THE POSSIBILITY OF A NEW KIND OF SYSTEMATIZATION OF HUNGARIAN FAMILY NAMES

• Authors: N-Fodor Janos
• Languages of publication: HU

Abstracts

EN

The new approach to the analysis of family names proposed here bears some similarity to motivation-based systematizations of traditional typologies. The basis of naming is most often related to some peculiarity or characteristic attribute of the person named. In such cases, the (part of a) name concerned has a peculiarity-marking function (Hoffmann, 1999). Given the basic theorem that name giving is mainly determined by extra-linguistic factors (elements of reality), it is most appropriate to delimit peculiarity-marking categories cognitively on the basis of the relationship between the name bearer and a segment or constituent of reality. Linguistic meaning 'is closely related to cognition, that is, the way we perceive the world around us' (Kiefer, 2007). In terms of cognitive semantics, human perception identifies a smaller, less conspicuous, less readily identifiable object or entity (figure) in relation to a larger, more static piece of reality carrying known information (ground). In that relationship, five elements of reality can be discerned: (1) the individual being named, (2) a person or group of persons, (3) society, (4) a place, and (5) relevant things or events.

Keywords

EN

LANGUAGE HISTORY; SURNAMES

Discipline

• PHILOLOGY_&_LINGUISTICS: PHILOLOGY & LINGUISTICS

• Publisher: Society of Hungarian Linguistics
• Journal: Magyar Nyelv (Hungarian Language)
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 104
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 286-306
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

N-Fodor Janos

• Janos N-Fodor, for postal address contact the journrnal editor; www.c3.hu/~magyarnyelv/

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

10HUAAAA071611