Naming

The properties of proper nouns & the relationship between proper & common nouns are studied from general linguistic, language-philosophical, onomastic, & normative-grammatical perspectives. Studies in the semantics of proper nouns are surveyed, comparing treatments by Stephan Ullmann (1952) & Irene Tamba-Mech (1988). The onomastic function of proper nouns to identify individuals is noted, while the definition of proper nouns in opposition to common nouns in normative grammars is criticized as inadequate. Two issues are found to dominate the research in proper nouns carried out by linguists & philosophers: (1) what is the meaning & referential properties of proper nouns? (2) how do proper nouns convert into common nouns? A survey of proper noun theories advanced in philosophy & linguistics is conducted, considering proposals by Plato, the 13th-century Arabic grammarian Ibn Ya'is, Stuart Mill (1843), Gottlob Frege (1892), Bertrand Russell, John Rogers Searle (1969), Saul Kripke (1995), Georges Kleiber (1981), Gary-Prieur (1994), & others. Mirko Peti's (1999) typology of contexts in which proper nouns lose their referential function, acquire non-onomastic content (ie, they convert into appellatives), & become arbitrary linguistic signs is outlined. Onomastic, linguistic, & philosophical approaches to proper nouns are compared & evaluated for effectiveness in offering viable & coherent description of their peculiar properties. References. Adapted from the source document