MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

Eurasian National University named after L. N. Gumilyov

Faculty of Philology

 

Specific derivation of English anthroponyms

Narmukhametova N.M

Parkhatova M.KH.

 

     Semantic field of anthroponyms traditionally contains sex and nationality semes. These semes are parts of the conceptual centre of every anthroponym. Additional semes can form layers which are typical for certain personalities. On the condition of these characteristics’ stability the personal name can be used in the allusive meaning. In secondary nominations the anthroponyms realize not core but periphery seems of their semantic structure, the allusive personal names become expressive synonyms of common words.

    Proper name Sherlock Holmes can be used as substitutor of the name detective; people who are in love with can be called Romeo and Juliet, Marry Poppins is associated with a nurse; anthroponyms, such as Napoleon,  Robin Hood manifest in allusive context the ability to be used in generalized meaning, actualizing certain characteristics of famous persons they named. English anthroponyms can be used instead of nationalities (German, Japanese), weekdays (Friday, Sunday), months (December, May), and other notions, objects, places, etc., that are capitalized and used as names. Idiomatic expressions containing proper names came into English from people's everyday life, folklore, prose and poetry, myths, fairy tales, fables, songs, and other sources.

     Idioms with proper names are known to people of different nationalities, and it is important that learners of English want to know how to say some expressions in English. We prefer more neutral phrases in everyday speech, but we know such expressions as "as wise as Solomon" or "as poor as  Job" and others. Idioms containing people's names, names of nationalities, cities, or countries may be perceived as offensive stereotypes, they are unacceptable in formal speech and writing.

Here the list of idioms with people's names. They include idioms that are still in use.

Uncle Sam – the U.S.; the U.S. government.

 

 

дядя Сэм – США; правительство США.

Tommy Atkins – a British soldier;

Томми Аткинс – британский солдат;

tin Lizzie – 1. an early Ford car; 2. any old, cheap automobile;

1. ранняя модель автомобиля Ford; 2. любой старый, дешёвый автомобиль;

the real McCoy – the genuine thing, not an imitation;

настоящая, оригинальная, неподдельная вещь, не имитация;

Simple Simon – a simpleton; (a character from a nursery rhyme)

Простак Саймон – простак, простофиля; (персонаж из детского стишка)

Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas;

Санта Клаус, Дед Мороз;

rob Peter to pay Paul – to borrow from one to give to another;

занять у одного, чтобы расплатиться с другим, т.е. все так же в долгу;

Peeping Tom – a voyeur; a person who secretly watches other people undressing;

Любопытный Том – человек, который тайком подглядывает, как другие люди раздеваются;

Murphy's law: If anything can go wrong, it will. (Or: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.)

закон Мёрфи: Если что-то может разладиться, то оно разладится. (Или: Что-то, что может пойти не так, как нужно, пойдёт не так, как нужно.)

Mr. Nice Guy – a very decent, friendly man;

очень порядочный, дружелюбный мужчина;

Mister Right (fem.: Miss Right) – the person whom someone would like to marry; a perfect match;

Mister Right (жен.: Miss Right) – человек, который является для кого-то очень подходящей партией для брака;

let George do it – let someone else do it (i.e., don't ask me because it doesn't concern me);

пусть кто-нибудь другой сделает это (т.е., меня не просите, т.к. меня это не касается);

keep up with the Joneses – to try to achieve the same social position and wealth as one's neighbors or acquaintances;

стараться достичь такого же социального и материального положения как у соседей или знакомых; стараться быть не хуже других;

Jolly Roger – a pirate flag;

Веселый Роджер – пиратский флаг;

Johnny-on-the-spot – the person who is always there, always ready to perform a task or to seize an opportunity;

человек, который всегда на месте, всегда готов выполнить задание или воспользоваться удобным случаем;

Johnny-come-lately – a newcomer; a participant who started later than the others;

новичок; участник, начавший позже других;

John Hancock (AmE slang) – a person's signature; (John Hancock – American statesman of the 18th century who was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence.)

личная подпись человека (AmE сленг); (Джон Хэнкок – американский государственный деятель 18 века, который первым подписал Декларацию независимости.)

John Doe (fem.: Jane Doe) – 1. an unnamed person in legal proceedings (also, Richard Roe); 2. an anonymous average citizen;

John Doe (жен.: Jane Doe) – 1. неназываемое лицо в судебном процессе (также, Richard Roe); 2. безымянный рядовой гражданин;

John Bull – a typical Englishman; the English people;

Джон Булл (Джон Буль) – типичный англичанин; английский народ;

Joe Citizen; John Q. Public (AmE slang) – a typical representative of the public;

типичный представитель общества (AmE сленг);

Joe Blow; Joe Doakes (AmE slang) – a typical average citizen;

типичный рядовой гражданин (AmE сленг);

Jack of all trades – a person who is able to do many manual jobs;

мастер на все руки; человек, который умеет делать многие виды ручной работы;

Hobson's choice – the choice in which only one thing is offered; take it or leave it; the absence of choice;

выбор, в котором предлагается только одно; бери это или не бери ничего; выбор поневоле; отсутствие выбора;

GI Joe – an American soldier;

американский солдат;

every Tom, Dick and Harry – any / every ordinary man;

каждый Том, Дик и Гарри – всякий, любой, каждый обычный (заурядный) человек; все подряд;

doubting Thomas – a skeptic; a person who refuses to believe without clear proof;

Фома неверующий – скептик; человек, который отказывается верить без явного доказательства;

before you could say Jack Robinson – very quickly;

быстрее, чем успеешь сказать Джек Робинсон – очень быстро;

Barbie Doll – an attractive but silly person (man or woman);

Кукла Барби – привлекательный, но глупый человек (мужчина или женщина);

 

 

 

 

   In general it is possible to indicate six groups of anthroponyms according to their origin:

· Mythical

· Derived from religion

· Based on characters of the films, books, cartoons.

· The real persons.

· Folk etymology.

· Others.

Idioms with personal names are used in English language more frequently that idioms with place names. The place names are authentic, not made-up. Among personal names the most frequent were names derived from religion and characters of books, films etc. Number of idioms with personal names that derived from mythology was the smallest one.

The most common place name used in idioms is Rome. For example:

· All roads lead to Rome – This means that there can be many different ways of doing something.

· Fiddle while Rome burns – used when you disapprove because someone is spending too much time or attention on unimportant matters instead of trying to solve bigger and more important problems.

· Rome was not built in a day – this idiom means that many things cannot be done instantly, and require time and patience.

Toponyms can be both place names, real or imaginary, as well as names derived from places or regions.

A number of fabrics have toponyms that notice their place of origin. The shirt fabric called Oxford takes its name fromOxford, England. The two thick cotton materials used for pants, denim and jean, are both place names: the first derives from the fact that it came from Nоmes , France – “de Nоmes”, Jeans comes from the French pronunciation – Gкnes – of its city of origin, Genoa .

The well-known names are derived from toponyms:

· Event and agreements. For example, Jackon State (Mississippi) – the Jackon Statelkilling in 1970; Maastricht (The Netherlands) – the Maastrict treaty of 1992; Potsdam (Germany) – the Potsdam Conference in 1945.

· Cheese: Edam after town of Edam in the Netherlands ; Parmesan , from Parma Italy ; Roquefort after a village in southern France.

Derivations from literary or mythical places: Eden , any paradisiacal area, named after the religious Garden of Eden ;El Dorado , any area of great wealth, after the mythical city of gold; utopia , term for organized society – Utopia , fictional republic from the book of the same name.

Anthroponyms are also called eponyms . An eponym is a word derived from the names of real, fictional, mythical or spurious character or person. One who is referred to as eponymous is someone that gives their name to something,e.g. Julian, the eponymous owner of the famous restaurant Julian's Castle.

In different cultures, time periods have often been named after the person who ruled during that period:

· One of the first recorded cases of eponymy occurred in the second millennium BC, when the Assyrians named each year after a high official (limmu ).

· In Ancient Rome, one of the two formal ways of indicating a year was to mention the two annual consuls who served in that year. For example, the year we know as 59 BCE would have been described as “the consulship of Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus and Gaius Julius Caesar ”. Under the empire, the consuls would change as often as every two months, but only the two consuls at the beginning of the year would lend their names to that year.

Religion and mass media influence people’s language the most. Idioms with these names are quite popular and very often used in spoken language. For example, idioms based on religion characters:

1. Raise Cain – to complain a lot about something in an angry or noisy way because you are determined to get what you want.

2. Put the fear of God into somebody – to make someone feel frightened of doing something wrong by making them realize the bad things that could happen if they do it (Longman Idioms Dictionary: 1999:139).

3. Adam's apple – the Adam's apple is a bulge in the throat, mostly seen in men.

 

Idioms with anthroponyms are rich and eternal source constantly to enlarge  not only English language but other languages and cultures due to their expressiveness and vitality.

 

References: 

1. Everaert M. (1995). Idioms. Structural and psychological perspectives . Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

2. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2003).

3. Makkai, A. (1972). Idiom Structure in English . The Hague: Mouton.