Pragmatic principles of nomination of English language games
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.33910/2686-830X-2026-8-2-87-92Mots-clés :
language games, ludonyms, pragmatic meaning, principles of nomination, naïve language conceptsRésumé
The article examines the pragmatic principles of naming English language games. Being a traditional form of intellectual leisure, language games occupy a special domain in the game culture of English-speaking countries. The focus of the article is on ludonyms, names of language games which, in terms of their onomastic status, correspond to quasi-names closely related to appellative lexis and distinguished by polyfunctionality. The study reveals that some ludonyms possess a pragmatic component of meaning, perform an expressive function, and convey the emotionally evaluative attitude of the community towards the language and its speakers. The relevance of studying the pragmatic principles of naming is determined both by gaps in the theory of proper names (where a metalanguage for describing linguistic recreation has not yet been developed) and by the possibility of identifying what ideas about language and its speakers are implied in ludonyms by the English-speaking society. An analysis of the pragmatic meaning of ludonyms shows that the naming employs principles of loyalty, xenodenotative re-addressing, theatricalization, and fixation of language and speech anomalies. Their application is motivated by the speakers’ intention to convey additional information about the game, shape attitudes towards the players and the English language, and create an attractive and memorable name. The implementation of pragmatic principles implies in ludonyms naive concepts of language as a substance that, on the one hand, seems to possess properties of construction, gastronomic, natural, and magical objects, and on the other hand, is characterized by incompleteness and is used for manipulation and aggressive actions. Ludonyms also express a positive attitude towards native speakers, as if attributing to them developed cognitive abilities and motivating them to establish boundaries between personal and gaming identity.
Références
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