Proper Names as the Prototypical Nominal Category

Abstract Proper names are the prototypical, unmarked nouns; they refer rather than describe or predicate as do common nouns. Proper names systematically appear in close appositional structures of such types as the poet Burns, Hurricane Edna, Fido the dog, the City of London, where they constitute th...

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Main Author: Willy Van Langendonck
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University Library System, University of Pittsburgh 2007-12-01
Series:Names
Online Access:http://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/view/1816
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author Willy Van Langendonck
author_facet Willy Van Langendonck
author_sort Willy Van Langendonck
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Proper names are the prototypical, unmarked nouns; they refer rather than describe or predicate as do common nouns. Proper names systematically appear in close appositional structures of such types as the poet Burns, Hurricane Edna, Fido the dog, the City of London, where they constitute the identifying unit, while common nouns in such appositional structures characterize the name. Proper names are definite, mostly countable, singular and nonrecursive (nongeneric) and concrete; since these are the unmarked features of nouns, proper names regularly display zero or no affixes, except for marked proprial subcategories. This view· of proper names apparently contradicts the cognitivist ideas of Ronald Langacker; however, Langacker's analysis can be interpreted in such a way that proper names constitute the prototypical nominal class.
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spelling doaj.art-aee7197c49fd487fa4f27a6460a526ba2022-12-22T00:52:58ZengUniversity Library System, University of PittsburghNames0027-77381756-22792007-12-0155410.1179/nam.2007.55.4.437Proper Names as the Prototypical Nominal CategoryWilly Van LangendonckAbstract Proper names are the prototypical, unmarked nouns; they refer rather than describe or predicate as do common nouns. Proper names systematically appear in close appositional structures of such types as the poet Burns, Hurricane Edna, Fido the dog, the City of London, where they constitute the identifying unit, while common nouns in such appositional structures characterize the name. Proper names are definite, mostly countable, singular and nonrecursive (nongeneric) and concrete; since these are the unmarked features of nouns, proper names regularly display zero or no affixes, except for marked proprial subcategories. This view· of proper names apparently contradicts the cognitivist ideas of Ronald Langacker; however, Langacker's analysis can be interpreted in such a way that proper names constitute the prototypical nominal class. http://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/view/1816
spellingShingle Willy Van Langendonck
Proper Names as the Prototypical Nominal Category
Names
title Proper Names as the Prototypical Nominal Category
title_full Proper Names as the Prototypical Nominal Category
title_fullStr Proper Names as the Prototypical Nominal Category
title_full_unstemmed Proper Names as the Prototypical Nominal Category
title_short Proper Names as the Prototypical Nominal Category
title_sort proper names as the prototypical nominal category
url http://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/view/1816
work_keys_str_mv AT willyvanlangendonck propernamesastheprototypicalnominalcategory