S aipsniai / A icles 111
VOLKER KOHLHEIM
Bay eu h
Scien i ic esea ch a eas:
Nomencla u e, an h oponomas ics, homonymy, and li e a y heo y
I 's called onomas ics.
ONYMISCHE AMBIGUITÄT IN (F ench p onuncia ion (help·in o)) is a Spanish ele ision se ies.
The li e a u e
Onimo o he Neapoli an li e a u e
The anno a ion
Ambigui y is a key e m in mode n poe y. Al hough he e a e di e en iews on he
concep o li e a y ambigui y, I would like o join William Empson's classic de ini ion,
acco ding o which ambigui y always exis s when a e bal nuance, howe e ine, allows o
al e na i e eac ions o he same piece o language. In he ollowing, i will no only be
shown ha ambigui y can also ex end o li e a y names, bu i will also be di e en ia ed
be ween di e en ypes o onymic ambigui y in li e a y ex s. Finally, i is asked wha he
analysis o poe ic ambigui y can say abou he cogni i e p ocessing o p ope names.
SCHLÜSSELWÖRTER: ambigui y, onymic ambigui y, li e a y names (poe onyme), and cogni i e
science.
The anno a ion
Ambigui y is a key concep in mode n poe ics. Al hough he e a e di e en concep s o
li e a y ambigui y, I p e e o adhe e o William Empson's classical de ini ion acco ding o
which any e bal nuance allowing al e na i e eac ions o he same piece o language may be
ega ded as ambiguous. This pape no only in ends o show ha ambigui y can also ex end o
li e a y names, bu i ies o di e en ia e be ween a ious kinds o onymic ambigui y in
li e a y ex s and asks wha we may lea n om poe onymic ambigui y abou he men al
p ocessing o p ope names.
KEYWORDS: ambigui y, onymic ambigui y, li e a y names, and cogni i e science.
VOLKER KOHLHEIM
112 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXII (Linguis ic Ac s o he Li huanians)
Wi hin linguis ics, he e is widesp ead ag eemen on he concep o ambigui y: ambigui y is he
"clea o desc ibe ambigui y o a wo d o a la ge linguis ic uni " (Baue 2008: 17). A dis inc ion
mus be made be ween lexical ambigui y and s uc u al ambigui y. The o me occu s a he
wo d le el, whe eas (no always qui e sha ply) homonymy and polysemy can be di e en ia ed.
S uc u al ambigui y occu s when a complex linguis ic uni , usually a sen ence, can be in e p e ed
di e en ly. While i is no iced and immedia ely esol ed, ambigui y plays a majo ole in poe y,
and i has become a key concep in mode n poe y. Roman Jakobson sees in i he essence o he
poe ic (Jakobson 1960: 371; Nö h 2000: 451). The ac ha ambigui y is so essen ial o he li e a y
nun in de no malen all äglichen Kommunika ion Ambigui ä kaum einmal
wo k o a is based, as Jan Mukařo ský (1989) has poin ed ou , on he ac ha he linguis ic sign
in li e a u e does no en i ely lose i s e e ence o he ex a-aes he ic eali y, bu ha he
e e ence in he wo k o a is no as clea as i is in he eal wo ld (see also Kohlheim 2006a:
274[…]80). Ne e heless, he concep o ambigui y in li e a y heo y is no longe as clea ly de ined
as in linguis ics. Thus, in he disse a ion on li e a y ambigui y, Shlomi h Rimmon wishes o speak
o ambigui y only when wo possible eadings a e mu ually exclusi e, as in Hen y James' amous
na a i e The Tu n o he Sc ew: Ei he he e a e ghos s on Bly o he e a e no ghos s, bu bo h
eadings a e possible (Rimmon 1977: 11). On he o he hand, Ab aham Kaplan and E ns K is (1948:
417[…]421) s a e i e di e en ypes o aes he ic ambigui y: disjunc i e ambigui y, addi i e
ambigui y, conjunc i e ambigui y, in eg a i e ambigui y and p ojec i e ambigui y. William Empson,
in his book Se en Types o Ambigui y, de ines ambigui y as an essen ial cha ac e is ic o poe ic
language, also assumes a b oad de ini ion o he concep o ambigui y. He p oposes o speak o
ambigui y whene e any e bal nuance, howe e sligh , lea es oom o al e na i e eac ions o
he same piece o language. Some o hese ways o c ea ing ambigui y do no di e in he
li e a y wo k o a 1 Empson (1966: 1): […]I p opose o use he wo d [ambigui y] in an ex ended
sense, and shall hink ele an o my subjec any e bal nuance, howe e sligh , which gi es oom
o al e na i e eac ions o he same piece o language.[…]
S aipsniai A icles 113 and 113
Onymische Ambigui ä in de Li e a u
O he s a e limi ed o he aes he ic sphe e. The ollowing is an a emp o
sys ema ize he di e en ypes o poe ic ambigui y wi h examples om Ge man
and English-language li e a u e. The i s example is he case whe e he e is
unce ain y as o whe he a lexeme is used as a p ope o (s ill) as an appella i e.
Osca Wilde's play The Impo ance o Being Ea nes is no longe being pu sued. We
a e dealing wi h a e y di e en kind o ambigui y in Richa d Wagne 's ope a The
Mas e Singe s o Nu embe g. The F ankish knigh Wal he on S olzing has jus
(1893) kann hie ü als Beispiel dienen, doch soll diese A de Ambigui ä hie
succeeded in exchanging a wo d wi h E a, he beau i ul daugh e o he goldsmi h
Pogne , a e he se ice. E a's nanny, Magdalene, is as onished a he
ag eemen ha has been eached so quickly be ween E a and Wal he , e en
hough hey had only me he day be o e. E a jus i ies he sel wi h he wo ds
(Wagne 1978 [1867]: 404): "Tha jus c ea ed such a quick agony o me ha I had
al eady seen him in he pic u e!
Say, didn' he s ep close like Da id?
Magdalene is disillusioned, bu she he sel is in lo e wi h a Da id, he
app en ice Da id. A e you g ea ? How? she calls ou jealously. Bu E a
eassu es he : "Like Da id in he pic u e". Now Magdalene belie es ha E e
e e ed he name Da id o he psalmis Da id, whom he singing mas e s
ene a e as hei pa on sain : "Ah! Do you mean he king wi h he ha p and
he long bea d in he mas e 's shield? Bu his king Da id E e does no mean,
o cou se, bu she hinks o he you h ul- adian he o: No! The one who
h ew he pebble o Golia h, he swo d in his bel , he sling in his hand, he
head su ounded by b igh cu ls, as Mas e Dü e pain ed i o us!
To which Magdalene, e e ing o he Da id again, sighs wi h elie : "Oh,
Da id! Da id! (Wagne 1978 [1867]: 404; see also Kohlheim, Kohlheim 2013).
Ob iously, he e is a e e en ial ambigui y he e, which is based on he
much-discussed ac ha a name as a linguis ic sign, as a "p op ia e lemma" in
he e minology o Willy Van Langendonck (2007), can e e o an unlimi ed numbe
o e e en s (see Windbe ge -Heidenkumme 2011).
VOLKER KOHLHEIM
114 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXII (Linguis ic Ac s o he Li huanians)
Fo he logician Da id Kaplan, he p ope name is he e o e undamen ally ambiguous. Howe e ,
and his also makes his example in e es ing om a linguis ic-philosophical poin o iew, he
ic ional en i y E e he e e e s o a his o ical igu e o he eal wo ld as depic ed by Dü e ,
namely he biblical Da id who de ea ed Golia h. The ic i ious en i y Magdalene, on he o he
hand, e e s o he p op ia e lemma Da id, i s o a pe son om he ic i ious wo ld o
which E e and Magdalene hemsel es belong, he app en ice Da id, and hen o he his o ical
pe son o King Da id. The e e ence assignmen s o he ic ional pe sons a e he e o e only
men ioned he e, bu canno be ollowed u he .3 Howe e , p ope names can also be
ambiguous in hei own igh in a ious espec s. Thus, i is no always clea om he ou se
lemlos sowohl inne halb de ik ionalen Wel wie übe diese hinaus, ein Aspek ,
whe he a name e e s o a male o emale bea e o he name, whe he i e e s o a pe son,
an animal, o e en a place. Al hough he ques ion o whe he ca ego ical meanings o
p esupposi ions necessa ily belong o he p ope o whe he hey a e me ely s a is ical
empi ical alues con ingen on he noun is con o e sial.4 The condi ions he e a e also
di e en om language o language. The ac is, howe e , ha w i e s like o use
ambi alence in his ega d. I would like o alk abou inhe en onymic ambigui y he e. I is
ob ious ha his kind o ambigui y is no limi ed o li e a u e. The a che ype o he gi l who
s ands be ween childhood and ma u i y is he mignon in Ge man li e a u e. Bu Mignon is no a
name a i s . I 's a subs an i e F ench adjec i e, which ansla es o "belo ed". Jus like he
Ge man wo d, he o eign wo d Mignon could be applied o bo h male and emale pe sons in
Goe he's ime: abou he ac ess Ca oline Jagemann i was said in a c i icism o 1800: "She
became in sho he Mignon o he public" (Commen a y o Goe he [17959] 1977: 719). So his
sexusambic designa ion is comple ely consis en wi h Mignon's and ogynous na u e; Wilhelm
Meis e , when he i s sees he , canno ag ee wi h himsel whe he he should decla e he a
boy o a gi l (Goe he 1977 [1795/96]: 86). Mignon he sel eplies pe sis en ly o a emp s o ix
he eminini y: 2 Kaplan Auch (1989: 563): "Unlike indexals like 'I' p ope names a e eally
ambiguous". 3 Wi hin he amewo k o he heo y o possible wo lds, ans-wo ld iden i y and
o he s a e deal wi h. This is a lis o people who ha e been awa ded he Nobel P ize in
Physiology o Medicine, so ed by he yea o hei dea h. This is he i s ime I' e seen him in
public. This is K ipke (2013: 81 .). 4 See also Ande son (2007: 135 .); Van Langendonck (2007: 71 .); also
known as Van Langendonck This is Coa es (2012: 125 […] 129). See also pa ag aph 5. Commen a y on
Goe he (1977 [1795/96]: 719); This a icle is pa o a se ies on Goe he. This is he i s ime I' e
seen him in public.
S aipsniai A icles 115 and 115
Onymische Ambigui ä in de Li e a u
I'm a boy, I don' wan o be a gi l! Bu he ambigui y o Mignon ex ends no only o
he ques ion o sex, bu also o he linguis ic s a us o he sign o language:
in oduced as an appella i e, Mignon becomes some hing like a p ope name o
he child in he cou se o he no el, especially since i pe sis en ly e uses o
e eal i s ac ual name. In he mean ime, Mignon has e en become a ecognized
eminine nickname in Ge man (Seibicke 2000: 327); So he e's been a change o
gende in he masculine F ench wo d. E en he wel e-yea -old p o agonis in
Ca son McCulle s' no el The Membe o he Wedding, i s published in 1946, is in
his dis u bing in e media e s age: he hai is cu like a boy's (McCulle s 2008: 8)
and she also wishes she could be a boy and go o wa .7 Unlike Mignon, his
" omboy" has a e y good name, namely he sexis nickname F ankie. And i is
elling ha when she occasionally ge s i ed o he in e media e s a e, she is
also i ed o he name: "This was he summe when F ankie was sick and i ed o
being F ankie" (McCulle s 2008: 29). Acco dingly, in pa II o he no el, she decides
o acqui e business ca ds wi h he demanding name Miss F. Jasmine Addams, Esq.
o p oduce (Mc-
Culle s 2008: 61), and hen in pa III, a he end o he no el, disillusioned, bu also ma u ed, o
be men ioned only wi h he clea ly emale i s name F ances (McCulle s 2008: 167 and mo e
o en). Sexually ambiguous names a e much mo e common in English han in Ge man, whe e
hey ac ually occu in he uno icial sphe e only as hypoko is ika. Ne e heless, many o
hese names end o one o he o he sex, e.g. he name Robin o he male. The e o e, in he
no el Nice Wo k by Da id Lodge, he indus ialis Vic Wilcox also expec s a male academic when
Robyn Pen ose is announced o him, who is supposed o "shade" him in his wo k as pa o an
academic p ojec . His as onishmen when a young lady mee s him is co espondingly g ea
(Lodge 1989: 106 .). I was a i s name dic iona y ha ga e Da id Lodge he idea o de elop a
comic scene om he sex ambigui y o he name Robin/Robyn; A he same ime, he ound
ha he […]and ogyne[…] name Robyn i e y well wi h his eminis and sel -con iden
he oine (Lodge 2011: 38). 6 Goe he (1977 [1795/96]: 522): Mignon has "swo n an oa h [...] no o
indica e he esidence and o igin mo e closely o any li ing pe son". 7 by McCulle s (2008: 30 ).
The no el akes place du ing Wo ld Wa II in a small own in Geo gia, USA.

VOLKER KOHLHEIM
116 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXII
In con as o eal li e, a name whose o iginal lexical meaning is s ill ecognizable au oma ically
"speaks" in he li e a y wo k. This is explained by he ac ha we ha e o assume ha he
name in he li e a y wo k o a is chosen by he au ho in en ionally, i ne e a aches o i s
bea e by chance. Consequen ly, we ind speaking names […] he exp ession comes om
Lessing […] al eady in an iqui y (Bi us 1987: 40). Al hough he speake 's name o en exp esses
wha ac ually cha ac e izes i s bea e , as is he case wi h John Fielding's Squi e Allwo hy in
Tom Jones (1749), speake s' names a e also used i onically o in con as . So he Angelo in
Shakespea e's Measu e o Measu e (1604; Ac III, 2, 249-254) is any hing bu angelic. I is his
e e -possible i onic o an i he ical applica ion ha makes alking names ambiguous om he
ou se , because i is only in he cou se o he na a i e ha we can gene ally lea n whe he a
seman ically anspa en name keeps wha i p omises. A ine example o his ambigui y is
Mi le in Goe he's Elec o al Rela ions: i s in oduced as a qui e success ul in e media y,8
he ails wi h Edua d and Cha lo e. I he ambigui y o he speaking name is la gely p ese ed
he e, hen Theodo Fon ane, a mas e o i onic naming, ends o esol e his onymic ambigui y
immedia ely, no o le i a ise in he i s place. This is how Comme cial Councillo T eibel
exp esses himsel a a dinne he hos ed abou wo ladies: "Two ladies om he cou ; The
co pulen one is M s. Majo in on Ziegenhals, he non-co pulen one is M s. Edwine on Boms .
I ony, acco ding o Roland Ba hes (1974: 66), "always s a s om a sa e place". This is gi en
he e by he clea s a emen abou he co pulence o he wo ladies. No enough o ha ,
T eibel s ill goes o e he conside able ches ci cum e ence o he goa 's neck and
philosophizes: "Besides, hese a e he kind o jokes ha he lich has known", said G iepenke l
(Fon ane 1969 [1892]: 24). I should be added ha on Boms does no un old i s sugges i e
e ec as an ac ually speaking, bu as a sound-symbolic name.9 Also in M s. Jenny T eibel mee s
he go e ness Miss Honey, abou whom i is immedia ely said ha Goe he himsel (877 [1809]:
255): "As long as he was in se ice, no ma ied couple had di o ced.
Leben e hei e n. Klops ock wa Dich e , und ein ande e , den ich noch pe sön-
[…].“
9
Deme z (1964: 194) is also compa ed o his.
S aipsniai A icles 117 and 117
Onymische Ambigui ä in de Li e a u
As soon as i ony comes in o play, he e is no longe any oom o ambigui y.
This also applies o he names in he li e a y wo k o a .
I , in hese cases, i is hei p e-p op ie a y seman ics ha makes he names "speaking",
hen a name can also d aw a en ion o hidden o con adic o y cha ac e is ics o i s
bea e by he ac ha i has al eady been bo ne by p e iously known pe sons, whe he
hey a e pe sonali ies o ex a- ex ual eali y, whe he hey a e li e a y igu es. The
name ge s i s meaning he e h ough he in e ex ual e e ences inhe en o i . This does
no always happen in such a conspicuous way as in he case o he social democ a ic, ade
union-o ganized machinis Napoleon Fische in Hein ich Mann's no el The Submissi e, in which
he eade na u ally immedia ely wonde s whe he he mee s he demands o his name.
Fon ane beha es much mo e disc ee ly in I ungen, Wi ungen, whose p o agonis bea s he
name Lene, a sho o m o he biblical name Ma y Magdalene, oscilla ing be ween sin and
holiness. In Wilhelm Raabe's no el Res less Gues s, he in e ex ual ambigui y inhe en in he
name Phöbe becomes e en plo - ele an : when he young s uden Vei on Bielow hea s he
eminine i s name Phöbe in he a ic o a ellow s uden o he i s ime, i sounds o
him "only hold Hellenic", and so he calls him "happily silen o e he oo s in he Ge man
Sp ing Moon Nigh " (Raabe 1961 [1885]: 190). In he "Hellenic" con ex , he name Phöbe e e s
o Phoebus Apollo (Böschens ein 1986: 28, anno a ion 55), bu also o he i ginal moon goddess
A emis, who also bea s he nickname Phöbe o he Shining One (Lensing 1988: 162). The
e e ence o he […]Mondsichel[…] in Raabe's ex is no o be o e looked. Bu i , no leas
because o his acquain ance wi h Phoebe a he end o he no el, he e minally ill Vei on
Bielow in a le e unexpec edly calls he goddess Pe sephoneia [...] (Raabe 1961 [1885]: 333),
" he goddess o he unde wo ld, whose name is e ymologically aced back o he moon and
who is o en e e ed o as he goddess A emis" (Lensing 1988:162), hese my hological
e e ences add he sub ex o he hemes o E os and Thahie inso a as he my hological
o he name Phoebe is immedia ely mani es in he ex in a o o ano he , namely Fon ane
(1969: 33). Te minologically, he e is s ill unce ain y abou such names. Hengs and Sobanski
speak he e o "con a y names", Hengs (2000) and Vasile a (2007: 151) o he lying name. Pohl
(2005) explains he eme gence o comics h ough such names using cogni i e concep s. 11
Li e a y onomas ics speaks he e o "embodied names"; Look a ha . This is Bi us (1987: 45).
na os e iden (Lensing 1988: 163). Ve bann und abuisie is diese Thema ik
VOLKER KOHLHEIM
Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXII, is Phoebe also he name o ha "se an o he
chu ch a Cench eae" who is ecommended by he apos le Paul, pe haps as he
bea e o his le e , o he Roman chu ch as "ou sis e " (Romans 16:1; Raabe 118
[1885]: 190). The e o e, some in e p e e s see Phoebe as […] he sis e […]: […]Sis e ly
a e Phoebe's unc ions in he house o he physical b o he , […]sis e ly[…] a e also
he asks in he illage. […]12 Ul ima ely, howe e , he ambigui y o he name
be ween G eek my hological and Ch is ian e e ences e lec s he inne
con adic ion o a igu e who, as one o he bes Raabe connoisseu s o he
p esen has exp essed, […]is no an easy cha ac e o ead[…] (Sammons 1987: 246).
Family names ha e been o med since abou 14-15. Cen u y in Ge many, bu also in England,
he […]comple e name[…] o a pe son.13 The e is a whole ange o Ge man, bu also English
amily names, which a e o med wi hou o mal change om nicknames, such as F ied ich,
Lukas, We ne .14 The ambigui y caused by he lack o ma king o he amily name is used, o
example, by he w i e Bodo Ki chho a he beginning o his no el In an a, se in he
Philippines: "The Ge man [...] suddenly in oduced himsel wi h Lukas. "M . Lukas Ku ?" "M .
Ku Lukas". "Then he e was you i s name on he s icke ". "Someone made a mis ake.
How a e you? (Ki chho 1990: 7). Bu he e a e also o he , mo e impo an possibili ies o
he ex o onymic ambigui y o an au ho due o he wo componen s o he o e all name,
which can hen become li e a y p oduc i e, o example, i he o ewo d and su ix
somehow con as wi h each o he . A p ime example o such a "b oken" (P esch 2002: 3 . and
passim) o e en "an i he ical" name (Deme z 1964: 197[…]201) is Thomas Mann's Tonio K öge
(1903). The an i hesis o he wo names is based he e on he linguis ic ma king o Tonio as a
Roman name, i.e. a sou he n name, and K öge as a Low Ge man name, i.e. a no he n
Nabigui y, which is cons i u i e o he con lic ed cha ac e o he p o agonis o he Man's
No el. Bu Thomas Mann is by no means he i s o use his onymic s ylis ic de ice; In his he
ollows e y closely Theodo Fon ane, who in E i B ies a […][...] small[n] slan ed shoulde [n]
and almos al eady 12 Höhle (1969: 131). Signi ican ly, Phebe also appea s as Holden Caul ield's
me.15 Zusammengenommen e zeugen die de a ma kie en Namen eine Am-
sis e in J. D. Salinge 's no el The Ca che in he Rye (1951). 13 The e minus a e Seibicke
(2008: 10, 14 .). 14 See he o igin o hese su names Kohlheim (2000). 15 Acco ding o Bi us (1987:
45), hese a e "classi ying" names.
S aipsniai A icles 119 and 119
Onymische Ambigui ä in de Li e a u
M . Gieshüble , who a he same ime had some hing so dis inguished, gi es he
name o Alonzo Gieshüble . Fon ane, like Thomas Mann, likes o ha e his
cha ac e s commen on s iking names, and so E i says, when he pha macis
Alonzo Gieshüble is in oduced o he , ap ly: "And hen I see ha you a e
di e en om o he s. Maybe i 's he name ha 's in ol ed in you case. Tha was
always a a o i e s a emen o ou old pas o Niemeye ; The name, he liked o
say, especially he i s name, has some hing mys e iously de ining, and Alonzo
Gieshüble , I hink, opens up a whole new wo ld o you, yes, I almos wish I could say,
Alonzo is a oman ic name, a p ecious name. "Yes, my mos g acious lady",
answe ed Gieshüble , " he e you will mee " (Fon ane 1969 [1895]: 64 .). The
"p eziosaname" Alonzo e e s o Spain, whe e Gieshüble s mo he ac ually comes
om, and hus o he Don Quixo e-like na u e o his cha ac e , who would mos
like o " igh and die" o E i as Cid o some o he campeado (Fon ane 1969 [189]:
66), while he amily name, which is eminiscen o a Bohemian mine al wa e
(Deme z 1964 199:), ep esen s he bou geois elemen o his pha macis , who is
also p oud ha he Gieshüble s a e al eady in he ull ou hund ed h gene a ion
o pha macis s (Fon ane 1969 [189]:
65; see also Deme z 1964: 199).
Alonzo Gieshüble s ands o he ambigui y o his name and li es i ui ully.
Ve y di e en om he music eache and compose Niels W schowi z om
Fon ane's las no el The S echlin. Niels W schowi z e en su e s so much om
his an i he ical name ha he "ou o a kind o despai became a doc o "
(Fon ane 1969 [1899]: 130). I is no , as one migh expec , p ima ily he
linguis ic-geog aphical an i hesis o his Danish and Czech combined name, bu a
epulsion o he i s name Niels, which was also despised by he Danish
compose les T i ialen and Unbedeu enden [...], and so he came up wi h he idea o
camou laging he i s name on his map by a doc o a e in 1969 […] (Fon ane [1899:
Niels Gade ug. „Niels Gade“, heiß es bei Fon ane, „wa ihm de Inbeg i al-
131 .). He e, oo, i becomes clea ha Fon ane ends o use onymic ambigui ies
as soon as possible in a o o one o wha e e kind.
To esol e he unce ain y.
Bu Fon ane is also no he i s o make p oduc i e use o he ambigui y o he o e all name o
one o his igu es. The p edecesso he e would be Jean Paul, who in his 1809 no el Des
Feldp edige s 16 Deme z (1964: 200) w o e: "W schowi z was a he ime o Fon anes he wedding
o Czech P ague".