The Mysterious Arventur: Poetonym as a Key Word of a Literary Work

The paper examines the occasional proper name Arventur from the same-name work by Alexander Grin. The literary text has a number of markers indicating to the name’s importance in the story: the title position of the name; its high frequency (which is clearly visible given the small size of the text)...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Anatoly A. Fomin
Format: Article
Language:Russian
Published: Izdatelstvo Uralskogo Universiteta 2019-12-01
Series:Вопросы ономастики
Subjects:
Online Access:http://onomastics.ru/sites/default/files/doi/10.15826/vopr_onom.2019.16.4.052.pdf
_version_ 1819125460204781568
author Anatoly A. Fomin
author_facet Anatoly A. Fomin
author_sort Anatoly A. Fomin
collection DOAJ
description The paper examines the occasional proper name Arventur from the same-name work by Alexander Grin. The literary text has a number of markers indicating to the name’s importance in the story: the title position of the name; its high frequency (which is clearly visible given the small size of the text); the even distribution of the name forms in the text; the link between the pragmatics of the name and its aesthetic functions. The poetonym’s specificity is already evident at the stage of its introduction. The onomastic reference is primary and singular to the named object whereas other appellative units typically co-occurring within the text are absent. Consequently, the name Arventur lacks a valid referent, leaving the reader unaware of the class and properties of the named object. This lack of semantic ties leads to the overall opacity of the name. Analyzing the spatio-temporal aspects of the work, the author concludes that the poetonym is associated with one of the chronotopic “zones,” of which it becomes a symbol. Due to this peculiarity, the name Arventur acquires completely different functions: essential linguistic qualities of the name as a proprial unit are reduced and the aesthetic functions linked to the onym’s perception as part of a literary work come to the fore. Among them, the symbolic and axiological functions are of primary importance. Due to the semantic intransparency of the name, the main source of its aesthetic significance is the exponent, i.e. the name’s sound form conveying a “phonetic meaning”. In this regard, the article considers, firstly, the phonosemantic qualities of the exponent and, secondly, the elements of its associative field. The author considers the implications of onym’s phonetic form, which could affect its perception. Possible metaphorical references include some geographical names of South-Western Europe resembling the original Aventur poetonym in their exponential characteristics. The conclusion suggests that the described factors are key to determining the axiology of the image behind the poetonym.
first_indexed 2024-12-22T07:40:29Z
format Article
id doaj.art-5a0ee9e7fb2b46c7a60ce89d410d9a49
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1994-2400
1994-2451
language Russian
last_indexed 2024-12-22T07:40:29Z
publishDate 2019-12-01
publisher Izdatelstvo Uralskogo Universiteta
record_format Article
series Вопросы ономастики
spelling doaj.art-5a0ee9e7fb2b46c7a60ce89d410d9a492022-12-21T18:33:45ZrusIzdatelstvo Uralskogo UniversitetaВопросы ономастики1994-24001994-24512019-12-0116418020110.15826/vopr_onom.2019.16.4.052The Mysterious Arventur: Poetonym as a Key Word of a Literary WorkAnatoly A. Fomin0Ural Federal UniversityThe paper examines the occasional proper name Arventur from the same-name work by Alexander Grin. The literary text has a number of markers indicating to the name’s importance in the story: the title position of the name; its high frequency (which is clearly visible given the small size of the text); the even distribution of the name forms in the text; the link between the pragmatics of the name and its aesthetic functions. The poetonym’s specificity is already evident at the stage of its introduction. The onomastic reference is primary and singular to the named object whereas other appellative units typically co-occurring within the text are absent. Consequently, the name Arventur lacks a valid referent, leaving the reader unaware of the class and properties of the named object. This lack of semantic ties leads to the overall opacity of the name. Analyzing the spatio-temporal aspects of the work, the author concludes that the poetonym is associated with one of the chronotopic “zones,” of which it becomes a symbol. Due to this peculiarity, the name Arventur acquires completely different functions: essential linguistic qualities of the name as a proprial unit are reduced and the aesthetic functions linked to the onym’s perception as part of a literary work come to the fore. Among them, the symbolic and axiological functions are of primary importance. Due to the semantic intransparency of the name, the main source of its aesthetic significance is the exponent, i.e. the name’s sound form conveying a “phonetic meaning”. In this regard, the article considers, firstly, the phonosemantic qualities of the exponent and, secondly, the elements of its associative field. The author considers the implications of onym’s phonetic form, which could affect its perception. Possible metaphorical references include some geographical names of South-Western Europe resembling the original Aventur poetonym in their exponential characteristics. The conclusion suggests that the described factors are key to determining the axiology of the image behind the poetonym.http://onomastics.ru/sites/default/files/doi/10.15826/vopr_onom.2019.16.4.052.pdfliterary onomasticspoetical onomasticsliterary onympoetonymproper name in a literary textrussian literaturealexander grinarventurphonosemanticsassociative background of a name
spellingShingle Anatoly A. Fomin
The Mysterious Arventur: Poetonym as a Key Word of a Literary Work
Вопросы ономастики
literary onomastics
poetical onomastics
literary onym
poetonym
proper name in a literary text
russian literature
alexander grin
arventur
phonosemantics
associative background of a name
title The Mysterious Arventur: Poetonym as a Key Word of a Literary Work
title_full The Mysterious Arventur: Poetonym as a Key Word of a Literary Work
title_fullStr The Mysterious Arventur: Poetonym as a Key Word of a Literary Work
title_full_unstemmed The Mysterious Arventur: Poetonym as a Key Word of a Literary Work
title_short The Mysterious Arventur: Poetonym as a Key Word of a Literary Work
title_sort mysterious arventur poetonym as a key word of a literary work
topic literary onomastics
poetical onomastics
literary onym
poetonym
proper name in a literary text
russian literature
alexander grin
arventur
phonosemantics
associative background of a name
url http://onomastics.ru/sites/default/files/doi/10.15826/vopr_onom.2019.16.4.052.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT anatolyafomin themysteriousarventurpoetonymasakeywordofaliterarywork
AT anatolyafomin mysteriousarventurpoetonymasakeywordofaliterarywork