A functional theory of proper names: Insights from quasi-proper names
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Yoko Mizuta
Yoko Mizuta obtained her Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Chicago. She is a senior associate professor of linguistics at International Christian University, Japan. With a background in mathematics and computer science related to language, she works on semantics/pragmatics and the philosophy of language from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Abstract
This paper aims to shed new light on proper names from a functional perspective, based on the insights obtained from the investigations on quasi-proper names. I provide a relational table model of the facts about naming acts and name-bearing relations. It represents the information in a simple, flexible fashion, while accommodating the difference in the status of a person’s name, such as legal names, stage names, and baptismal names, as well as the situation of name-sharing. On this basis, I propose a functional theory of proper names, which systematically explains the meaning and usages of proper names, in terms of different views of the above-mentioned two-dimensional, relational table.
About the author
Yoko Mizuta obtained her Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Chicago. She is a senior associate professor of linguistics at International Christian University, Japan. With a background in mathematics and computer science related to language, she works on semantics/pragmatics and the philosophy of language from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP22K18461.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Thematic issue in pragmatics and philosophy (TIPP)
- Research Articles
- The cultural evolution of speech act norms
- On the unification of which-interrogatives and alternative-interrogatives
- A functional theory of proper names: Insights from quasi-proper names
- The foundational role of sound quality for understanding demonstratives
- Problems for a uniform analysis of ancora in Italian
- Speech act theory of quotation: Quotation indirect quotation and Japanese quasi-quotation
- Topicality, accessibility, and causality in anaphora resolution: An eye-tracking study of null and overt pronouns in Italian
- Clause-level coordination and discourse continuity in Tohono O’odham
- Obituary
- Istvan Kecskes, Distinguished Professor of the State University of New York, affectionate friend and mentor
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Thematic issue in pragmatics and philosophy (TIPP)
- Research Articles
- The cultural evolution of speech act norms
- On the unification of which-interrogatives and alternative-interrogatives
- A functional theory of proper names: Insights from quasi-proper names
- The foundational role of sound quality for understanding demonstratives
- Problems for a uniform analysis of ancora in Italian
- Speech act theory of quotation: Quotation indirect quotation and Japanese quasi-quotation
- Topicality, accessibility, and causality in anaphora resolution: An eye-tracking study of null and overt pronouns in Italian
- Clause-level coordination and discourse continuity in Tohono O’odham
- Obituary
- Istvan Kecskes, Distinguished Professor of the State University of New York, affectionate friend and mentor
