Willy Van Langendonck Poradie kníh

This book offers a comprehensive synthesis of the functions of proper names from semantic, pragmatic, and syntactic perspectives. It examines proper names constructionally, differentiating between prototypical uses and marked instances where names function as common nouns. The concept of 'proprial lemma' is introduced to encapsulate both proprial and appellative uses of categories like place and personal names. The text presents formal arguments to distinguish proper name functions from those of common nouns or pronouns, establishing a unified pragmatic-semantic-syntactic theory. Proper names denote unique entities at the level of langue, enhancing their psychosocial salience within basic level categories, while their meanings do not dictate their denotation. This characterization is reflected in constructions like "the poet Burns" or "Fido the dog." The book also discusses neurolinguistic findings that classify proper names as a distinct category within a broader linguistic context. It identifies various meanings associated with names—categorical, associative, emotive, and grammatical—as presuppositional. Additionally, it proposes a new classification of proper names, ranging from prototypical (personal and place names) to nonprototypical categories (brand and language names), along with a diachronic classification of family names and nicknames. This work addresses a significant gap in the literature, being the first major li