The Functions of Proper Names in The Lit
The Functions of Proper Names in The Lit
The Functions of Proper Names in The Lit
The issue of the functions served by nomina propria in the literary work has
been regarded as resolved2 for a few decades, as the work considered to be cru-
cial to the topic was published in 1970. In his book Nazewnictwo w utworach
Stefana Żeromskiego3, Aleksander Wilkoń proposed a typology of the functions
of literary proper names, which included one primary function – denoting par-
ticular people and places4 – and five secondary functions: the localizing, socio-
logical, allusive, expressive and semantic5. The localizing function occurs when
nomina propria set the plot in a specified time or place, and the sociological
when the names indicate the characters’ social, group or national affiliation6.
The allusive function is the use of names as more or less ciphered allusions to
real people, and the expressive one is the use of proper names as signs voicing
certain emotions and emotional undertone7. Finally, the semantic function ap-
pears when the names characterize their denotations according to the metaphor-
ic or the literal meaning of the names8.
This classification became the foundation for the majority of the subsequent
works concerned with literary onomastics. Nevertheless, it was often recognised
1
Martyna Gibka – doktorantka na Wydziale Filologicznym Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego.
2
Such claims appear not only in the works of scholars concerned with literary
onomastics (compare for example I. Domaciuk, Funkcje nazw własnych w wybranych
utworach zaliczanych do literatury fantasy, [w:] Z najnowszych tendencji w polskim
nazewnictwie, R. Łobodzińska (red.), Łask 2005, s. 175), but also in texts devoted to
other branches of onomastics, for instance microtoponymy: “a relatively stable classifi-
cation of the functions of nomina propria has been formed in the studies concerned with
literary works of art” – M. Rutkowski, Mikrotoponimia przestrzeni wspinaczkowej.
Studium socjoonomastyczne, Olsztyn 2001, s. 40. Unless stated otherwise, all transla-
tions of quotations were prepared by the author of the article.
3
A. Wilkoń, Nazewnictwo w utworach Stefana Żeromskiego. Wrocław 1970.
4
Tamże, s. 82.
5
Tamże, s. 83.
6
Tamże.
7
Tamże, s. 105.
8
Tamże, s. 83.
80 Martyna Gibka
9
Due to the main concern of this article being the proposition of a new theoretical ap-
proach and to the length restrictions of an article, the functions added to the list pro-
posed by Wilkoń will be only listed here without any definitions or descriptions.
A comprehensive analysis of the development of the list of the functions served by
nomina propria in the literary work of art will be presented in my PhD thesis.
10
Ł.M. Szewczyk, Analiza językowo-stylistyczna nazw osobowych w powieści Romana
Bratnego „Kolumbowie. Rocznik 20”, „Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici – Filologia
Polska” 1978, nr XIV, s. 91.
11
Tamże, s. 92.
12
Ł.M. Szewczyk, Funkcje artystyczne nazewnictwa biblijnego w „Dziadów cz. III”
Adama Mickiewicza, „Onomastica” 1990, nr XXXV, s. 94.
13
Tamże, s. 99.
14
Tamże, s. 94.
15
Ł.M. Szewczyk, Chrematonimy w „Słowniku języka Adama Mickiewicza”,
[w:] Onomastyka polska a nowe kierunki językoznawcze. Materiały z XI Ogólnopolskiej
Konferencji Onomastycznej 15-17 czerwca 1998 Bydgoszcz-Pieczyska, M. Czachorow-
ska, Ł.M. Szewczyk (red.), Bydgoszcz: 2000, s. 299.
16
I. Sarnowska-Giefing, Nazewnictwo w wybranych utworach Adolfa Dygasińskiego,
„Onomastica” 1977, nr XXII, s. 227.
17
I. Sarnowska-Giefing, Nazewnictwo w nowelach i powieściach polskich okresu reali-
zmu i naturalizmu, Poznań 1984, s. 97.
18
U. Kęsikowa, Funkcja dydaktyczna nazewnictwa w powieściach dla młodzieży,
[w:] Onomastyka w dydaktyce szkolnej i społecznej, E. Homa (red.), Szczecin 1988,
s. 81.
19
Cz. Kosyl, Nazwy własne w prozie Jarosława Iwaszkiewicza, Lublin 1992, s. 95.
20
Tamże, s. 95.
21
Tamże, s. 32.
22
Cz. Kosyl, Główne nurty nazewnictwa literackiego (zarys syntezy), [w:] Onomastyka
literacka, M. Biolik (red.), Olsztyn 1993, s. 68.
23
A. Cieślikowa, Nazwy własne w różnych gatunkach tekstów literackich, [w:] Onoma-
styka literacka, dz. cyt., s. 37.
24
G. Surma, Nazwy własne w folklorze opoczyńskim, [w:] Onomastyka literacka
dz. cyt., s. 305.
The Functions of Proper Names in the Literary Work of Art 81
ing25 and the erudite26 functions. Finally, Maciej Szelewski added the universal-
izing function27.
Wilkoń’s work did not provide a definition of the term function of proper
names in the literary work of art. Nor did the works of his followers. Moreover,
the methods of distinguishing the particular functions were not specified. This,
together with the proliferation of the proposed functions caused the allegedly
established and resolved issue of the functions of literary nomina propria to
become ambiguous and imprecise. Therefore, the classification is impossible for
application. Such a claim seems to be confirmed by a large number of articles
concerned with the functions of literary proper names, whose authors are unsure
about the existence of which function they would like to demonstrate and what
scope the function should receive. Furthermore, there are also works in which
some functions classified at one point of the development of the topic as sepa-
rate are included as elements of other functions.
To illustrate this chaos, one could summarise almost any contemporary arti-
cle on the matter. Some of such works are the articles: „Funkcje nazw własnych
w wybranych utworach zaliczanych do literatury fantasy” by Izabela Doma-
ciuk28, „Nazwy osobowe w „Schodami w górę, schodami w dół” Michała Cho-
romańskiego” by Adam Siwiec29, „Kilka uwag o onomastyce literackiej
w utworach dla dzieci Wojciecha Żukrowskiego” by Stanisław Kania30, „Funk-
cjonalność proprialnej sfery językowej w twórczości Gustawa Morcinka” by
Robert Mrózek31, and „Nazwy osobowe w wybranych utworach Małgorzaty
Musierowicz” by Katarzyna Kuffner-Obrzut32. In her study, Domaciuk claims
that one of the functions performed by the analysed propria is the poetic func-
tion, which is served by “proper names that attract the reader’s attention to their
25
A. Siwiec, Nazwy osobowe w „Schodami w górę, schodami w dół” Michała Choro-
mańskiego, [w:] Onomastyka literacka, dz. cyt., s. 194-195.
26
A. Siwiec, Nazwy własne w prozie Michała Choromańskiego, Lublin 1998, s. 63.
27
M. Szelewski, Funkcje nazw własnych w polsko- i rosyjskojęzycznej literaturze fanta-
sy na przykładzie utworów Andrzeja Sapkowskiego oraz Nika Pierumowa i Siergieja
Łukjanienki, [w:] Słowo. Tekst. Czas. Materiały IV Międzynarodowej konferencji na-
ukowej (Szczecin 21-22 października 1999 r.), M. Aleksiejenko (red.), Szczecin 2000,
s. 231.
28
I. Domaciuk, Funkcje nazw…, dz.cyt., s. 175-190.
29
A. Siwiec, Nazwy osobowe…, dz.cyt., s. 187-197.
30
S. Kania, Kilka uwag o onomastyce literackiej w utworach dla dzieci Wojciecha Żu-
krowskiego, [w:] Onomastyka literacka…, dz. cyt., s. 213-218.
31
R. Mrózek, Funkcjonalność proprialnej sfery językowej w twórczości Gustawa Mor-
cinka, [w:] Onomastyka literacka, dz. cyt., s. 181-186.
32
K. Kuffner-Obrzut, Nazwy osobowe w wybranych utworach Małgorzaty Musierowicz,
[w:] Metodologia badań onomastycznych, M. Biolik (red.), Olsztyn 2003, s. 485-497.
82 Martyna Gibka
form and content”33. However, later in the same article she states that “some
toponyms amaze the reader with their different sound, and therefore their func-
tion is then restricted to the expressive one”34 and that “in novels, in which
nomina propria are largely based on linguistically foreign roots, it is the expres-
sive function that can be observed. Being deliberately deformed and fanciful,
these proper names attract the reader’s attention”35. Thus, Domaciuk incorpo-
rates the poetic function into the expressive one. Moreover, the same happens to
the humorous function36. Exactly the same inaccuracies can be observed in the
article by Siwiec37, whereas the incorporation of only the humorous function
into the expressive function appears in the work by Kania38.
The definition of the expressive function became the cause of error also in
the article by Mrózek, who states that nomina propria expressing the attitude of
the author towards the characters perform the semantic function39. Conversely,
in the work by Kuffner-Obrzut, the names characterizing their denotations were
claimed to serve the expressive function40.
As results from the presented summary of the issue, the typology of the
functions of literary nomina propria lacks a clearly defined theoretical back-
ground. Hence, the main aim of this article is to propose a theoretical approach
that will enable the resolution of the discussed problem.
Before a definition of the term function of literary proper names can be
proposed, the category of proper names should be distinguished from the cate-
gory of appellatives. There are two decisive differences between the categories:
(1) nomina appellativa designate classes of objects and nomina propria denote
individual entities, (2) unlike common nouns, proper names do not carry a se-
mantic value41. In this article, the term function will be understood as the role
the proprium performs in relation to a given element of the nominal act42.
Therefore, the function of literary nomen proprium is the role the name serves
in relation to a given element of the nominal act of the literary work (for the
model of which see diagram 1). Despite their intuitiveness some earlier defini-
33
I. Domaciuk, Funkcje nazw…, dz. cyt., s. 181.
34
Tamże, s. 182.
35
Tamże, s. 187.
36
Tamże.
37
A. Siwiec, Nazwy osobowe…, dz. cyt., s. 193.
38
S. Kania, Kilka uwag…, dz. cyt., s. 218.
39
R. Mrózek, Funkcjonalność proprialnej…, dz. cyt., s. 185.
40
K. Kuffner-Obrzut, Nazwy osobowe…, dz. cyt., s. 494.
41
M. Rutkowski, Nazwy własne w strukturze metafory i metonimii, Olsztyn 2007, s. 21-
22.
42
M. Rutkowski, Mikrotoponimia przestrzeni…, dz. cyt., s. 44.
The Functions of Proper Names in the Literary Work of Art 83
tions of the onymic functions are apt in themselves, so they will be used within
the new theoretical approach proposed in this work.
Diagram 1 – the model of the nominal act of the literary work
This model is based on (1) the basic model of the naming process created
by Ivan Lutterer43, and on (2) the model of the nominal act of the
microtoponymy of climbing space proposed by Mariusz Rutkowski 44. Lutterer’s
model includes three elements: the name-giver, the name-given and the object
named45. Rutkowski complemented Lutterer’s model by adding two more ele-
ments: the user and the situational context of the creator, thus adjusting the
model to the needs of the field his model was used in. In order to create the
model of the nominal act for the literary work of art, other three elements need
to be added, these are: the author, the situational context of the author and the
reader. Thus, a more complex model which includes two worlds (the real one
and the fictional one) is proposed.
Before the functions of nomina propria in literary works can be enumerated
and defined, the elements of the created model of the nominal act and the model
itself should be briefly described. Firstly, the author is simply the person who
wrote the book, the author’s situational context refers to the circumstances ac-
companying the process of writing and especially of inventing names. The name
is the linguistic sign given to an entity as its label, and the object is the entity
43
I. Lutterer, Onymical Mistake in the Naming Process, [w:] Proceedings of the XIIIth
International Congress of Onomastic Sciences (Cracow, August 21-25, 1978). Vol. II,
K. Rymut (red.), Wrocław 1982, s. 63.
44
M. Rutkowski, Mikrotoponimia przestrzeni…, dz. cyt., s. 41-43.
45
I. Lutterer, Onymical Mistake…, dz. cyt., s. 63.
84 Martyna Gibka
that is being named and therefore distinguished from the background. The crea-
tor is the character who gives the name to another character; although in a liter-
ary work he/she is often not revealed, at least not straightforwardly. Even when
the creator is revealed he/she is de facto not the name-inventor and name-giver
but a middleman used by the author. The situational context of the creator is
understood as circumstances accompanying the act of the naming in the fiction-
al world. Finally, the term user encompasses all the characters from the fictional
world who use the name, and the reader includes every person from the real
world who decides to acquaint him/herself with the literary work.
The hypothetical model act of nomination for the literary work (one which
includes the relations between its elements) could be described as follows: (1)
the author creates an entity (the object, here a character), which due to its status
and the social needs of communication has to have a name; (2) the author dis-
tinguishes some motivational features (which can come from the object itself,
from the situational context or from the name itself); (3) the identified features
become the inspiration to name the object – the author names the entity (charac-
ter). After the fictional figure is named, other characters in the fictional world
use the name and finally, when the literary work is published, the readers meet
the name.
Among the lines connecting the elements of the model of the nominal act,
there are three dotted ones. The line between the author and the creator is not
solid due to the fact, that the creator is usually not revealed in a direct way. And
the lines between the name and the user and reader are dotted since the two
elements, although included in the model, are in fact outside the real act of nom-
ination.
Since the proper name serves a function when it performs a role in relation
to an element of the nominal act, it is possible to list all the relations the name
can enter into and some of the roles it can take in these relations.
The Functions of Proper Names in the Literary Work of Art 85
Table 1.
The relation The functions
the identifying-differential function, the
NAME : OBJECT semantic function, the sociological func-
tion
NAME : SITUATIONAL CONTEXT OF the allusive function, the commemorative
THE CRETOR function, the camouflaging function
NAME : CREATOR the expressive function
NAME : NAME the poetic function
the humorous function, the conative func-
NAME : USER
tion
NAME : AUTHOR the expressive function
the localizing function, the allusive func-
NAME : SITUATIONAL CONTEXT OF tion, the intertextual function, the com-
THE AUTHOR memorative function, the camouflaging
function
the humorous function, the didactic-
NAME : READER
educative function, the conative function
Źródło: opracowanie własne.
It is the first attempt to compose a list of the onymic functions of the literary
work that is based on the work’s nominal act, and therefore the list may not be
exhaustive. Thus, other functions can be added to the list provided that they are
distinguished and classified as roles the name performs in relation to the ele-
ments of the nominal act.
As results from the definition of nomina propria, the only function that
a proprium must serve is the individual denotation and this, the primary role of
every proprium, is called the identifying-differential function, performed by the
name in relation to the object. All other functions enumerated above are sec-
ondary, which means that the proprium can, but does not have to serve them.
One of the consequences of this feature is the fact that the onomastic material of
a book does not have to serve all the secondary functions and de facto it some-
times should not, as each genre has its characteristics which apply also to the set
of proper names present therein.
Five out of the twelve secondary functions listed in Table 1 were defined at
the beginning of the article. The definitions were quoted after Aleksander
Wilkoń, but because of their intuitiveness they were not precise. However,
when embedded in the proposed definition of the function of literary proper
names, they become explicit. The remaining seven secondary functions need to
be defined.
86 Martyna Gibka
In relation to the situational context of the creator, the name serves the
commemorative function when it commemorates an entity from the creator’s
world (for instance a person or an event). And when the commemorated entity
belongs to the author’s world, the commemorative function is performed by the
name in relation to the situational context of the author.
The camouflaging function can also be performed in relation to the two sit-
uational contexts. It appears when the name hides the identity of its bearer.
When the name belongs to a character based on an authentic person from the
real world and hides the identity of this character from the reader, the camou-
flaging function is performed in relation to the situational context of
the author46. And when the name of the character is his/her second one and is
supposed to hide his/her identity from other characters, the camouflaging func-
tion is served in relation to the situational context of the creator.
The poetic function is the only one that can be served by the name in rela-
tion to itself. It occurs when the proprium keeps the recipient’s attention on its
structure47. Thus, this function is performed by “names whose internal organisa-
tion is of an exceptional kind, which attracts attention to the name’s linguistic
form in the first instance”48.
The humorous function is served by the name in relation to the user or the
reader when it induces laughter in the user or the reader respectively. The reali-
sation of this function, however, is impossible to determine, as one cannot ex-
amine the reaction of every reader, and not every character’s reaction to every
name is presented in the book. The only aspect of humour that can be decisively
determined is the presence or absence of the humorous element in the proper
name (as an external quality of a text), which could in turn prove the emergence
of the humorous function in relation to the implied reader49. Depending on the
theory of humour one chooses to base the analysis on, the name can be claimed
to possess a humorous element for instance “if: 1) the text [proper name] is
wholly or partially consistent with two different scripts; 2) these two scripts are
46
As results from such a definition, each realisation of the camouflaging function seems
to involve two relations simultaneously: to the situational context of the author/creator
and to the reader/user. The inclusion of the camouflaging function to the functions
served in relation to the situational contexts ensues from the fact that before the name
can hide the identity of its denotation from anyone, there has to be a connection between
the name and an authentic person or a character.
47
M. Rutkowski, Mikrotoponimia przestrzeni…, dz. cyt., s. 100.
48
Tamże, s. 100-101.
49
More on the humorous function of proper names see M. Gibka, Hooch, Filch and
Fluffy: How Polish Translation of Harry Potter Influences the Humorous Function of
the Characters’ Names, [w:] Komunikacja międzykulturowa w świetle współczesnej
translatologii, E. Kujawska-Lis, I. Ndiaye (red.), Olsztyn 2014, s. 161-171.
The Functions of Proper Names in the Literary Work of Art 87
50
V. Raskin, Semantic mechanisms of humor, Dordrecht 1985, s. 99.
51
Laughter is also such a reaction. However, the humorous function was given a sepa-
rate status due to the fact, that inducing laughter is the reaction by far the one most often
aimed at by the authors.
52
U. Kęsikowa, Funkcja dydaktyczna…, dz. cyt., s. 81.
53
K. Kuffner-Obrzut, Nazwy osobowe…, dz. cyt., s. 495-496.
88 Martyna Gibka
Diagram 2 – the simplified model of the nominal act of the literary work
Comprised of only these elements of the nominal act which are accessible
to the fictional characters, the simplified model excludes three elements: the
author, the situational context of the author and the reader. Therefore, within the
frame of the fictional world, the name can enter into a relation with only five
elements of the nominal act of the literary work. Hence, the list of the onymic
functions as seen from the perspective of this world is shortened as well, and
includes only the first five points from the more extensive list presented in Ta-
ble 1.
To conclude, the issue of the functions served by nomina propria in the lit-
erary work can be resolved only if it is based on a clear theoretical foundation.
The definition of the function itself has to be provided before the particular
functions can be delineated. The method of distinguishing these functions
should also be specified. The theoretical approach to the issue proposed in this
article is based on the model of the nominal act of the literary work, as it ena-
bles the identification of the functions that a proper name can serve from the
moment of its creation.
The Functions of Proper Names in the Literary Work of Art 89