Books by Katalin Reszegi
Kognitív szemléletű névtudományi vizsgálatok , 2022
This book presents the several aspects of name giving and name usage within
a cognitive framewor... more This book presents the several aspects of name giving and name usage within
a cognitive framework, using the most influential theories of cognitive linguistics,
primarily RONALD LANGACKER’s cognitive grammar and GEORGE LAKOFF’s
conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonymy theories. In addition, JOAN
BYBEE’s network model and SÁNDOR N. SZILÁGYI’s theory of the linguistic
world model will appear in certain sections.
The study consists of three larger units. The first part introduces how names
and different proper name types exist in the mental system, while also illustrating
new solutions provided by the cognitive perspective in connection with old
questions of name theory. There are also attempts to incorporate psycholinguistic
and neurolinguistic experimental results into the cognitive description of proper
names. Using the cognitive approach, aspects of name usage are also analyzed
that have not appeared in onomastic research before. To illustrate this innovation,
section 2 introduces two new research areas and through specific studies presents
some of the new opportunities they offer. The third large unit reinterprets
characteristic types of name creation within the selected cognitive framework.
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Magyar Nyelvjárások 57, 2019
In my paper I discuss the topic of name formation with the help of name for-mants, using the appr... more In my paper I discuss the topic of name formation with the help of name for-mants, using the approach of cognitive linguistics. Morphological name formation and name formation with lexical toponymic formants (syntagmatic name for-mation) cannot be clearly separated. We can look at the two types of name-giving methods as two prototypically organizing and partly overlapping sub-networks in the network model of cognitive linguistics, which represents the name structural schemes from the specific names. At the same time, the organization of the com-plete network is characterized by additional relations recognized by our mental system between the names and the toponymicon as well as the common noun lexi-con, and they may in turn have an effect on the network representing the knowledge on name formants. I illustrate the opportunities for interpreting the two name-giving methods in a cognitive framework with the old and contemporary Hungarian toponymic corpus.
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Névtani Értesítő 41, 2019
In this paper, the author attempts to provide a general summary of the relationship between the c... more In this paper, the author attempts to provide a general summary of the relationship between the cognitive map and spatial concepts on the one hand, and between the onomasticon related to the cognitive map and discourses about space on the other hand, focusing on universal as well as culturally specific features. To this end, the author summarizes and interprets all the relevant results of national and international research from the areas of geography, socio-geography, anthropology, psychology, socio-onomastics and cognitive linguistics. Space is made up of different places andtheir relationships, which are represented on the cognitive map. At the same time, the development of the cognitive map is governed by many factors. In addition to one’s own experiences of the
geographical environment. A significant proportion of geographic knowledge also results from different sources or from a combination of sources. In this context, the linguistic-cultural background
also influences the individual’s geographical concepts and spatial cognition. At the same time, there are general features, organizing principles in spatial cognition resulting from the mechanisms of
cognition, which influence the development of the mental map and name-giving practices as well. A good example is that one can only define a place in relation to another place, and this relation is often reflected in place names. Closely connected to this, is the view of centre-periphery relations in space, which is often manifested in discourse about places and sometimes in the meanings of place names, as well. The connotative meaning attached to words can also be mentioned as a common feature, and this is present both in the organization of discourse about space and in place names. These interrelated principles may apply in different ways to different areas, communities and cultures.
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In Hungary, onomastic research involves mostly universities and colleges. Debrecen is one of the ... more In Hungary, onomastic research involves mostly universities and colleges. Debrecen is one of the oldest university towns in Hungary, and this paper gives an overview of the history of onomastic research in Debrecen. Historical linguistic and onomastic research have been elements of the main research profile of the Department of Hungarian Linguistics at the University of Debrecen for a long time now. Besides, the research work is covering an ever broader spectrum of onomastics, conventional topics are being supplemented by the addition of emerging new issues and approaches nowadays.
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Writing my book had a double aim: on the one hand, I attempted to emphasise the significance of n... more Writing my book had a double aim: on the one hand, I attempted to emphasise the significance of name analysis according to toponym types. In connection to this, I tried to show what method I find possible to get comprehensive knowledge of different name types. On the other hand, my objective was to put all the above into practice and gain as detailed knowledge as possible of oronyms from the Early Old Hungarian period. In accordance with this, besides introducing orographic name giving and name usage, I also attempted to extensively present questions which have emerged so far on the basis of a rich name inventory. Furthermore, my dissertation is an attempt to illustrate the benefits of oronym analysis for onomastics and the associated disciplines.
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Papers by Katalin Reszegi
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ONOMÁSTICA DESDE AMÉRICA LATINA, 2023
This theoretical paper gives an overview about how proper names and different name types exist in... more This theoretical paper gives an overview about how proper names and different name types exist in the mental system, also showing new solutions provided by the cognitive perspective in connection with old questions of name theory. Cognitive onomastics is a relatively new approach to the study of proper names based on a cognitive approach to language. In this framework, names as linguistic elements are parts of the cognitive system, thus mental representation and usage of proper names can be described by general cognitive processes. The overview of topics and directions of cognitive onomastic research shows that studying names and naming in a cognitive framework has great potential. Providing further evidence of the advantages of the cognitive approach, the paper discusses two controversial issues of name theory. First, the meaning of proper names is addressed from a cognitive perspective, pointing out the complex meaning matrix of this word class; then the categorization of proper names is discussed, i.e., how the networks and subnetworks of names emerge within the mental lexicon.
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Onomastica 64 , 2020
This paper addresses an interesting issue in name theory, specifically the relationship between t... more This paper addresses an interesting issue in name theory, specifically the relationship between top-onyms and spatial representations, as well as the cultural differences manifesting themselves in con-nection with these. Studies have shown that the name model (a general knowledge of names) cre-ated based on the mental representation of names is partly language and culture dependent. Thus, the knowledge of the speaker on how reliably the toponyms correlate with the actual features of the landscape or whether they should only be considered as labels identifying an area is culturally determined. This, in turn, influences the extent to which name-users may rely on them in structur-ing space and in creating a cognitive map.
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Hungarian onomastic research has always been open to other areas of linguistics, as well as to wa... more Hungarian onomastic research has always been open to other areas of linguistics, as well as to ways of thinking and results of related study fields. The psychological viewpoint already appeared in studies in the 1940s. However, as a general theoretical framework, the cognitive approach appeared in Hungarian onomastics only as late as the early 21st century. Nevertheless, over this short period of time it has been applied successfully in numerous fields of onomastic research. In my paper I review how the cognitive approach is used in Hungarian onomastic research and consider the results of applying the cognitive view: with connection the problem of grammatical categorisation of word-classes and meaning; the typology of toponyms; the metonymical name-giving and metonymical name usage; the relation between the mental map and toponyms; the functionalist typology of toponyms.
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Interest in the study of proper names is a relatively late phenomenon in the felds of psycholingu... more Interest in the study of proper names is a relatively late phenomenon in the felds of psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics. By now, however, a signifcant number of studies have been conducted related to this word group indicating that the category of proper names is also not unifed in itself, even though it exhibits certain special features compared to common nouns. Te neural aspects and psycholinguistic attributes of larger name types – personal names, place names, and brand names – reveal diferences. Brand names seem to have a special neurolinguistic and psycholinguistic status: they appear to be located in the mental
space between common nouns and personal names, in the mental lexicon. Moreover, emotional and graphic information are also central in the mental representation of the elements of this name category. It was also found, however, that the two main types of brand names – coined brand names and common word brand names – are represented and processed diferently in the mind. In my paper, after providing an overview of the key lessons learned from these experimental results,
I present a semantic theory, the functionalcognitive model of meaning that enables us to interpret these diferences. I also outline how we may describe the meaning of the diferent types of proper names in this model. Taking into account the complex mental representation of names, we may also interpret the functioning of names (especially but not exclusively brand names) as economic devices, while also noting that diferent name types show diferences in this respect.
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Naming, Identity and Tourism, 2020
Proper names are primarily linguistic elements with an identifying role.
Such a function is based... more Proper names are primarily linguistic elements with an identifying role.
Such a function is based on the linguistic and conceptual knowledge of the name and the object denoted by it. Beyond their identifying role, however, the semantic structure and function of proper names have other important elements also. Of these, my paper addresses the cultural and identitydenoting functions of names in more detail. The cultural meaning, cultural function derives from the fact that the individuals become familiar with names as part of culture, during their social-linguistic socialization. As a result of this, name competence emerges that includes the most fundamental cultural, pragmatic, semantic, and morphological knowledge on names. Thus in relation to names, rich and diverse knowledge is accumulated about the world, society, other people, and ourselves alike. Language and culture also play a fundamental role in the definition of human (individual and collective) identity. Names that exhibit linguistic and cultural constraints also play an important role in this identity formation. Thus the identitydenoting and identity-building roles of proper names are closely associated with the cultural meaning of names.
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Névtani Értesítő 39: 13-32., 2017
The paper demonstrates that onomastics may significantly benefit from the results of psychoand ne... more The paper demonstrates that onomastics may significantly benefit from the results of psychoand neurolinguistics, while the limits on the use of these advances are also discussed. In psycholinguistics, the category of proper names has appeared only rarely for many decades; the word
group has only been researched since the 1980s. However, these relevant analyses are still considered relatively peripheral. In the 2000s, interests in the representation of proper names in the nervous system were expressed by neuroscience, especially in neurolinguistics, akin to psycholinguistics. Since then researchers have applied rapidly developing electrophysiological and imaging
techniques, and have been eager to explore the relevant neural relations. The author highlights four fields in which the results of these research projects may help name studies: 1. the meaning of proper names, 2. the categorisation of proper names into a word class, 3. the unit status of proper names, 4. the acquisition of proper names.
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Onomastica Uralica 11, 2018
It is well-known that place-names reflect the circumstances existing in the time of name-giving, ... more It is well-known that place-names reflect the circumstances existing in the time of name-giving, and old place-names can convey information about bygone ages, which makes them an important part of both historical linguistic and onomastic studies. However, name-giving customs can be different in different types of places denoted by these names, which can result in linguistic differences between them. It is also known that place-names can be categorised in different ways, e.g. groups of microtoponyms and macrotoponyms can be distinguished, toponyms related to location types can be studied separately, etc. This study evaluates the differences between place-names focusing on the two main categories of toponyms: names of natural places (mountains, rivers, forest, etc.) and names of artificial places (settlements, castles, etc.).
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Onomastica Uralica 10, 2018
To gain complete insight into name usage and name-giving, it is necessary to study it from three ... more To gain complete insight into name usage and name-giving, it is necessary to study it from three different perspectives: 1. First of all, researchers need to examine the mental process, that is, what happens in one’s mind while usingproper names in conversations, what features the process of the acquisition, production, and comprehension of proper names has in comparison with common nouns. 2. Besides the mental level, it is also important to study the name stock as a system used for describing the linguistic characteristics of different name types and explore the interrelations within the name stock and between the names and other linguistic elements. 3. It is also necessary to consider names as parts of language functioning in conversation, in other words
to study the circumstances of name usage and its pragmatical aspects: when one uses proper names instead of descriptions, what kind of names are preferred in different situations, etc. By referring to the psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic researches on mental aspects of names, this study endeavors to demonstrate why it is important for onomastics to take this aspect and knowledge into consideration.
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RION – Rivista Italiana di Onomastica 24, 2018
There is no consensus in
linguistics on how to interpret the proper-name-to-appellative transform... more There is no consensus in
linguistics on how to interpret the proper-name-to-appellative transformation from a
linguistic (semantic, grammatical) aspect. Whether the process involves a change in
meaning or the construction of a new meaning is controversial. A closely related issue is also
debated, namely whether or not the proper name word class changes during the process, as
well as which changes must be regarded as examples of the process under discussion. From a
broader perspective, these questions, are connected with the definition of proper names and,
in more general terms, with meaning and word class classification problems. After
reviewing the current literature on proper-name-to-appellative transformation, this paper
aims to describe this phenomenon in the framework of cognitive linguistics, adopting a
connectionist holistic approach, trying to shed a new light on the above mentioned issues.
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Magyar Nyelv 114, 2018
Space, spatial orientation, and mental maps are closely related to language in several respects: ... more Space, spatial orientation, and mental maps are closely related to language in several respects: first, in the expression of spatial relationships; second, in referring to spatial categories themselves; third, in linguistic aspects of the frame of reference of orientation; and fourth, in place names that identify and refer to individual concrete places and spatial objects. Lessons drawn from the investigation of spatial language are currently also capitalised on by researchers in the problem area oflanguage and mind. Models based on the mental representations of place names are partly languageand culture dependent. Speakers’ knowledge about how reliably place names can be correlated withactual properties of the landscape or whether they should simply be taken to identify its individual components also affects cognition: it tells us how much we rely on them in structuring space anddeveloping a mental map.
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My paper gives an overview of how multilingual toponym pairs may be represented in the mind and m... more My paper gives an overview of how multilingual toponym pairs may be represented in the mind and mental lexicon of speakers familiar with both name forms. The emergence and continuous development of name usage is examined from three different aspects: firstly, I look at the names from the aspect of the name users and the community, secondly, from the aspect of the places, i.e. that of the mental map, and thirdly, from the aspect of the toponymic system. The connectionist holistic model will be applied with respect to internal mental processes. Apart from providing an overview of the existing knowledge and its extension from a cognitive perspective, I intend to draw attention to the need for research in this area. These results may not only help answer the questions raised here, but they might bring us closer to the understanding of the essence and functioning of proper names as well.
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The paper reviews and complements existing knowledge about the acquisition of proper names. On th... more The paper reviews and complements existing knowledge about the acquisition of proper names. On the basis of research into children's language, it seems obvious today that the process of acquisition of proper names (anthroponyms) is simultaneous to the acquisition of common nouns. However, the underlying mechanisms explaining the separation of the two groups of nouns are controversial. Compared to the case of anthroponyms, learning toponyms is a more complicated and a longer-lasting process. In connection with this topic, researchers dealing with spatial cognition are focusing on spatial orientation, on the localisation of spatial information in the brain and on spatial language. They study neither the way children get to know the wider geographical environment, nor the way they acquire toponyms. The author seeks to obtain more information about the beginning of this process based on the study of two small children's toponymic knowledge in connection with their acquisition of geographical common nouns and the development of spatial orientation. This makes it possible to draw preliminary conclusions about the specificity of the cognitive mechanisms ensuring the knowledge of geographical environment. The author suggests that the meaning of early toponyms is typically under-generalised — children tend to interpret the names of cities/towns or streets by restricting them to a certain house. It has also been made evident that, at the age of 2–4 years, the relationship between places and persons is very tight (for instance, children connect the names of places to specific persons). The semantic contingencies can be explained by the fact that, in the case of children, the place concepts themselves (what is a city/town?, what is a street?, etc.) have not been fully constructed yet, and that the elements of space are still not distinct entities.
Вопросы ономастики. 2016. Т. 13. № 2. С. 7–22
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The majority of onomastic research centres around the proper names of adults. Works on
general na... more The majority of onomastic research centres around the proper names of adults. Works on
general name theory contain a few hypotheses in connection with the acquisition of the first proper
names. The first section of the paper overviews the results achieved by the research of children’s
language acquisition with respect to acquiring personal names. The acquisition of other name
types, such as place names is a much longer process, which has not been examined in depth by either psychology or onomastics to date. Psychological research focuses on spatial orientation, the
cerebral localization of space-related information, the linguistic representation of spatial relations and
the childhood development of these capacities. Factors, such as how wider geographical surroundings
are divided, or how place names are acquired by children are not examined thoroughly. To gain
insight into the initial phases of these processes, the author follows their development in two
infants’ knowledge of place names. The early meanings of place names are typically not fully
generalized: the name of a town or a street is understood and used by the infants to refer to a
house. At this age, infants connect place names to specific persons. In infants, the concept of places
(what is a town?, what is a street?) is not completely formed, this leads to semantic discrepancies. For
them, spatial elements are not the individual entities of their surroundings. Besides the peculiarities
of the earliest appearance of place names, the paper also observes the early use of geographical
common nouns and the development of spatial orientation.
A névtani kutatásokban a szakemberek szinte kizárólag a felnőttek által birtokolt tulajdonnévi anyaggal foglalkoznak. A tulajdonnévi kategória első elemeinek elsajátítása kapcsán csupán né-hány feltételezést fogalmaztak meg az általánosabb névelméleti munkákban. A gyermeknyelvi kutatások egy része ezt a problémakört is igyekszik feltárni, írásom első részében az idevágó, jórészt személyneveket érintő eredményeket tekintem át. A személynevekhez képest más tulajdon-névfajták, például a helynevek megtanulása jóval hosszabban tartó folyamat, vizsgálatával azon-ban egyik tudományterület sem foglalkozik. A pszichológusok a téri tájékozódásra, a téri informá-ciók leképeződésére, ennek agyi lokalizációjára, a téri viszonyok nyelvi megfelelőire, illetve a közöttük lévő kapcsolatra és részben ezek gyermekkori fejlődésére fókuszálnak. Vizsgálataikban nem kerül elő, hogy a tágabb földrajzi környezetet hogyan tagolja a gyermek, illetve hogy a hely-neveket miként sajátítja el. A folyamat kezdeti szakaszának megismeréséhez két kisgyerek hely-névismeretének fejlődését ismertetem. A vizsgálatból kiderül, hogy a korai helynévi jelentésekre jellemző az aluláltalánosítás: egy-egy város- vagy utcanevet a gyerekek általában egy-egy házra korlátozva értelmeznek és használnak. Emellett kitűnik az is, hogy ebben az életkorban nagyon szoros a helyek és a személyek kapcsolata, jellemző például, hogy a gyerekek a helyneveket konk-rét emberekhez kötik. A szemantikai esetlegességek részben azzal magyarázhatók, hogy a gyere-kek esetében maguk a helyfogalmak (mi egy város?, mi egy utca?, stb.) sem épültek még ki. Szá-molnunk kell emellett azzal is, hogy a tér elemei eleve nem individuálisan elkülönülő egyedek. A vizsgálat során a korai helynevek használata mellett tekintettel voltam a földrajzi köznevek, illetve a téri tájékozódás alakulására is.
Névtani Értesítő 37. 2015: 83–97.
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Hungarian onomastic research has always been open to other areas of linguistics, as well as to wa... more Hungarian onomastic research has always been open to other areas of linguistics, as well as to ways of thinking and results of related study fields. The psychological viewpoint already appeared in studies in the 1940s. However, as a general theoretical framework, the cognitive approach appeared in Hungarian onomastics only as late as the early 21st century. Nevertheless, over this short period of time it has been applied successfully in numerous fields of onomastic research. In my paper I review how the cognitive approach is used in Hungarian onomastic research and consider the results of applying the cognitive view: with connection the problem of grammatical categorisation of word-classes and meaning; the typology of toponyms; the metonymical name-giving and metonymical name usage; the relation between the mental map and toponyms; the functionalist typology of toponyms.
La recherche onomastique hongroise a toujours été ouverte aux autres domaines de la linguistique, de même qu’aux méthodologies et résultats des champs d’études connexes. Le point de vue psychologique est déjà apparu dans nos études dans les années 1940. Toutefois, en tant que cadre théorique général, l’approche cognitive n’est pas apparue dans l’onomastique hongroise avant le début des années 2000. Nonobstant, pendant ce court laps de temps, elle a été appliquée avec succès dans de nombreux champs de la recherche onomastique. Dans cet article, j’étudie comment l’approche cognitive est employée dans la recherche onomastique hongroise et ses résultats : en relation avec la question de la catégorisation grammaticale des classes de mots et du sémantisme ; la typologie des toponymes ; la nomination métonymique et l’emploi des noms métonymiques ; la relation entre carte mentale et toponymes ; la typologie fonctionnaliste des toponymes.
Die ungarische Namenforschung ist stets offen für andere Bereiche der Sprachwissenschaft gewesen, wie auch für die Denkweisen und Ergebnisse benachbarter Disziplinen. Der psychologische Standpunkt war bereits in Studien der 1940er Jahre aufgetaucht; doch als allgemeines theoretisches Gerüst erschien der kognitive Ansatz als erst zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts. Trotzdem ist er seither in dieser kurzen Zeit auf zahlreichen Gebieten der Onomastik erfolgreich angewandt worden. In meinem Beitrag gebe ich einen Überblick über die Arten der Verwendung dieses kognitiven Ansatzes in der ungarischen Namenforschung und untersuche die Ergebnisse der kognitiven Sichtweise: in Zusammenhang mit der Frage der Kategorisierung von Wortklassen und ihrer Semantik sowie der Typologie der Ortsnamen; in Bezug auf die metonymische Namengebung und den metonymischen Namengebrauch; auf das Verhältnis zwischen kognitiver Landkarte und Ortsnamen; sowie schließlich auf die funktionalistische Typologie der Toponyme.
Onoma 47. (2012): 367–379.
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Books by Katalin Reszegi
a cognitive framework, using the most influential theories of cognitive linguistics,
primarily RONALD LANGACKER’s cognitive grammar and GEORGE LAKOFF’s
conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonymy theories. In addition, JOAN
BYBEE’s network model and SÁNDOR N. SZILÁGYI’s theory of the linguistic
world model will appear in certain sections.
The study consists of three larger units. The first part introduces how names
and different proper name types exist in the mental system, while also illustrating
new solutions provided by the cognitive perspective in connection with old
questions of name theory. There are also attempts to incorporate psycholinguistic
and neurolinguistic experimental results into the cognitive description of proper
names. Using the cognitive approach, aspects of name usage are also analyzed
that have not appeared in onomastic research before. To illustrate this innovation,
section 2 introduces two new research areas and through specific studies presents
some of the new opportunities they offer. The third large unit reinterprets
characteristic types of name creation within the selected cognitive framework.
geographical environment. A significant proportion of geographic knowledge also results from different sources or from a combination of sources. In this context, the linguistic-cultural background
also influences the individual’s geographical concepts and spatial cognition. At the same time, there are general features, organizing principles in spatial cognition resulting from the mechanisms of
cognition, which influence the development of the mental map and name-giving practices as well. A good example is that one can only define a place in relation to another place, and this relation is often reflected in place names. Closely connected to this, is the view of centre-periphery relations in space, which is often manifested in discourse about places and sometimes in the meanings of place names, as well. The connotative meaning attached to words can also be mentioned as a common feature, and this is present both in the organization of discourse about space and in place names. These interrelated principles may apply in different ways to different areas, communities and cultures.
Papers by Katalin Reszegi
space between common nouns and personal names, in the mental lexicon. Moreover, emotional and graphic information are also central in the mental representation of the elements of this name category. It was also found, however, that the two main types of brand names – coined brand names and common word brand names – are represented and processed diferently in the mind. In my paper, after providing an overview of the key lessons learned from these experimental results,
I present a semantic theory, the functionalcognitive model of meaning that enables us to interpret these diferences. I also outline how we may describe the meaning of the diferent types of proper names in this model. Taking into account the complex mental representation of names, we may also interpret the functioning of names (especially but not exclusively brand names) as economic devices, while also noting that diferent name types show diferences in this respect.
Such a function is based on the linguistic and conceptual knowledge of the name and the object denoted by it. Beyond their identifying role, however, the semantic structure and function of proper names have other important elements also. Of these, my paper addresses the cultural and identitydenoting functions of names in more detail. The cultural meaning, cultural function derives from the fact that the individuals become familiar with names as part of culture, during their social-linguistic socialization. As a result of this, name competence emerges that includes the most fundamental cultural, pragmatic, semantic, and morphological knowledge on names. Thus in relation to names, rich and diverse knowledge is accumulated about the world, society, other people, and ourselves alike. Language and culture also play a fundamental role in the definition of human (individual and collective) identity. Names that exhibit linguistic and cultural constraints also play an important role in this identity formation. Thus the identitydenoting and identity-building roles of proper names are closely associated with the cultural meaning of names.
group has only been researched since the 1980s. However, these relevant analyses are still considered relatively peripheral. In the 2000s, interests in the representation of proper names in the nervous system were expressed by neuroscience, especially in neurolinguistics, akin to psycholinguistics. Since then researchers have applied rapidly developing electrophysiological and imaging
techniques, and have been eager to explore the relevant neural relations. The author highlights four fields in which the results of these research projects may help name studies: 1. the meaning of proper names, 2. the categorisation of proper names into a word class, 3. the unit status of proper names, 4. the acquisition of proper names.
to study the circumstances of name usage and its pragmatical aspects: when one uses proper names instead of descriptions, what kind of names are preferred in different situations, etc. By referring to the psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic researches on mental aspects of names, this study endeavors to demonstrate why it is important for onomastics to take this aspect and knowledge into consideration.
linguistics on how to interpret the proper-name-to-appellative transformation from a
linguistic (semantic, grammatical) aspect. Whether the process involves a change in
meaning or the construction of a new meaning is controversial. A closely related issue is also
debated, namely whether or not the proper name word class changes during the process, as
well as which changes must be regarded as examples of the process under discussion. From a
broader perspective, these questions, are connected with the definition of proper names and,
in more general terms, with meaning and word class classification problems. After
reviewing the current literature on proper-name-to-appellative transformation, this paper
aims to describe this phenomenon in the framework of cognitive linguistics, adopting a
connectionist holistic approach, trying to shed a new light on the above mentioned issues.
Вопросы ономастики. 2016. Т. 13. № 2. С. 7–22
general name theory contain a few hypotheses in connection with the acquisition of the first proper
names. The first section of the paper overviews the results achieved by the research of children’s
language acquisition with respect to acquiring personal names. The acquisition of other name
types, such as place names is a much longer process, which has not been examined in depth by either psychology or onomastics to date. Psychological research focuses on spatial orientation, the
cerebral localization of space-related information, the linguistic representation of spatial relations and
the childhood development of these capacities. Factors, such as how wider geographical surroundings
are divided, or how place names are acquired by children are not examined thoroughly. To gain
insight into the initial phases of these processes, the author follows their development in two
infants’ knowledge of place names. The early meanings of place names are typically not fully
generalized: the name of a town or a street is understood and used by the infants to refer to a
house. At this age, infants connect place names to specific persons. In infants, the concept of places
(what is a town?, what is a street?) is not completely formed, this leads to semantic discrepancies. For
them, spatial elements are not the individual entities of their surroundings. Besides the peculiarities
of the earliest appearance of place names, the paper also observes the early use of geographical
common nouns and the development of spatial orientation.
A névtani kutatásokban a szakemberek szinte kizárólag a felnőttek által birtokolt tulajdonnévi anyaggal foglalkoznak. A tulajdonnévi kategória első elemeinek elsajátítása kapcsán csupán né-hány feltételezést fogalmaztak meg az általánosabb névelméleti munkákban. A gyermeknyelvi kutatások egy része ezt a problémakört is igyekszik feltárni, írásom első részében az idevágó, jórészt személyneveket érintő eredményeket tekintem át. A személynevekhez képest más tulajdon-névfajták, például a helynevek megtanulása jóval hosszabban tartó folyamat, vizsgálatával azon-ban egyik tudományterület sem foglalkozik. A pszichológusok a téri tájékozódásra, a téri informá-ciók leképeződésére, ennek agyi lokalizációjára, a téri viszonyok nyelvi megfelelőire, illetve a közöttük lévő kapcsolatra és részben ezek gyermekkori fejlődésére fókuszálnak. Vizsgálataikban nem kerül elő, hogy a tágabb földrajzi környezetet hogyan tagolja a gyermek, illetve hogy a hely-neveket miként sajátítja el. A folyamat kezdeti szakaszának megismeréséhez két kisgyerek hely-névismeretének fejlődését ismertetem. A vizsgálatból kiderül, hogy a korai helynévi jelentésekre jellemző az aluláltalánosítás: egy-egy város- vagy utcanevet a gyerekek általában egy-egy házra korlátozva értelmeznek és használnak. Emellett kitűnik az is, hogy ebben az életkorban nagyon szoros a helyek és a személyek kapcsolata, jellemző például, hogy a gyerekek a helyneveket konk-rét emberekhez kötik. A szemantikai esetlegességek részben azzal magyarázhatók, hogy a gyere-kek esetében maguk a helyfogalmak (mi egy város?, mi egy utca?, stb.) sem épültek még ki. Szá-molnunk kell emellett azzal is, hogy a tér elemei eleve nem individuálisan elkülönülő egyedek. A vizsgálat során a korai helynevek használata mellett tekintettel voltam a földrajzi köznevek, illetve a téri tájékozódás alakulására is.
Névtani Értesítő 37. 2015: 83–97.
La recherche onomastique hongroise a toujours été ouverte aux autres domaines de la linguistique, de même qu’aux méthodologies et résultats des champs d’études connexes. Le point de vue psychologique est déjà apparu dans nos études dans les années 1940. Toutefois, en tant que cadre théorique général, l’approche cognitive n’est pas apparue dans l’onomastique hongroise avant le début des années 2000. Nonobstant, pendant ce court laps de temps, elle a été appliquée avec succès dans de nombreux champs de la recherche onomastique. Dans cet article, j’étudie comment l’approche cognitive est employée dans la recherche onomastique hongroise et ses résultats : en relation avec la question de la catégorisation grammaticale des classes de mots et du sémantisme ; la typologie des toponymes ; la nomination métonymique et l’emploi des noms métonymiques ; la relation entre carte mentale et toponymes ; la typologie fonctionnaliste des toponymes.
Die ungarische Namenforschung ist stets offen für andere Bereiche der Sprachwissenschaft gewesen, wie auch für die Denkweisen und Ergebnisse benachbarter Disziplinen. Der psychologische Standpunkt war bereits in Studien der 1940er Jahre aufgetaucht; doch als allgemeines theoretisches Gerüst erschien der kognitive Ansatz als erst zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts. Trotzdem ist er seither in dieser kurzen Zeit auf zahlreichen Gebieten der Onomastik erfolgreich angewandt worden. In meinem Beitrag gebe ich einen Überblick über die Arten der Verwendung dieses kognitiven Ansatzes in der ungarischen Namenforschung und untersuche die Ergebnisse der kognitiven Sichtweise: in Zusammenhang mit der Frage der Kategorisierung von Wortklassen und ihrer Semantik sowie der Typologie der Ortsnamen; in Bezug auf die metonymische Namengebung und den metonymischen Namengebrauch; auf das Verhältnis zwischen kognitiver Landkarte und Ortsnamen; sowie schließlich auf die funktionalistische Typologie der Toponyme.
Onoma 47. (2012): 367–379.
a cognitive framework, using the most influential theories of cognitive linguistics,
primarily RONALD LANGACKER’s cognitive grammar and GEORGE LAKOFF’s
conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonymy theories. In addition, JOAN
BYBEE’s network model and SÁNDOR N. SZILÁGYI’s theory of the linguistic
world model will appear in certain sections.
The study consists of three larger units. The first part introduces how names
and different proper name types exist in the mental system, while also illustrating
new solutions provided by the cognitive perspective in connection with old
questions of name theory. There are also attempts to incorporate psycholinguistic
and neurolinguistic experimental results into the cognitive description of proper
names. Using the cognitive approach, aspects of name usage are also analyzed
that have not appeared in onomastic research before. To illustrate this innovation,
section 2 introduces two new research areas and through specific studies presents
some of the new opportunities they offer. The third large unit reinterprets
characteristic types of name creation within the selected cognitive framework.
geographical environment. A significant proportion of geographic knowledge also results from different sources or from a combination of sources. In this context, the linguistic-cultural background
also influences the individual’s geographical concepts and spatial cognition. At the same time, there are general features, organizing principles in spatial cognition resulting from the mechanisms of
cognition, which influence the development of the mental map and name-giving practices as well. A good example is that one can only define a place in relation to another place, and this relation is often reflected in place names. Closely connected to this, is the view of centre-periphery relations in space, which is often manifested in discourse about places and sometimes in the meanings of place names, as well. The connotative meaning attached to words can also be mentioned as a common feature, and this is present both in the organization of discourse about space and in place names. These interrelated principles may apply in different ways to different areas, communities and cultures.
space between common nouns and personal names, in the mental lexicon. Moreover, emotional and graphic information are also central in the mental representation of the elements of this name category. It was also found, however, that the two main types of brand names – coined brand names and common word brand names – are represented and processed diferently in the mind. In my paper, after providing an overview of the key lessons learned from these experimental results,
I present a semantic theory, the functionalcognitive model of meaning that enables us to interpret these diferences. I also outline how we may describe the meaning of the diferent types of proper names in this model. Taking into account the complex mental representation of names, we may also interpret the functioning of names (especially but not exclusively brand names) as economic devices, while also noting that diferent name types show diferences in this respect.
Such a function is based on the linguistic and conceptual knowledge of the name and the object denoted by it. Beyond their identifying role, however, the semantic structure and function of proper names have other important elements also. Of these, my paper addresses the cultural and identitydenoting functions of names in more detail. The cultural meaning, cultural function derives from the fact that the individuals become familiar with names as part of culture, during their social-linguistic socialization. As a result of this, name competence emerges that includes the most fundamental cultural, pragmatic, semantic, and morphological knowledge on names. Thus in relation to names, rich and diverse knowledge is accumulated about the world, society, other people, and ourselves alike. Language and culture also play a fundamental role in the definition of human (individual and collective) identity. Names that exhibit linguistic and cultural constraints also play an important role in this identity formation. Thus the identitydenoting and identity-building roles of proper names are closely associated with the cultural meaning of names.
group has only been researched since the 1980s. However, these relevant analyses are still considered relatively peripheral. In the 2000s, interests in the representation of proper names in the nervous system were expressed by neuroscience, especially in neurolinguistics, akin to psycholinguistics. Since then researchers have applied rapidly developing electrophysiological and imaging
techniques, and have been eager to explore the relevant neural relations. The author highlights four fields in which the results of these research projects may help name studies: 1. the meaning of proper names, 2. the categorisation of proper names into a word class, 3. the unit status of proper names, 4. the acquisition of proper names.
to study the circumstances of name usage and its pragmatical aspects: when one uses proper names instead of descriptions, what kind of names are preferred in different situations, etc. By referring to the psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic researches on mental aspects of names, this study endeavors to demonstrate why it is important for onomastics to take this aspect and knowledge into consideration.
linguistics on how to interpret the proper-name-to-appellative transformation from a
linguistic (semantic, grammatical) aspect. Whether the process involves a change in
meaning or the construction of a new meaning is controversial. A closely related issue is also
debated, namely whether or not the proper name word class changes during the process, as
well as which changes must be regarded as examples of the process under discussion. From a
broader perspective, these questions, are connected with the definition of proper names and,
in more general terms, with meaning and word class classification problems. After
reviewing the current literature on proper-name-to-appellative transformation, this paper
aims to describe this phenomenon in the framework of cognitive linguistics, adopting a
connectionist holistic approach, trying to shed a new light on the above mentioned issues.
Вопросы ономастики. 2016. Т. 13. № 2. С. 7–22
general name theory contain a few hypotheses in connection with the acquisition of the first proper
names. The first section of the paper overviews the results achieved by the research of children’s
language acquisition with respect to acquiring personal names. The acquisition of other name
types, such as place names is a much longer process, which has not been examined in depth by either psychology or onomastics to date. Psychological research focuses on spatial orientation, the
cerebral localization of space-related information, the linguistic representation of spatial relations and
the childhood development of these capacities. Factors, such as how wider geographical surroundings
are divided, or how place names are acquired by children are not examined thoroughly. To gain
insight into the initial phases of these processes, the author follows their development in two
infants’ knowledge of place names. The early meanings of place names are typically not fully
generalized: the name of a town or a street is understood and used by the infants to refer to a
house. At this age, infants connect place names to specific persons. In infants, the concept of places
(what is a town?, what is a street?) is not completely formed, this leads to semantic discrepancies. For
them, spatial elements are not the individual entities of their surroundings. Besides the peculiarities
of the earliest appearance of place names, the paper also observes the early use of geographical
common nouns and the development of spatial orientation.
A névtani kutatásokban a szakemberek szinte kizárólag a felnőttek által birtokolt tulajdonnévi anyaggal foglalkoznak. A tulajdonnévi kategória első elemeinek elsajátítása kapcsán csupán né-hány feltételezést fogalmaztak meg az általánosabb névelméleti munkákban. A gyermeknyelvi kutatások egy része ezt a problémakört is igyekszik feltárni, írásom első részében az idevágó, jórészt személyneveket érintő eredményeket tekintem át. A személynevekhez képest más tulajdon-névfajták, például a helynevek megtanulása jóval hosszabban tartó folyamat, vizsgálatával azon-ban egyik tudományterület sem foglalkozik. A pszichológusok a téri tájékozódásra, a téri informá-ciók leképeződésére, ennek agyi lokalizációjára, a téri viszonyok nyelvi megfelelőire, illetve a közöttük lévő kapcsolatra és részben ezek gyermekkori fejlődésére fókuszálnak. Vizsgálataikban nem kerül elő, hogy a tágabb földrajzi környezetet hogyan tagolja a gyermek, illetve hogy a hely-neveket miként sajátítja el. A folyamat kezdeti szakaszának megismeréséhez két kisgyerek hely-névismeretének fejlődését ismertetem. A vizsgálatból kiderül, hogy a korai helynévi jelentésekre jellemző az aluláltalánosítás: egy-egy város- vagy utcanevet a gyerekek általában egy-egy házra korlátozva értelmeznek és használnak. Emellett kitűnik az is, hogy ebben az életkorban nagyon szoros a helyek és a személyek kapcsolata, jellemző például, hogy a gyerekek a helyneveket konk-rét emberekhez kötik. A szemantikai esetlegességek részben azzal magyarázhatók, hogy a gyere-kek esetében maguk a helyfogalmak (mi egy város?, mi egy utca?, stb.) sem épültek még ki. Szá-molnunk kell emellett azzal is, hogy a tér elemei eleve nem individuálisan elkülönülő egyedek. A vizsgálat során a korai helynevek használata mellett tekintettel voltam a földrajzi köznevek, illetve a téri tájékozódás alakulására is.
Névtani Értesítő 37. 2015: 83–97.
La recherche onomastique hongroise a toujours été ouverte aux autres domaines de la linguistique, de même qu’aux méthodologies et résultats des champs d’études connexes. Le point de vue psychologique est déjà apparu dans nos études dans les années 1940. Toutefois, en tant que cadre théorique général, l’approche cognitive n’est pas apparue dans l’onomastique hongroise avant le début des années 2000. Nonobstant, pendant ce court laps de temps, elle a été appliquée avec succès dans de nombreux champs de la recherche onomastique. Dans cet article, j’étudie comment l’approche cognitive est employée dans la recherche onomastique hongroise et ses résultats : en relation avec la question de la catégorisation grammaticale des classes de mots et du sémantisme ; la typologie des toponymes ; la nomination métonymique et l’emploi des noms métonymiques ; la relation entre carte mentale et toponymes ; la typologie fonctionnaliste des toponymes.
Die ungarische Namenforschung ist stets offen für andere Bereiche der Sprachwissenschaft gewesen, wie auch für die Denkweisen und Ergebnisse benachbarter Disziplinen. Der psychologische Standpunkt war bereits in Studien der 1940er Jahre aufgetaucht; doch als allgemeines theoretisches Gerüst erschien der kognitive Ansatz als erst zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts. Trotzdem ist er seither in dieser kurzen Zeit auf zahlreichen Gebieten der Onomastik erfolgreich angewandt worden. In meinem Beitrag gebe ich einen Überblick über die Arten der Verwendung dieses kognitiven Ansatzes in der ungarischen Namenforschung und untersuche die Ergebnisse der kognitiven Sichtweise: in Zusammenhang mit der Frage der Kategorisierung von Wortklassen und ihrer Semantik sowie der Typologie der Ortsnamen; in Bezug auf die metonymische Namengebung und den metonymischen Namengebrauch; auf das Verhältnis zwischen kognitiver Landkarte und Ortsnamen; sowie schließlich auf die funktionalistische Typologie der Toponyme.
Onoma 47. (2012): 367–379.
Acta Onomastica 55 (2016)237-262
into the mental processes involving proper names (i.e. storing, processing, retrieving proper
names). We can denote entities of various types with the help of proper names, and although most
of these types are universal, there are in fact some cultural differences. In the fields of science
concerned, that is, in psycho- and neurolinguistics and in neuropsychology, attention is given
almost exclusively to anthroponyms; mental and neurological features of toponyms and other
name types are much less examined. Processing names is generally believed to display more
difficulties than processing common nouns, and these difficulties present themselves more and
more strongly with age. In connection with the special identifying function and semantic features
of proper names, many researchers assume that we process the two groups of words in different
ways. This paper, reflecting also on these assumptions, summarizes and explains the results of
research into a) selective anomia affecting monolingual speakers (word-finding disturbances); b)
localization; c) reaction time measurement; and d) speech disfluency concerning proper names
(especially the “tip of the tongue phenomenon”). The author also presents the models of
processing proper names, examining to what degree these models can be reconciled with our
knowledge of the acquisition of proper names. Finally, the results and possible explanations of the
small amount of research into the representation and processing of proper names by bilingual
speakers are discussed.
Keywords: bilingualism, bilingual mental lexicon, language acquisition of bilingual children, early and late bilingualism, connectionism, network model