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Eight Issues in the Pragmatic Theory of Properhood

Richard Coates

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119s aipsniai / a icles icha d coa es uni e si y o he Wes o england, b is ol ields o esea ch: his o ical linguis ics, e ymology, philology o wes e n and no he n eu opean languages, heo e ical phonology, he his o y o dialec ology, cul u al aspec s o he his o y o english, and local his o y. eigh issues in he P agMa ic heo y o P oPe hood aš uonios p agma inės ik inių žodžių eo ijos p oblemos anno a ion his a icle de elops an app oach o he unde s anding o p ope names called he P ag- ma ic heo y o P ope hood ( P P), which is buil on wo cen al ideas: (1) P ope names ha e no sense (2) he essence o being a p ope name is o be ound in e e ence, no in deno a ion i ou lines he elemen s o P P, i s p emises and consequences, and p oceeds o examine a selec ion o eigh o he issues which emain, o which appea o emain. o some yea s now i ha e been p oposing an app oach o he unde s anding o p ope names called he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood ( P P). di e - en aspec s o i ha e been p esen ed in a se ies o pape s (coa es 2000, 2005a, 2005b, 2006a, 2006b, 2009, 2011a, 2011b, 2012). he poin o he p esen pape is o ou line he elemen s o he heo y, i s p emises and consequences, and o examine some o he p oblems which emain, o which appea o emain. i is he e o e la gely exposi o y a he han a gumen a i e, and he lis o e e ences is co espondingly small. he in ellec ual his o y o he heo y will no be deal wi h he e, since ha was co e ed ho oughly in coa es (2006a and 2009), bu i is good o ecall ha my bigges deb s a e o john s ua Mill (1843), u h ba can keyWo ds: name heo y, p ope hood, “ ag heo y” o p ope names, e e ence, seman ics, p agma ics. 120 icha d coa es ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXVI Ma cus (1961), and o he s in he same adi ion, o poin (1), essen ially wha is now called he “ ag” heo y o p ope names,1 and o Pe e ede ick s awson (1950) – o some ex en – o poin (2). o he ull his o y, coa es (2006a) and i s e y subs an ial lis o e e ences should be consul ed. P P is buil a ound hese wo ideas: (3) P ope names ha e no sense (4) he essence o being a p ope name is o be ound in e e ence, no in deno a ion some consequences o hese wo a e: (5) P ope names do no o m a de e mina e se (6) P ope names do no all in o logically secu e ca ego ies (7) P ope names canno be ansla ed (8) heo izing he in e ace be ween p ope and non-p ope exp essions has neu o- physiological (and psycholinguis ic) implica ions Whils he ollowing a e no s ic ly consequences o he wo key ideas, hey suppo and ampli y hem: (9) Whils p ope names do no ha e sense, hey a e no meaningless (10) he meanings o p ope names which can be accessed a e ancilla y, and o be dis in- guished om sense (11) he p ope names o cha ac e s in li e a y wo ks may be a special case he e is one bone o con en ion which keeps esu acing in wo ks o heo e ic al onomas ics, iz. ha names a e ei he maximally meaning ul o minimally meaning- ul. i sugges ha i is no an ma e o al e na i es, bu ha : (12) P ope names a e bo h maximally and minimally meaning ul and ha he de ail o he iew one ough o ake is de e mined by exac ly wha one means by meaning. Pu ing i ano he way: he supposed issue is a non-issue. nei he o he wo key ideas (1) and (2) is new in i sel , bu i con end ha ou side o P P nei he o hem has been ollowed h ough igo ously, and ha hei in e ac ion has no been p ope ly unde s ood. b inging hem oge he in o a slogan, we can say ha p ope hood (unde s ood as ‘ he s a e o being a p ope name’) is senseless e e ing. ha is impo an , because many app oaches o name heo y de end he iew ha p ope hood is senseless deno ing, a iew ha i 1 he “ ag” heo y is gene ally iewed as being in opposi ion o be and ussell’s “desc ip ion” heo y and john . sea le’s “clus e ” heo y. since he “ ag” heo y is widely hough no uni e sally accep ed, i shall no engage in he de ail o ha pa icula deba e in his pape . My posi ion ex ends he “ ag” heo y o linguis ically well- o med exp essions which a e ambiguous wi h espec o being names. eigh issues in he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood 121s aipsniai / a icles conside incohe en and demons ably alse. he co e meaning o a p ope name is i s e e en in he con ex o i s u e ance;2 names, once es ablished, a e igid designa o s (k ipke 1980: 48). o he kinds o meaning, which may be iewed om ei he he speake ’s o he add essees’s pe spec i e, can be accessed in he ac o e e ence. bu hese emain ancilla y o he basic ac . hey include, o ins ance, an exp ession’s e ymology, p obabilis ic ca ego iza ion, conno a ions, and encyclo- pedic de ini ion. bu since none o hese need o be accessed in o de o pe o m e e ence success ully, hey do no o m pa o he de ini ion o p ope hood. ha does no mean ha hey a e unimpo an , bu hei ela ionship o he key no ions needs o be unde s ood p ecisely, and we shall in es iga e hem below. om now on, he simple e m name will be used ins ead o he ulle p ope name . i s ly, he key seman ic e ms in (1) and (2) need o be de ined. he exis - ence o di e ing e minological adi ions in philosophy and linguis ics makes his necessa y. Re e ence is he ac o picking ou an indi idual e e en in a con ex o u e - ance; indi idual means a single on, i.e. single ins ance o any ype o ca ego y, no jus an indi idual pe son Deno a ion is he ange o po en ial e e en s o a wo d o o he exp ession (i s ex ension), ha is, i is an abs ac ion om e e ence and mus no be con used wi h i , and i is a no ion ha applies ou side any speci ic con ex ; ha ange o po en ial e e en s may o may no sha e any de ining ea u e o ea u es (in ension) [ he deno a ion o a name is ini ially es ablished h ough ac s o e e ence (among which, o p esen pu poses, i include name-bes owal; on his no ion, see u he below), bu i is a p ac ical consequence o such ac s o e e ence and no a p econdi ion o he success o such ac s. e e ence is he e o e p ima y and he deno a ion o a name epiphenomenal upon epea ed success ul e e ence achie ed h ough u e ing i . no ice ha i do no claim ha names ha e no deno a ion, as some ha e hough .] Sense is he ne wo k o seman ic ela ions in which lexical wo ds and mo e complex exp essions pa icipa e, such as synonymy, hyponymy, an onymy, me onymy, con e - si y, and so on [Sense is dis inc om in ension. names canno no ha e sense by he abo e de ini ion, whe eas all and only he e e en s sha ing some name may, con in- gen ly, sha e an in ension, e.g. jus in case all indi iduals called Ba ack a e male human beings.] My use o hese e ms is essen ially ha o Lyons (1977). 2 such a iew is espoused pa icula ly clea ly by he philosophe bu ge (1973: 438–439). 122 icha d coa es ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXVI now le us in oduce and de elop a simple example, aken a andom om he websi e o he bbc on 22 decembe 2011. howa d a che [an economis , c] said he el ha mo e ac ion om he bank o england was likely in he new yea . he name consis ing o he i s wo wo ds e e s (mo e accu a ely, he u - e e o he i s wo wo ds e e s by u e ing hem) o an indi idual called Howa d A che , who, in he con ex o u e ance, is likely o be uniquely iden i iable, ei he as pa o he common g ound, o ha ing al eady been in oduced as a discou se e e en , o because he is wea ing a lapel badge.3 o cou se, i is always possible ha some add essees may know mo e han one pe son wi h ha name, and ha is an una oidable isk which may esul in communica ion ailu e. con ex will usu- ally be enough o decide which pe son is being e e ed o, and indeed o decide ha a pe son is being e e ed o a he han some hing else which can bea a name, like a dog, a lake, o a spo s club, bu success ul e e ence can ne e be gua an eed: only aspi ed o and a emp ed. decon ex ualized, he name Howa d A che deno es any indi idual which bea s ha name; he consequences o his will be assessed in (3’). hose indi iduals ha e no hing necessa ily in common apa om hei name; any hing non- andom ha hey migh ha e in common could be due o gene ic ac o s, and hen only i he su name had a single o igin, which seems unlikely in his case.4 he name can he e o e be de ined ex ensionally bu no in ension- ally. Mo eo e , Howa d A che has no sense. i con ains a wo d which we know o be used as an english su name, bu i does no ca y he sense o ha wo d, ‘soldie a med wi h a bow and a ows’. i s e ymology is o no impo ance o help in iden i ying an indi idual in a con ex o u e ance; M a che is an economis , no a soldie . A che , used as a name, is no a synonym o bowman, no a co-hyp- onym, wi h e.g. bake , d ape , smi h, o ade o occupa ion. o cou se, i is also no a synonym o ano he su name, Bowman, no is i a co-hyponym wi h e.g. Bake , D ape , Smi h, o ade o occupa ion. so i A che is used o e e success ully o an indi idual, i does so wi hou eso o sense and only i ially wi h eso o deno a ion: i elies on he add essees’ p io knowledge ha A che migh deno e a ange o indi iduals who bea ha name, and ha he indi idual p o isionally iden i ied (mo e closely speci ied by he gi en name Howa d) is one o hem. he e is appa en ly no hing e y new he e. bu i p ope hood is g ounded in e e ence a he han in deno a ion, some in e es ing hings ollow. i pick up poin s (3–6) made ea lie , in u n. 3 he web-page in ques ion, h p://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16300104, explains exac ly who he is. 4 i has been shown ha many su names, a leas in england, can be aced back o a single o iginal bea e ( edmonds 2002), bu o cou se ha is no ue o all o hem. eigh issues in he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood 123s aipsniai / a icles (3’) P oPe naMes do no o M a de e Mina e se he e may be exp essions whose p ope hood migh be con es ed. i is un- likely ha anyone would con es Nep une, Isabella, Cambodia, Vilnius, and so on: hese a e p o o ypical p ope names in ha by common consen hey ha e no lexical con en , i.e. no sense .5 bu wha abou complex exp essions ha a e ce - ainly candida es o be conside ed as names, especially such geog aphical exp es- sions as The Uni ed S a es, The Wes Bank, The No h Sea, The Sou he n Ocean, The Rocky Moun ains, and Huang He ‘ he yellow i e ’, and exp essions deno - ing a single deno a um, like The Pope?6 i is a e y in e es ing ma e o decide whe he use s o hese exp essions in pa icula con ex s iden i y hei e e en s by using he lexical meaning (sense) o he wo ds in ol ed. We will lea e aside he appa en gene ic e m ill (4’); bu as ega ds he speci ics, we can be p e y con iden ha hey do no use hei appa en senses. We do no need o eso o psycholinguis ic specula ion abou p ocessing o come o a conclusion. We can simply ask linguis ically ocused ques ions such as: is he sen ence The Rocky Moun ains a e no ( eally) ocky, o The Yellow Ri e is no ( eally) yellow, a con- adic ion? i sugges ha hey a e no con adic o y. hey may be inaccu a e, bu an un u h is no he same as a con adic ion.7 as o he second one, huang he is so called om he loessy sil i ca ies in i s lowe cou se, bu i is said o ha e been known as (The) Black Ri e in old Mongolian (Pa ke 1917: 11, “[ ]he Mongols s yle i he black i e ”), om i s appea ance in i s uppe cou se, all o which demons a es a leas ha he e is no simple ela ion be ween names and hei appa en lexical con en . i hese sen ences a e no con adic o y, hen he exp essions in ques ion mus be names. i hey a e names, we can immedia ely see ha some names and some exp essions which a e no names a e homonymous (The Rocky Moun ains e sus he ocky moun ains, wi h he name dis inguished con en ionally in w i ing by capi aliza ion). i ha is ue, hen he e is no ool- 5 hey may gain a sense by opes ( he o ical igu es), as in We all hope he e will ne e be ano he Cam- bodia (alluding me onymically o he massac es he e in he 1970s), bu ha is i ele an he e. 6 i am e e ing o he leade o he oman ca holic chu ch, hough i am awa e ha o he denomin- a ions, such as he cop ic ch is ians, also ha e a pope. he impo an poin he e is ha he ele an denomina ions each ha e only one pe son deno ed by his exp ession. i eade s hink his duali y o plu ali y unde mines my a gumen , hey may subs i u e The Dea Leade , unde s ood o deno e he la e kim jong-il alone; bo h his a he and his son we e gi en di e en “s yles”. 7 Cows gene ally li e longe han a me s is ac ually alse, bu i is no con adic o y. God is h ee and God is one is a con adic ion, bu a leas some eligious people will decla e ha i is ue. 124 icha d coa es ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXVI p oo way o deciding whe he an exp ession, as a linguis ic en i y, is a name o no ; he ques ion can only be add essed in ela ion o a con ex . in some con ex , he exp ession in ques ion is ei he used o e e seman ically (using he con en o he lexis i con ains) o onymically (no using he con en o he lexis i con- ains). P ope hood is he e o e, as illus a ed by hese examples, a mode o e e ence, and no a ca ego y o exp essions, and his unde s anding o he no- ion can be applied e en o hose exp essions which a e uncon o e sially names (e.g. Nep une, Vilnius): hey a e simply exp essions which a e ne e used o e e seman ically, excep in opes (c . oo no e 3). an impo an issue which is in he backg ound he e, bu which i ha e no spel ou so a , is ha exp essions may become names, i.e. hey may e ol e in o names h ough epea ed usage in such a way ha use s no longe access hei lexical con en in o de o achie e success ul e e ence. his mus be ue, o he wise no mal his o ical onomas ics, which seeks o explain obscu e names by ela ing hem o hei e ymological lexical sou ce, would be impossible and un hinkable. exp essions such as hose men ioned in he las pa ag aph may be names o some use s ( hose who do no access hei lexical con en ), possibly no names o o he s ( hose who do access hei lexical con en ), and a iably names o ye o he s ( hose who some imes access hei lexical con en ). such exp essions may be on he way o becoming names, i hey a e no names al eady. bu i is no eally an ei he -o ma e . i ha e a gued elsewhe e (e.g. coa es 2005b) ha once a use has used an exp ession as a name (i.e. has used i o e e onymically), i is imp obable ha , unde no mal ci cums ances, ha use will use i seman ically again (allowing pe haps o a b ie ansi ional pe iod). his is because seman ic e e ence is me- dia ed by lexical and g amma ical meaning, and i s p ocessing cos s a e he e o e highe . zip ’s Law (o an analogue o i ; zip 1949) equi es us o belie e ha he p ocessing sys ems o language-use s will apply he leas e o equi ed o achie e hei e e en ial goal. he e is a hypo he ical neu ophysiological consequence: i onymic e e ence in ol es bypassing lexical meaning, he e mus be a physical neu al ou e which is less cos ly. his is in es iga ed in (6’) below. names may he e o e e ol e om non-onymic exp essions in he manne desc ibed mo e ully elsewhe e (e.g. coa es 2012). hey may also be coined di - ec ly ou o lexical ma e ial and applied o an indi idual, as when he designa ion The Fo me Yugosla Republic o Macedonia was ag eed o ce ain pu poses in 1993 o he new eu opean s a e. names may also be eapplied o new indi id- uals. he name Richa d was al eady in exis ence when i was applied o me. hese conside a ions indica e ha names as e ms deno ing indi iduals may a ise ei he by e olu ion o bes owal. he c ucial ac o in bo h cases is ha he p ocess cancels o ende s inapplicable any sense ha he exp ession p e iously had, ei he eigh issues in he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood 125s aipsniai / a icles g adually o ins an ly.8 i is impo an o no e ha his does no mean he sense canno e e be eco e ed du ing p ocessing, and we e u n o his ma e below in (7’), and (8’). (4’) P oPe naMes do no aLL in o LogicaLLy secu e ca ego ies e u ning o gene ics o he kinds in he examples in oduced in (3’), we can ask a simila kind o ques ion. names con aining a anspa en gene ic will o en be he names o wha he gene ic deno es. The Bank o England in my ea lie example- sen ence is such an ins ance. bu conside The E ening S a is no a s a and The Wes Bank is no a bank. he i s o hese is ue, as no mally unde s ood, because he key exp ession is gene ally used o e e o Venus, which is a plane , no a s a . he second one is ue because he exp ession as a name is gene ally used o e e o a geopoli ical en i y in Pales ine ( hough o cou se i may ha e o he e e en s oo), and he e i is me onymic in o igin, aking i s name om he bank o he i e jo dan. hese show ha exp essions which migh be conside ed o be names may appea o con ain a gene ic which does no app op ia ely ca ego ize he indi- idual. i ollows ha he sense o ha gene ic is inapplicable o absen when such names a e p ocessed. a a ou i e example o mine conce ns an objec in my home own, whe e he e used o be a pe ec ly o dina y ailway b idge called Peak’s Tunnel . Peak’s Tunnel is no a unnel is he e o e e iden ly no con adic o y. he e is no necessa y connec ion be ween a name including Tunnel and a hing ha is a unnel. e en i he e is a s ong expec a ion ha such a ela ionship will p o e o be alid, i does no ha e logical secu i y. names con aining anspa en gene ics he e o e gi e ise o expec a ions go e ned by eal-wo ld expe iences, bu no hing mo e. a mo e adical de elopmen o his idea is possible: no name ca ies wi h i an en ailmen o a p esupposi ion abou he ca ego y o he indi idual bea ing i , as many linguis s and logicians (e.g. ecen ly Van Langendonck 2007: 71 . and chap- e 3, wi h e e ences he e) ha e wan ed o belie e.9 i ega d his as sel -e iden , 8 Le us jus ollow h ough he consequence o ha : i i name a child using an exp ession ha has lexical con en , e.g. Nadežda ‘hope’, ha con en ceases o be applicable in any ac o e e ence o he child, e.g. “nadežda is playing wi h he oys.” his is sel -e iden . 9 using Van Langendonck’s e minology: he e a e no ca ego ical p esupposi ions. o cou se, he e a e expec a ions o a s a is ical kind. I inas a e likely o be emale human beings; i ollows ha I ina, iewed as a name- ype o p op ial lemma, does no p esuppose ha he bea e is emale. Van Langen- donck is igh o claim ha p op ial lemma a yield possible deno a a, bu he link is no a logically wa e igh one, as i go on o demons a e. 126 icha d coa es ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXVI and canno unde s and why anyone con inues o belie e he opposi e. you may wish o ca ego ize I ina as a emale gi en name, o Egyp as a geopoli ical name, o Vaiciulenas as a su name. Why do you belie e hese hings? you ha e expe i- ences de i ed om encoun e s (o o he ways o acqui ing knowledge) ha a leas one indi idual bea e can be ca ego ized in his way, i.e. ha a pa icula emale, X, has he name I ina, and so on. bu i does no ollow ha an I ina mus be a human emale (unless he applicabili y o gi en names is egula ed by law, as i is in some s a es – no a ma e o linguis ics o logic). om such a pe spec i e, Shi ley was a ( a e) male gi en name in he english-speaking wo ld un il cha lo e b on ë used i as he name o he he oine o he no el o ha i le; i was ein o ced as a emale name by he ame o he ame ican child ilm-s a shi ley emple, which spa ked o a ashion o apply i o emales in he 1930s. did his name change ca ego y om male o emale? Wha should we conclude? a one le el i is simply common sense ha I ina and Shi ley a e gi l’s names and Vaiciulenas a su name. hese classi ica ions a e he ui o epea ed obse a ions. hey depend on hose obse a ions, backed by a ype o in e ence exempli ied by I one membe o ca ego y X is called i ina, hen i ina is a name ONLY applied o membe s o ha ca ego y. his in e ence is alla- cious: i is an ins ance o induc ion gene alizing om obse ed cases, i.e. a guing om he pa icula o he gene al, and i is alse in he same way as All amilies ha e TV se s o All dogs ha e ou legs is alse. i is also applied no ma i ely: I one membe o ca ego y X is called i ina, hen i ina is a name which SHOULD only be applied o membe s o ha ca ego y. his is a social and cul u al no m,10 no a lin- guis ic o logical ule. We canno escape he conclusion ha he e is no hing linguis ic abou I ina ha makes i a emale gi en name. We need o dis inguish be ween wo claims: I ina is a name applied (only) o indi iduals which all in o he ca ego y o human emales and I ina is a membe o he linguis ic ca ego y emale pe sonal name he i s is ue, bu i he e is an implici o explici only i can be alsi ied by one coun e example (as in he case o he male gi en name Shi ley). Wi hou he only, i can be unde s ood as an expec a ion o a cul u al no m a he han a ne- cessi y. i is abou okens o he name I ina, a he han i s ype. he second means essen ially he same as he i s wi h he (implici o explici ) only. hey 10 in ei he o he senses o he e m no m, s a is ical o coe ci e. eigh issues in he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood 127s aipsniai / a icles make an asse ion abou I ina as a ype. We can conclude ha names as okens can be ca ego ized indi idually, and classi ied on he basis o expec a ion as e.g. hyd onyms, heonyms, emale gi en names, and so on. names as ypes canno be so classi ied. he consequence o ha as ega ds he making o in e ences o con- eyed meanings is as ollows: i ina smokes en ciga e es a day >> some emale pe son smokes en ciga e es a day is a easonable p obabilis ic in e ence based on he li e-expe iences o he u - e e o add essee, which is less p obably ue jus in case he e is an I ina who is male, o a squi el, o a ca . i does no ha e he logical o ce o an en ailmen . names do no all in o linguis ic ca ego ies in he s ic sense, i.e. a bea e o he name- ype I ina is no equi ed o be a human emale, e en i hey all in o wha we migh call expec a ional ca ego ies whe e a p o o ypical o ypical bea e o he name- oken I ina is indeed a human emale: a di e en ma e al oge he . he ca ego iza ions o names which onomas icians use a e he e o e no linguis ic ca - ego ies (ca ego ies in ol ing ypes) bu cul u al ones (ca ego ies in ol ing okens) and no linguis ic ones a all. in case any eade is no con inced by he a gumen in he p e ious pa ag aph, le hem conside he ollowing. i is ob ious ha names may be duplica ed ac oss membe s o he ca ego y o which a bea e belongs: Robe has been applied o male humans and p esumably will con inue o be so applied. bu i may be applied o any hing else. i could name no only my son bu my ca , my ca , my compu e , my c edi ca d, o absolu ely any hing else Robe . being a name allows applica ion o any hing which is cul u ally capable o bea ing a name. ha is, o cou se, a sa is y- ing consequence o ou undamen al no ion ha names ha e no sense. i you would a gue ha in all o hese hypo he ical cases i would apply he “male gi en name Robe ” o he objec s men ioned, and ha i would s ill emain a male gi en name undamen ally, i would o cou se ag ee ha i s ill alls in o ha expec a ional ca - ego y. now conside he possibili y o a aceho se named Lucina. is Lucina a hippo- nym o ho se-name (p o isionally conside ing hipponym o be a alid ype-ca ego y, as exempli ied on he e minological page o he icos web-si e11)? i did no p e i- ously know ha Lucina was also he name o a oman goddess iden i ied wi h juno, and associa ed wi h childbi h, i.e. a heonym. his o ically, he e o e, Lucina is a heonym, and one migh ake he iew ha he ho se-name is an applica ion o he heonym. bu suppose i had ne e come ac oss he goddess. his o y would coun o no hing in my onomas icon, and Lucina’s only place would be in he p o i- sional expec a ional ca ego y o hipponyms. i would no be a heonym a all excep 11 www.icosweb.ne /index.php/ e minology.h ml, accessed equen ly. 134 icha d coa es ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXVI b igh in a way use ul o he ou is indus y. hese ea u es may no be igo - ously heo e ically dis inguishable om each o he ; my pu pose he e is simply o illus a e he kind o meaning-“baggage” ha names may b ing wi h hem, and which may (no mus ) be accessed du ing ac s o e e ence and which may (no mus ) acili a e he in en ion o success ul e e ence in he con ex o u e ance, a poin which applies equally o lexical ma e ial. he in e nal meaning o names is no hing, i all ha we mean by ha is hey ha e no sense. he co olla y is ha such meanings as hey do possess a e all ex- e nal o hemsel es: hei deno a ion ( he hings hey could in p inciple be used o e e o), and hei conno a ions (unde s andings o he na u e o he indi id- uals, e.g. places, ha hey deno e which a e dependen on he pe cep ion(s) o he use , including common knowledge), as well as he indi iduals ha hey a e ac- ually used o e e o on pa icula occasions. (8’) he Meanings o naMes can be accessed Le us make ully clea a poin aised du ing he discussion in (5’). i ejec ed he no ion ha names ha e sense, bu i may ha e seemed o ein oduce i by he back doo in allowing ha he e ymology o a name migh be accessed o ce ain pu poses, including ansla ion. he concep s a e comple ely dis inc . When an exp ession is being used as an onymically e e ing exp ession, i.e. in i s unc ion o picking ou a e e en in a con ex o usage wi hou he media ion o lexical con en (sense), hen by de ini ion sense is no accessed. bu o he aspec s o meaning ( hose in (7’)), con eyed bu no asse ed, may (no mus – ha is he impo an c i e ion) be in play in pa icula ways. in picking ou a pe son by name, expec a ional ca ego ies may come in o play (4’). i someone ells me o gi e some hing o Jane, i am likely o look o a emale human being (bu o cou se i canno ely 100% on he in e ence in ol ed: jane may plausibly be a ca ). Le us wo k o dispel any linge ing imp ession ha names may ha e sense, o ha e ymology and sense amoun o he same hing, because we migh be emp ed o a gue ha he e is a cline o g adien o sense ulness. no-one dispu es ha he e a e synch onically opaque names and ha hese ha e no sense, o example he english place-names Yo k, Auckland, Ogbou ne, Congle on. any imp ession o sense- bea ing depends on a e y non-linguis ic p ope y: he e ymological sophis ica ion o he language-use . an indi idual use o hese names may acqui e, h ough educa ion, he philological knowledge ha he ances o o bou ne once mean ‘s eam’, ha ha o - on once mean ‘ a m, illage’, and ha land s ill exis s wi h a sense eigh issues in he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood 135s aipsniai / a icles pa ly compa able wi h i s o iginal old english one. ha knowledge may be each- e ous, because he -land in Auckland o iginally had no hing wha e e o do wi h land (Wa s 2002: 9–10), and one would ind i di icul o main ain ha land syn- ch onically means ‘land’ in his name. he place-name Chelms o d appea s mo e o less anspa en ly o be ‘ o d ac oss he ( i e ) chelme ’, and acco ding o one pos- sible unde s anding ha is wha i is, bu ha unde s anding has a isen h ough a six een h-cen u y opog aphe ’s in e en ion, whe he mis aken o delibe a e, and ha unde s anding does no e lec he “sense” o he elemen s ou o which he name was o iginally cons uc ed because he i e -name has been ca ed ou o he place-name by back o ma ion. any a gumen ha e ymological anspa ency is a su oga e o some aspec s o sense ounde s on examples like hese, and i is simp- ly alse ha e ymological anspa ency is he same as sense. Wha abou names wi h an undeniably anspa en e ymology? can i be denied ha such place-names as Longb idge, B oads ai s, New own, and Redhill, o he su names Bu che and Jackson, o he emale gi en names Ap il and Viole , ha e sense? indeed i can, e en he e whe e he anspa en o ms a e e ymologically us wo hy. Le us wo k h ough one such example: as a unc ioning place-name, Longb idge en ails (i.e. logically equi es) no hing, no e en he exis ence o a b idge. gi en a se o usual assump ions abou names, i mus en ail he exis ence o a long b idge a he his o ical momen o naming, bu no he ea e (i.e. he o dP has applied (c . 6’)). bu he b idge’s con inued exis ence o i s disappea - ance is o no linguis ic ele ance a all. ha does no mean ha a name like Longb idge is incapable o con eying any meaning a all. gi en no mal assump ions abou how places ge hei names,18 i con eys in o ma ion abou he pas : ha he e was a b idge he e and ha maybe he e s ill is, bu ha in e ence does no amoun o synch onic linguis ically-based knowledge o he place. going o Long- b idge does no allow you o belie e wi h he logical secu i y a o ded by he senses o he wo ds appa en ly in ol ed ha you will ind a b idge he e. some so o expec a ion is admissible, bu i can be abandoned wi hou a logical disas- e in he ace o e idence which unde mines i : he lack o a b idge. in he ace o his kind o e idence, we can conclude ha any appa en sense in names is no eally sense bu (co ec o inco ec ) e ymological unde s anding, and hey a e no he same. hey a e kep apa by he logical secu i y o insecu - i y o he in e ences which hey allow. A o he long b idge is wha is pe cei ed by he senses, whils Longb idge does no necessa ily e eal any hing compa able. in names, a anspa en e ymology amoun s in linguis ic e ms o a con eyed mean- 18 he e a e o cou se now o he , a bi a y, ways o places o ge names, exempli ied by a good deal o he p ac ice obse ed in ame ica. 136 icha d coa es ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXVI ing, no an asse ed one: i.e. a meaning wi h no secu e logical s a us, o one which is me ely sugges ed. on he basis o examples like his, we should conclude ha “Wha does a name mean?” is a misleading ques ion, i i is in ended o be unde s ood synch onically. “how does a name mean?” is a be e one, and ha is he only ques ion o syn- ch onic linguis ic impo ance. i is o be unde s ood as “how does a name iden- i y a e e en in a con ex o use?” he answe is “ h ough sha ed knowledge o an a bi a y bu s able and igid associa ion o a linguis ic o m wi h an indi idu- al”. he co esponding diach onic ques ion is: “Wha did a name mean?” (i.e. “Wha sense did i ha e?”) – no e ha , c ucially, he e b is in he pas ense, and i acknowledges he disappea ance o sense in he ansi ion o being a name. (9’) naMes in Li e a y Wo ks May be a sPeciaL case he e is much o in e es ha migh be said abou names in wo ks o a in gene al, and especially “c a ylic” cha ac onyms in li e a u e (ba on 1990). hese a e names whose o m appea s o ca y some signi icance wi hin he wo k in ques- ion. Many cha ac onyms illus a e wha we migh call The E ymological Onomas- ic Tu n. such names may be unde s ood wi h hei e ymological and a guably he e o e hei seman ic alue emaining a ailable whene e hey a e used o e e o hei e e en (o pe haps, mo e ealis ically, a leas on he i s occasion). ake o example he names amous in english li e a u e o ancien Pis ol, doll Tea shee , M s Malap op, M Bumble, becky Sha p, gab iel Oak, i us G oan, and so on. he poin o names o his ype is p ecisely o suspend o sub e he gene al sepa a ion o a name om he sense o i s componen pa s; ha is wha any seman ic li e a y naming ac ually consis s o : he epo en ia ion o eseman- iciza ion o e ymology.19 i cha ac onyms ade on anspa ency o some kind, i ollows om ha ha hey may be ansla ed. o unde s and his ully, we need o ake in o accoun he con ex o name-bes owal. Li e a u e is a , and i is legi ima e o suppose ha his ac cancels he no mal assump ion abou bes owal, namely ha he ac i sel can- cels he sense o any wo ds which appea in he exp ession chosen as he name (see 3’ abo e). Li e a y name-bes owal, on he o he hand, in i es he audience o 19 i seems o me he e a e b oadly h ee ypes o li e a y naming: a bi a y (no eally a special ype a all), cul u al (which ades on con eyed meanings) and seman ic (which ades on linguis ic meanings). he e m c a ylic may co e aspec s o bo h he las wo so s. eigh issues in he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood 137s aipsniai / a icles eade ship p ecisely no o suspend he connec ion be ween usage and e ymol- ogy, bu o pe o m he complex balancing-ac o main aining bo h he o m o a name and i s signi icance – in some cases e en he p e-bes owal senses o he wo ds ha cons i u e i – ac i e o he du a ion o he li e a y e en , whe he i is wa ch- ing a play o V p og am, eading a no el, o wha e e . o ha eason, in de iance o he a gumen abo e in (5’), cha ac onymic ansla ion is possible (e.g. Dö chen Laken eisse , in ge man, li e ally and e ymologically ‘hypoco is ic-do o hee shee - ippe ’ o he a Doll Tea shee in shakespea e’s Hen y IV, pa ii), and such “ ansla ion” may be idioma ic and sugges i e a he han pu ely lexical, jus like all o he ansla ion. ha said, i could s ill be a gued ha he ac o ansla ing cha ac onyms is exac ly like o he onymic “ ansla ion” and ha i he e o e ac- cesses he e ymology o he name in ques ion a he han any sense which migh be de ec able in i s linguis ic o m. one does no a e all (o one does no ha e o) in es iga e a cha ac onym o signi icance in one’s mind e e y ime i is used, as one does o he lexical meanings o o dina y wo ds and o he exp essions in he ex , al hough he possibili y is no o eclosed. inally, we u n o a ques ion which has been add essed om ime o ime in he li e a u e o onomas ics, namely: (10’) a e naMes MaXiMaLLy o MiniMaLLy Meaning uL? his ques ion has epea edly esu aced, e.g. as epo ed in Van Langendonck (2006). i is essen ially abou whe he names, by i ue o being de ices o e e - ing o indi iduals, ca y a g ea deal o in o ma ion which acili a es indi idual e e ence because names app oach he s a e o uniquely deno ing an indi idual (which is a mani es ly alse assump ion, hough aceable a back in o classical an iqui y), o whe he hey a e seman ically emp y, i.e. ha e no sense and no wholly de e mina e ange o deno a a, as i ha e a gued h oughou his pape . he ques ion is no usually app op ia ely ph ased; i embodies a alse dicho omy, and i canno be answe ed as i s ands. a name iden i ies an indi idual bea e which may o may no be unique. i ha bea e is unique, use o he name ca ies wi h i (bu subjec o he limi a ions o he use ’s knowledge) all he encyclopedic in o ma ion a ailable abou ha indi idual. i he bea e is no unique, he name has mo e han one deno a um o po en ial e e en , and u e ing i is he e o e ela i ely unin- o ma i e wi hou assis ance om he con ex o use. names lack all sense, bu as we ha e seen hey may ca y a anspa en o o he wise lea nable e ymology, and he eby sugges (no en ail o p esuppose) ca ego y membe ship h ough ha ing a salien bea e in ha ca ego y o h ough he shee o ce o he numbe s o bea e s 138 icha d coa es ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXVI in ha ca ego y. names may also, o cou se, ca y a g ea deal o encyclopedic in o ma ion and hey may conno e a g ea deal. o he ex en ha hey e icien ly p omo e success ul e e ence in con ex , hey a e maximally in o ma i e. bu ha in o ma ion is a ailable h ough ancilla y ecall p ocesses a he han being en- coded in he name i sel , and is he e o e no necessa ily accessed a he momen o u e ance. o he ex en ha hey ail o mean h ough he possession o sys- ema ic lexical ela ions (senses), hey a e unin o ma i e. he answe o he ques ion as ph ased is he e o e: “bo h”, bu i is no eally an impo an one. * * * his a icle has p o ided a guide o he ounda ions and some he consequences o he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood, and shows how some ques ions which ha e been conside ed impo an in heo e ical onomas ics migh be add essed.20 e e ences ba on anne 1990: The names o comedy. o on o: uni e si y o o on o P ess. b on ë cha lo e 1849: Shi ley. edi ion ad libi um . bu ge yle 1973: e e ence and p ope names. – Jou nal o Philosophy 70.14, 425–439. coa es icha d 2000: singula de ini e exp essions wi h a unique deno a um and he limi s o p ope hood. – Linguis ics 38.6 [370 o he con inuous se ies], 1161–1174. coa es icha d 2005a: a new heo y o p ope hood. – P oceedings o he 21s In e - na ional Cong ess o Onomas ic Sciences, Uppsala, Augus 19–24, 2002, ol. 1., ed. by e a b ylla, Ma s Wahlbe g. uppsala: so i, 125–137. coa es icha d 2005b: a specula i e psycholinguis ic model o onymiza ion. – Quad- e ni In e nazionali di Ri is a I aliana di Onomas ica 1 (Naming he wo ld: om common nouns o p ope names), ed. by dunja b ozo ić- onče ić, enzo ca a elli, 3–13. [P oceedings o he con e ence “naming he Wo ld: om common nouns o P ope names”, zada , c oa ia, 1–4 sep embe 2004.] coa es icha d 2006a: P ope hood. – Language 82.2, 356–382. coa es icha d 2006b [2011]: some consequences and c i iques o he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood. – Onoma 41, 27–44. coa es icha d 2009: a s ic ly Millian app oach o he de ini ion o he p ope name. – Mind and Language 24.4, 433–444. 20 i am ex emely g a e ul o ull and cons uc i e commen s on his pape by wo anonymous e e ees. eigh issues in he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood 139s aipsniai / a icles coa es icha d 2011a: Whe e a e he limi s o he name? some emaining issues wi h he P agma ic heo y o P ope hood. Pape deli e ed a icos-24. ba celona, spain; o hcoming in he P oceedings . coa es icha d 2011b: We a e su ounded by onymies: ela ions among names, name- ypes, and e minological ca ego ies. 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Pa ke edwa d h. 1917: China: he his o y, diplomacy, and comme ce, om he ea lies imes o he p esen day. new yo k: du on. edmonds geo ge 2002: Su names and genealogy: a new app oach. bu y: ede a ion o amily his o y socie ies. shakespea e William (c.1598): Hen y IV, pa II. edi ion ad libi um . spe be dan, dei d e Wilson 1986: Rele ance: communica ion and cogni ion. ox- o d: basil blackwell. s awson Pe e ede ick 1950: on e e ing. – Mind, new se ies 59, numbe 235, 320–344. Van Langendonck Willy 2006 [2011]: name heo y and se heo y: he e u n o he maximum meaning ulness iew o names. – Onoma 41, 45–62. Van Langendonck Willy 2007: Theo y and ypology o p ope names. be lin and new yo k: de g uy e . Wa s Vic o 2002: A dic iona y o Coun y Du ham place-names. no ingham: english Place-name socie y. zip geo ge k. 1949: Human beha io and he p inciple o leas e o . new yo k: addison-Wesley P ess. 140 icha d coa es ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXVI aš uonios p agma inės ik inių žodžių eo ijos p oblemos san auka Šiame s aipsnyje dės oma ik inių žodžių samp a os eo ija, adinama p agma ine ik inių žodžių eo ija. ji pa em a d iem esminėmis idėjomis: 1) ik iniai žodžiai ne u i eikšmės; 2) ik inių žodžių esmė – į a dijimas, o ne deno acija. s aipsnyje umpai ap ašy i p agma inės ik inių žodžių eo ijos pag indai, p ielaidos bei pasekmės i nag inėjamos aš uonios likusios a a iamai likusios p oblemos. Į eik a 2012 m. sausio 6 d. icha d coa es B is ol Cen e o Linguis ics Uni e si y o he Wes o England B is ol BS16 1QY, UK [email p o ec ed]