Jezikoslovlje, Vol. 4 No. 1, 2003.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
Names: A metonymic “return ticket” in five languages
Antonio Barcelona
; University of Murcia
Sažetak
In recent years cognitive linguists have shown that many grammatical structures
are motivated by metonymic principles. The goal of this article is to
demonstrate the role of metonymy in the emergence of proper names and in
their frequent grammatical reclassification as common nouns, drawing examples
from English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Proper names are often
metonymic in origin, i.e., they refer to a circumstance or distinctive aspect
closely linked to their referent. The name eventually becomes a rigid designator
for its referent(s). The frequent (temporary or permanent) reclassification of
proper names as common nouns is also often motivated by metonymy. Two
instances of this phenomenon are discussed: names used as paragons (Lakoff
1987) and the phenomenon known as “partitive restrictive modification” of
names (Quirk et al. 1985: 290). In both cases, the rules of grammar holding for
names appear to be violated: they may occur with (in)definite determiners and
plural morphemes. The paragonic use of names arises on the basis of a metonymy
in which the paragon stands for a class. If the class, rather than an individual,
is highlighted, its members can be counted and specific reference can
be made to them. This metonymy operates on the basis of a “deeper” metonymy
applied to the individual taken to be the model for the whole class. In partitive
restrictive modification the whole stands for one or a set of its aspects or
parts leading to the figurative reclassification of the referent as a class of distinct
individuals that can be contrasted in the same sentence.
Ključne riječi
referential metonymy; reclassification of proper names as common nouns; partitive restrictive modification; paragon
Hrčak ID:
31337
URI
Datum izdavanja:
30.9.2003.
Posjeta: 2.520 *