The aim of this paper is to analyze dysphemic uses of complex proper names which serve as a basis for the creation of what Robert Galisson (1994, 1995, 2000) called “palimpsestes verbo-culturels” (verbo-cultural palimpsests). We consider proper names as fixed sequences which can undergo the process of “défigement” (deconstruction) in the same way as any other complex lexical unit. We analyze the reasons for the creation of what we call “palimpsestes verbo-culturels propriels” (proprial verbo-cultural palimpsests) as well as the effects of meaning produced due to this creation and the means which make it possible.
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