Contemporary nicknames of residents of Bielsk Podlaski motivated by external features

Michał Mordań

Uniwersytet w Białymstoku

Abstract

The article is devoted to Bielsk Podlaski residents’ modern nicknames that are motivated by external characteristics of their carriers. Nicknames refering to external appearances are extremely diverse in terms of the semantic class of unofficial personal names. Classification of the collected material was made by taking into account the incentive factor, which allowed to distinguish the following groups of anthroponyms: nicknames motivated by color and hairstyle, height, corpulence, general build, construction of the individual parts of the body, external disability, attractiveness, the deportment, statics/dynamics and the way of performing the activities, a way of dressing, accessories, as well as determining a few external characteristics simultaneously. A collection of nicknames was also distinguished by indicating the overall similarity with the designator, without giving the specific motivating feature. On account of the way in which the name is connected with the designator, two types of nomination were distinguished: direct nomination, where the motivating word is used in the basic sense, and indirect (metaphorical or metonymic), which takes into consideration the secondary (portable) sense of the incentive word.

Keywords:

linguistic, onomastics, anthroponymy, nicknames