On proper name > common noun changes

Abstract

On proper name > common noun changes

It is a well observed process that certain language items previously used exclusively as proper names in a community are also adapted as common nouns in discourse. The relevant linguistic and onomastic literature, however, fails to provide a clear explanation of how this process should be interpreted in linguistic – semantic and grammatical – terms. Contradicting opinions are expressed in relation to whether the process involves a change in meaning or a construction of a new meaning; and consequently, whether or not the word class of the proper name changes during the procedure. It is also debatable which changes must be regarded as examples of the process under discussion. These questions, from a broader perspective, are connected to problems concerning the definition of proper names as well as the partially overlapping problematics of meaning and word class classification in general. This paper aims to prove that, in contrast with the previous attempts, the proper noun > common noun change can successfully be described in the framework of cognitive linguistics, especially if one adopts a holistic view.