Dr. Bakardžieva vydala novou monografii

Členka naší katedry, dr. Ginka Bakardžieva vydala novou monografi v bulharském jazyce nazvanou Osobenosti na proprialnata nominacija.

 

SUMMARY

PECULIARITIES OF THE PROPRIAL NOMINATION

 

The purpose of the monograph is to outline the features of the proprial nomination, understood both as a process and a result of linguistic activity according to the concept of functional onomasiology. Fundamental in this regard are the theoretical formulations of the Prague Linguistic Circle, in particular V. Mathesius (1929/1982, 1936), which were subsequently developed in different sections of Slavic linguistics, incl. in onomastics.

The focus of the present study is the dynamics between the appellate and proprial spheres as a result of the active processes of proprialisation, transonymisation and appellation. Their versatile nature creates an opportunity for carrying out a synchronous comparative study, which, in this development, is done mainly on linguistic material from Bulgarian and Czech and with regard to three types of onymical objects, distinguished in the proprial taxonomy by the features person, place, and object, namely – anthroponyms, toponyms, and chrematonyms.

The first chapter of the monograph presents the main theoretical assumptions relevant to the outlined issues. The basis is the postulate of functional onomastics (Superanskaja 1973/2009, Blanár 1996, Šrámek 1999), according to which „to be a proper name“ is a function of the proprial unit. Its peculiarity as a language sign is predetermined by the social and communicative need for an object to be individualized, identified and differentiated among a multiplicity of kindred objects (Podolskaja 1998, Knappová 2017). Considered from this position, proper names are a typical example of the effect of the principle of functional separation in a language (Dolník 1998, Ološtiak 2011).

In the complex hierarchical proprial system, the proper name always functions as an element of the corresponding onymic class. An advantage of the general onymic classification adopted in the study (Základní soustava a terminologie slovanské onomastiky 1973, Šrámek 1999, Pleskalová 2017) is that, on the basis of a uniform criterion – the concept of an onymic object – the diversity and the internal subdivision of the proprial sphere is represented by its opposing to the appellate. The advantages of this taxonomy are also manifested in a methodological aspect since it allows not only to distinguish between types of proper names, but also to clarify the specifics of the proprial nominative processes, the transition of proper names from one onymic class to another, the inclusion of the different types of proprii in the communication process, etc.

The accepted theoretical formulations of functional onomastics and their combination with other theoretical and methodological approaches and aspects (onomasiological-semasiological, linguo-cultural, quantitative, descriptive-grammatical, etc.) make it possible to consider fundamental problems, concerning the interrelations between forms, semantics, grammatical categories, and functions of the proprial unit, to comprehend the onymic nominations along the line system norm usus, taking into account the dynamics between the appellate and proprial spheres, and hence, the dynamics in the lexicon as a whole.

In chapter two, attention is paid to the progress and the results from the nominative processes of proprialisation, transonymisation and appellation. In each of the separate sections, a specific segment of the outlined issues is considered, analyzing the particular onomastic material, excerpted from dictionaries, encyclopedias, corpora, specialized literature and fiction, internet sites and forums:

  1. The processes of proprialisation and transonymisation are considered with a view to naming new topographic objects. The analysis of the onomastic material is based on quantitative data extracted from the toponymical corpus of the Bulgarian Antarctic Gazetteer (June 2018).
  2. The causes, mechanisms and lexical-semantic transformations in appellation of anthroponyms and toponyms are clarified from a linguo-cultural aspect as well (Gardev 2009). The description and comparison of the linguistic material taken from Bulgarian and Czech is made on the basis of the thematic groups: person, lifestyle, nature and their subdivisions (Legurska 2008).
  3. The pragmatonyms are considered separately – the relatively least studied, albeit the most dynamically developing chrematonymic group, whose status (appellate or proprial) is debatable. Based on V. Blanár’s (1996) complex criterion and M. Majtan’s (2012) position, we assume that the term pragmatonym should be understood as referring to the brand name, type, model of a product. Due to the wide range of industries, goods and services in the conditions of the industrial society and the free market, a sounding study of the nominative techniques, applied to two product categories – bread and wine –is conducted. Not only the word-forming peculiarities of the nominative units are traced, but also their associative potential, and the factors and trends in naming products are brought forward. Special attention is also paid to the trademarks from the positions of neology.
  4. The changes in semantics and functions of proper names are traced as they integrate into the so-called anomalous multicomponent units – phrasemes and idioms (Filipec, Čermák 1985; Čermák 2010). Subjects of comparative analysis are the units, containing proprii, perceived as nationally inherent to Bulgarian and, respectively, Czech onomastic systems. In view of the processes of appellation and proprialisation, the typology of the phraseologisms with a proper name component developed by V. M. Mokienko (1980) is applied.
  5. Issues related to translatological approaches and ways of transferring proprial units in/into Bulgarian and Czech are outlined, identifying more specific cases that could mislead or impede the translator. From the standpoints of literary onomastics, the onymy in the works of J. Zeyer and L. Fuks is analyzed, highlighting the factors for choosing a translational correspondence and the functions of the proper name as an essential element in the structure of a work of fiction.
  6. The possibilities to apply the onomastic theory for the effective use of the proper names in Bulgarian language teaching – studied as a native or a foreign language – are discussed. The potential of the different types of proprii is highlighted both as a source of extra-linguistic knowledge and a tool for acquiring and developing language and communication skills.

In addition to the conclusions drawn, relevant sections of the monograph outline directions for other future studies that we consider to be promising in terms of development of Bulgarian onomastics and comparative studies. We hope that the conducted research will be of interest to linguists, bookmen, translators, educators, and it will find application in lectures and seminars on onomastics, intercultural communication and translation, as well as on methodology of (foreign) language teaching.

Key words: nomination, proprii, functions, semantics, grammatical categories, proprialisation, appellation, transonymisation, Bulgarian, Czech.