Proper Names: Linguistic Conceptualization of Cultural Continuum

Abstract

The article examines the cognitive and pragmatic potential of proper names within literary discourse. Since the question of the semantics of proper names is rather acute within the modern linguistic studies, the research presupposes the analysis of the proper names' functioning on a text level, taking into account their cognitive and cultural meaning. The research is carried out within the analysis of the American literary works of XVIIth-XXth centuries. The method of cognitive discourse analysis helps to interpret the knowledge behind the meaning of The conducted research implies that proper names can become the bearers of culturally meaningful information, in which case the cognitive approach to their analysis may be applicable. Therefore, proper names are regarded as to be located at two different thresholds: first, between the world of our thoughts, beliefs, and desires and the world of our actions, institutions, and practice; and second, between the linguistic and non-linguistic, between the world of meanings and truth-values and the world of representations and imaginings.Thus, proper names turn out to be important for several reasons. On the one hand, a proper understanding of the ordinary use of proper names illuminates several cognitive phenomena such as language acquisition and use, as well as the nature of thought and belief (intentionality). On the other hand, there is no understanding of proper names without a proper understanding of reference. Thus, proper names also teach us about how our thoughts and assertions relate to the world, thereby teaching us the latter by telling us what the former are about. We have thoughts about how the world is, but we also like to think about how it should be. So, presumably, a proper understanding of reference and intentionality should help to understand not only our claims to knowledge but also our value judgments (Garcia-Ramirez, 2010, p.