paper discusses the method of the substitution by homophones that is extensively used in many fields in China, among others onomastics, such as toponymy or anthroponymy. The Chinese language has always contained a considerable number of homophones, i.e. words pronounced alike but spelt/written differently and having different meanings. The situation resulted from two main factors: the nature of the Chinese language and the sound changes to spoken Chinese language, i.e. a strong tendency to sound simplification. The method of the substitution by homophones is mainly aimed at reshaping already existing names by replacing their previous form, for some reasons unwanted. However, it is also broadly applied to create new names by using words which are homophonic with the words denoting the idea they symbolize. The paper presents some various reasons and aims of the use of the method in the domain of Chinese geographical names, and the more detailed analysis of its use in the changing of old street (hutong) names after 1949 in Beijing. The research material consists of 1,159 hutong names, and the names changed by the use of the method accounts for 23.5% of the total.

The paper presents the long-term project “Online Dictionary of Surnames in Germany” (“Digitales Familiennamenwörterbuch, DFD”), its conception, main objectives, and its technical realisation. By means of representative examples, the paper depicts how the project works along the categories of conflation, validation, specification or revision of etymologies so far proposed in standard references and the development of new ones. Exploiting new digital resources — especially with the help of new findings in surname geography, the surname stock can be captured and analysed all-encompassing and systematically.

Surnames of foreign origin like English, French, Italian, Slavic, Baltic or Turkish are also considered. The importance of Slavic roots in German surnames is exemplified by the name Novak (‛new settler’) which ranks position 156 in the total frequency of German surnames. The article’s outlook discusses the importance and possibilities for future cooperation with surname projects in other countries like Poland, with a long-term perspective for a European network of surname dictionaries.

The authors discuss the main premises of the project “The most popular surnames in Poland — past and present. E-dictionary” which has been in development since July 2014 in IJP PAN in Krakow. They also present its basic aims and functions, progress already made and they compare it with other dictionaries of surnames. The authors describe several aspects of the dictionary related to IT and computers but also those concerned with onomastics and lexicography. Additionally, they pay particular attention to the information contained in specific parts of each entry.