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Abstract

The article concerns the history and unique nature of local names derived from exonyms, such as Alexandria, Spain and Lisbon. It describes both past and contemporary onyms, i.e. the names of housing estates, such as Little Tuscany, and apartment buildings, such as Rome, London and Mont Blanc, which are the continuations of the toponymic model launched in the past. The author embeds this model of names in a broader cultural context by referring to language universals. In addition to the rich collection of the oldest biblical names that have been transferred to present names, transfers of old names can be observed among contemporary names. In the past (in the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries), these were mainly the names of countries and, less frequently, those of cities, lands and geographic objects. Today, toponyms are usually based on the names of European cities, attractive geographic objects (lakes, rivers, islands, mountains, volcanoes) and, more rarely, states. While the names of biblical lands were fascinating and attractive in the past, they are almost absent in contemporary names, and if they are present, they concern culturally fixed images such as that of Eden. Both formerly and today, the creators of this kind of names show a longing for the creation of a new world which is no longer inhabited by God in a strictly religious dimension, but a secular one where happiness, peace and joy are sought. In both characterised spaces, the names transferred serve commemorative functions and also imitate coveted spaces which cannot be physically inhabited but can at least be imitated by their names. Formerly, they were real imago mundi representing sacred places (e.g. names such as Calvary). Today, they are created as part of the contemporary architectural tendency for coherence in planning space, names and design.

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Authors and Affiliations

Małgorzata Rutkiewicz-Hanczewska
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Abstract

This descriptive review presents proper names from the perspective of brain science. It contains the characteristics of individual groups of proper nouns (and common nouns for comparison) and takes account of their neurobiological background. This makes it possible to confirm many opinions on the status of proper names reported by linguists. The Baker and baker paradox and the so-called double dissociation in the search of proper names and common names are discussed in order to confirm (at least in part) the thesis that proper names and common nouns are searched for in the mental lexicon independently of each other. The author also presents the characteristics of proper names to make a thesis about the uniqueness of this class of lexemes. It becomes clear that they are more difficult to learn, especially in patients with neurological deficits, and it takes healthy individuals longer to recall them than to search for common names. Moreover, the recollection of names is associated with more phonological mistakes and is often accompanied by the tip-of-the-tongue syndrome (TOT syndrome), which becomes most evident in elderly patients. The article also presents individual adaptive compensation techniques in impaired naming of objects and faces (e.g. aphasia), which facilitate the recreation of categories within the mental proper name lexicon.
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Authors and Affiliations

Małgorzata Rutkiewicz-Hanczewska

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