On Toponymic Constructions as an Alternative to Naming Patterns in Describing Finnish Lake Names
33: Finnish Litterature Society, 2007. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Text in English. 130 pp.
How are places named? What can computer science reveal about place names? How can onomastics contribute to cognitive linguistics?
Based on a comprehensive corpus of Finnish lake names this study takes a look at the phenomenon of contrastive naming: cases where for instance neighbouring lakes are named after different species of fish. Earlier research has suggested that analogy plays an important role in naming even when there are other motivations for the name, and the current study confrms this.
However, it also appears that the established theories of pattern-based naming are in need of some revision. In this, cognitive linguistics presents itself as a promising approach, and the descriptive formalism of Construction Grammar seems especially well suited for the task. Even so, an analysis of place names gives also new insight into how that theory can be adjusted to better account for varying degrees of productivity. Fine. Item #415
ISBN: 9789517468930
Price: $40.00