The article discusses basic issues related to Polish anthroponomastic terms, their development and frequency, taking into account the variability of terminological units and the co-existence of native and foreign forms (usually Greek or Latin). It presents problems related to defining a term, determining its scope or (in particular cases) status, indicating preferred, permissible or non-recommended variant forms, selection (reduction) of sub-terms, the existence of doublets with a grammatical number, acceptance or rejection of new terms, etc. In the text, among others, the following sources were used: the dictionary “Osnoven sistem i terminologija na slovenskata onomastika” [“Basic system and terminology of Slavic onomastics”] (1983), an article by Mieczysław Karaś “W sprawie polskiej terminologii onomastycznej” [“On Polish onomastic terminology”] (1968), studies by Henryk Górnowicz (1988) and Ewa Jakus-Borkowa (1987), encyclopedia “Polskie nazwy własne” [“Polish proper names”] (1998), the compendium “Słowiańska onomastyka” [“Slavic onomastics”] (2002–2003) and selected articles published in the journal “Onomastica”. The second part of the article presents the history, scope and definitions of the term ethnonym // ethnic name (based on selected compendia, monographs and contributory studies), paying attention to the types of names it covers. In addition, a preliminary structure of an entry in the terminological dictionary has been outlined, including such elements as: the term, its definition, variability // equivalent term, origin // explanation, its English equivalent, examples // usage, context of use, and additional aspects.

The onymic image of the world in a translation through an intermediary language as exemplified by the anthroponyms in a collection of short stories “Baummoos pflücken” (lit. “The Lichen Collector”) by Zhang Wei.

The article addresses the issue of the linguistic image of the world — reflected in proper names — and of its translation. Chinese onyms and their related forms of address contain information about mutual relations between the speaker and the named object, thus offering a better insight into social relations in small language and cultural communities. The challenge for the translator is not only to translate these onyms, but also to preserve their social function in the text. This has been exemplified in the article by a translation of a collection of short stories from Chinese to Polish through German, where the intermediary language adds another coherence layer. The theory of the linguistic image of the world and proper names per se are a starting point for a critical analysis of this specific translation in view of the translation of onyms and of their potential for conveying the image of the world. Emphasis is placed on the transfer of the social functions of onyms into the target language. The influence of onyms and of their consistent treatment in the translation on the coherence of the studied text has also been taken into account.