Филологические науки/9. Этно-, социо- и психолингвистика.

к.филол.н. Вандышева А.В., к.филол.н. Фоменко Л.Н.

Академия маркетинга и социально-информационных технологий г.Краснодар

Phonosemantic aspect of anthroponyms

Any word we pronounce has two aspects of its effect. On the one hand, we perceive the word according to its symbolic meaning, denoting some object or process. On the other hand, the word is a set of the sounds that can produce certain associative emotional and psychological reaction. As the consciousness of an adult while perceiving a word is primarily oriented on their semantic meaning, another reaction to a word, as the set of the sounds, happens subconsciously and is experienced by a person as some certain emotional background. This second reaction to the words is their phonosemantic meaning.

In this paper, we attempt to consider anthroponyms in phonosemantic aspect.

The present study examines the possible ways of improving person’s life or business product by giving phonologically “correct” name.

“It is names of people, not raincoats, hanging on their shoulders, which can be smooth and straight, but tightly like leather, tight-fitting dress; it cannot be scraped and cut, not very human hurt” (Goethe, Johann,1976, p. 25).

The sense of personal identity and uniqueness that a name gives us is at the heart of why names interest us and why they are important to us as individuals and to our society as a whole. In spite of their importance, though, most people know very little about names and about the effects they have on us an on our children in everyday life.

There is a great secret hidden in name, be it the name of a person or a thing, and it is formed in relation to the past, present and future conditions of its object…

The meaning of a name has a great influence upon its possessor as well as upon others. An intelligent person generally gets the idea from the sound of letters that compose a name, whether it is beautiful or ugly, soft or hard, consonant or dissonant etc.

Some linguists believe a name can shape your external characteristics and personality. It has to do with the sound that each name resonates on a human being’s brain neurons while growing and shaping his/her brain. A name is like music and each name has its secret sound combination. It doesn’t have to do with numbers or name meaning or stars. Actually name meaning came out of observing those characteristics that a sound of a name creates. There are names that attract other names and matching two attracted names might lead to long lasting, happy and successful relationships. There is no such thing as a perfect name, each name has its pros and cons as everything in life. Knowing what a name really means and what characteristics (internal and external) can each name create, we can use it as an extra tool in order to find the true purpose for our journey in life which is love, happiness, truth and progress.

The name of the person determines his/her self-impression, self-realization. Furthermore, the name of the person determines the way other people treat the name’s possessor.

It is common knowledge that names do not have direct lexical meaning. In some cases it is possible to refer to special dictionaries to get to know the meaning of a name, but it is doubtful. In real life we do not refer to any dictionaries, but we do judge upon the sound of a name. It means that when we hear some certain name we perceive its phonetic meaning.

Every letter, either singly or when grouped in a word, produces a picture which tells its secret to the seer. For instance ‘X’ makes a cross, and ‘O’ zero, both of which have a meaning. Even in the present day still from the appearance of a certain name a person’s life, fate or character may be read in whatever language it may be written. For instance, a name beginning with I shows a steadfast and righteous ego, uniqueness and love of God and the pursuit of truth. E shows a shy and backward nature and an interest in three directions.

Letters singly or together are either pronounced smoothly or with difficulty and have their effect accordingly upon oneself and upon another. Names that are smooth and soft sounding make a soft effect upon the speaker and listener, whereas hard-sounding names have a contrary effect. Man naturally calls soft things by smooth names and hard things by hard-sounding names, as for instance flower and rock, wool and flint, etc.

Some Indian experts in the field of psycholinguistics state, that language, and especially name, shows the class of people and character of families, communities and races. Vowels play a great part in the name and its influence. According to their hypothesis, E and I denote jemal, the feminine quality of grace, wisdom, beauty and receptivity. O and U denote jelal, the masculine quality of power and expression. A denotes kemal, which is significant of the perfection in which both these qualities are centered. The above-named vowels in the composition of the name have an effect according to their place in the name, whether in the beginning, center or end.

This hypothesis provokes reflection in the studies of western and Russian scientists.

“It's interesting how some names sound good and some sound bad. Names with soft consonants such as [m], [n], and [l] tend to sound nicer than names with hard consonants such as [k] and [g]. Imagine we're approaching a planet, where two alien races live. One of the races is called the Lamonians. The other is called the Grataks. Which sounds like the friendlier race? Most people opt for the Lamonians, because the name sounds friendlier. Grataks sound nasty”
(Crystal, 2010).

Further studies provided with more detailed characteristics of the sounds. Their results show that the sounds p, t, k, ch, j, a, u, o seem harder and more masculine than do l, m, n, ng, sh, s, i, e. The sounds v, f, z, s are generally associated with speed more than sounds such as p, t, b, d, l, and m.  Some experts feel that the letters q, x, z, f, and u tend to evoke negative feelings. On the positive side, the letters a, b, s, t and m are reported to evoke very positive feelings. Being aware of such subtleties may help you narrow your choices in choosing a name for your child or business product.

The influence of rhythm suggested by a name has an effect upon the entity whose name it is, as well as upon those who call him by that name. Evenness of rhythm gives balance, while unevenness causes lack of balance.

 The number of letters plays a great part in the name of a person. An even number shows beauty and wisdom, and an odd number shows love and power.

Psychologists and phoneticians noticed that the very pronunciation of this or that name provides with information about some symbolic features of the name’s owner.

That is the reason for our parents to name us in a specific way, for producers to invent showy pseudonyms for their key actors.

The sound of certain name gives rise to certain feelings and emotions, which have an effect upon the possessor as well.

A woman’s name and surname turn out to have its individual tint and tell about her habitude, temperament, give an idea of the degree of her sexuality, helps define if she is feminine or on the contrary, masculine etc. Some researches propose that all these qualities are hidden behind a woman’s name, the fixed combination and harmony of vowels and consonants.

Some female names sound energetic and firm like Marina, Larissa while others may sound either tensely or sexy or gently.

Recent study results , one’s name, in addition to being acquired early, continues to be important into later childhood and adulthood. Thus, when children and adults are asked to choose their most preferred letters of the alphabet or to pick the most attractive letter in a group of letters, they show a reliable preference for the letters of their own first and last names over other letters (Hoorens, Nuttin, Herman, & Pavakanun, 1990; Hoorens & Todorova, 1988; Nuttin, 1985, 1987). This preference tends to be stronger for the letters of the first name than for the letters of the last name. The preference also tends to be stronger for the initial letters of the first and last names than for subsequent letters.

Research results show that sometimes a nickname has a still greater effect. The effect of the name is in accordance with its use; the more it is used the greater the effect. Shortened names such as May for Mary, Bill or Willie for William lessen the effect of the name.

There are many instances to be found where a change of name has brought an entire change in a man’s life.

The same idea applies when our name is mispronounced. Most people take great care to make sure they pronounce another person's name correctly, especially in introductions. The reason for this concern is that people generally resent the mispronunciation of their name because mispronunciation amounts to a distortion of their identity.

In a very real sense, we are consumers of names, and we consider it to be important to take into account phonological aspect of giving the name to a person or brand product.

In this area of study much research remains to be done as there are many questions to be answered. How does brain react to different sounds? What are the mechanisms of brain’s perception of the sounds and words? This is clearly a great deal to be done in solving these problems.

Литература:

1. Charles, L. H. "Drama in First-naming Ceremonies." [Text] / L.H.Charles // Journal of American Folklore. - #64. – 1951. – pp. 11-35.

2. Crystal, D. A Little Book of Language. [Text] / D.Crystal // Yale Univ. Press. – 2010.

3. Feldman, H. "The Problem of Personal Names as a Universal Element in Culture." [Text] / H.Feldman // American Imago. - #16. – 1959. – pp. 237-250.

4. Goethe, J. Poetry and Truth: autobiography [Text] / J. Goethe. - Moscow, Russia, 1976. - 220 p.

5. Khan, H.I. Symboli meaning of a name. [Electronic resource]. – Mode access: (http://1000petals.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/whats-in-your-name-interesting-insight-on-significance-of-a-name/

6. Plank, R. "Names of Twins." [Text] / R.Plank // Names. -# 12. – 1964. -pp. 1-5.

7. Smith, E. C. Treasury of Name Lore [Text] / E.C.Smith // New York: Harper & Row. -1967.