Changes in place name semantics in the tourism advertising discourse

Размещено на http: //www. allbest. ru/

Размещено на http: //www. allbest. ru/

Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University

Changes in place name semantics in the tourism advertising discourse

Kolisnychenko T.V., PhD, assistant,

the Dept of Foreign Languages for Humanities Majors

Summary

semantic geographical name oikonim

The present research is aimed to reveal the shifts in the semantics of place names used as general names and as oikonyms in tourism advertising discourse. The “place name” nominations preserve their negative connotations in the dictionary entries but in the tourism advertising discourse their pejorative components are diminished and they acquire positive connotations.

Key words: tourism advertising discourse, oikonym, place name, pejorative component, meaning shifts, positive perspective.

Анотація

Колісниченко T. В. Зміни в семантиці ойконімів у туристичному рекламному дискурсі

У статті аналізуються пересуви у семантиці назв місць як загальних назв, так і ойконімів у туристичному рекламному дискурсі. Наша гіпотеза полягає у тому, що географічні назви історично містять у своїй семантиці негативний компонент, проте у структурі географічного дискурсу він зменшується або нейтралізується, а у структурі туристичної реклами він змінюється на позитивний.

Ключові слова: туристичний рекламний дискурс, ойконім, географічна назва, пейоративний компонент, семантичний пересув, позитивна перспектива.

Аннотация

Колисниченко Т. В. Изменения в семантике ойконимов в туристическом рекламном дискурсе

В статье проанализировано сдвиги в семантике названий местности как общих названий, так и ойконимов в туристическом рекламном дискурсе. Наша гипотеза заключается в том, что географические названия исторически содержат в своей семантике негативный компонент, однако в структуре географического дискурса он либо уменьшается, либо нейтрализуется, а в структуре туристической рекламы он меняется на позитивный.

Ключевые слова: туристический рекламный дискурс, ойконим, географические названия, пейоративный компонент, семантические сдвиги, позитивная перспектива.

The intensive development of tourism industry attracts the attention of the linguists to the tourism advertising discourse (hereinafter TAD) due to its professional language and `specific' purposes: to present a place in favourable context with intention to `sell' tourism services. To influence the tourist's consciousness various means are used in the TAD.

Introduction. The topicality of the present research is motivated by the necessity to study the dynamics of neutralizing the pejorative component in British place names in TAD to reveal the shifts in the semantics of oikonyms used in general and professional discourse registers.

The object under investigation is the British place names with the original dominant pejorative component in their lexical meaning registered in the dictionary entry.

The end-goal is to determine the shifts of the negative component in the lexical meaning of the British place names registered in TAD to the positive one.

The data for the investigation is retrieved from the etymological dictionary [3], “Dictionary of British Place Names” by A. D. Mills [10] and the TAD represented in texts of webpages (Love Hungerford [7], Suffolk [16], Triphobo [17], Visit Snape [18]) with the total amount of23 586 wordforms.

Discussion. The toponymy of British place names is the focus of E. McClure (1910), A. Mawer (1922), J. Field (1980, 2005), A. Room (1983), A. Mills (2011) et al. They pay their concentrate on the changes in the British place names semantics due the influence of the tongues of various tribes inhabited Britain and conquerors. They studied how places were named after men who obviously were important at those days to keep their names in times.

Toponym comes from Greek topos “place” and -onym “name”. And toponymy is the “study of place names” is from 1876 [3]. Toponyms in linguistics are classified into oikonyms -place names, hydronyms river names, omonyms landform names, etc. [12, p. 4753], cf.: “Dictionary of linguistic terms” by T. Zherebilo defines the toponym as a geographical name of particular territory [20, p. 418], while oikonymy is the branch oflinguistics that studies the etymology, origin, meaning and function of place names.

The problem of diminishing the pejorative component in the semantics of oikonyms in TAD is not studied enough that is why our attention is drawn to this problem. Our task is to prove the neutralization ofthe pejorative component in oikonyms semantics in TAD that aims at `selling' the tourism services.

The etymological analysis reveals that the wordpejoration (1650) comes from the noun of action in English pejorate “depreciative, disparaging”, from the French word pejorative. The Late Latinpeioratis the Past Participle ofpeiorare that meant “make worse”. Latin peior `worse'is related to pessimus “worst”,pessum “downward”, to the ground b Proto-Indo-European *ped-yos-, comparative of root *ped“to walk, stumble, impair”. The Modern English verb pejorate “to worsen” has been functioning since 1640s [3].

In linguistics pejoration is treated as the speaker's evaluation of something / someone as being bad. C. Kramarae and D. Spender in their work stress that pejoration is a semantic process whereby a neutral word acquires negative connotations over a period of time, it occurs when a word names a concept about which society is uncomfortable [5, p. 2031], cf.: pejoration is the acquisition of a less favourable meaning due to a lowering in the value judgment associated with the referent [1, p. 79]. Somehow a different opinion is put forward by L. Naumenko “pejoration is the process of adding connotations to the stylistically neutral word to create the negative nomination” [11, p. 80-85]. V Klemperer states that pejoration is any worsening or narrowing of a word meaning [4]. L. Safonova offers much wider definition: pejorative lexical units are units which meanings reflect the negative society's attitude to the exact subject or activity the word denotes [14, p. 52]. Pejoration is a kind of language expression, namely of the negative emotional value by creating the image perceived by the language society negatively considering the moral and ethical criteria of the language usage [15, p. 151]. N. Shibaeva admits that pejoration is the expression of the negative emotional value of the speaker to the object of the nomination and the addressee's aim to decode the speaker's intentional meaning [15, p. 151]. S. Lodej in his work “Concept-driven Semasiology and Onomasiology of CLERGY” analyses semantic and morphological dynamics of the terms. The author views them in the context of their historical development. S. Lodej remarks that more evidence of the social pejoration of the referents can be derived from the context of the individual use of the terms [6, p. 105].

M. Widawski emphasizes that pejoration involves the “depreciation” in the meaning of words whose connotations have become less favorable or have worsened over the time [19, p. 80].

Our hypothesis is that (1) the original pejorative component is “neutralized” in the geographical discourse or rather it is shifted to periphery; (2) the positive component moves it further to the nucleus; (3) the positive component becomes dominant in the lexical meaning of oikonyms; and (4) the negative component to be covert in the TAD.

Investigation. Place names for the analysis are retrieved from “Dictionary ofBritish Place Names” by A. Mills. Dictionary which includes a representative selection of some 17 000 major placenames of the British Isles. We suggest classifying the oikonyms by the following criteria: (1) etymological native or borrowed; (2) source of borrowing; (3) semantic. Here is the classification of British place names with the original dominant negative component represented by various oikonyms:

We divide place names by dominant meaning component:

- negative (3%): Ballinamallard(Beal Atha na Mallacht) means “Fordmouth of the curses” [10, p. 123]; Shobrooke means “Brook haunted by an evil spirit” [10, p. 943];

- positive (5%): Deehommed (Deachoimhead) means “Good view” [10, p. 375]; Harlech (Hardelagh) means “Fine rock” [10, p. 539]; Ballyrawer (Baile Ramhar) means “Fertile townland” [10, p. 138];

- neutral (92%): Ballyree (Baile an Fhraoigh) means “Townland of the heather” [10, p. 138]; Granagh (Greanach) means “Gravelly place” [10, p. 509]; Rahan (Raithean) means “Ferny place” [10, p. 865].

In the focus of the investigation there are the place-names with the dominant pejorative component retrieved from the dictionaries which make up 3% (506 wordforms) of the total amount of the British place names (17 000 wordforms).

Let's analyse the etymology of some place-names to find out their original meaning to further determine the way of the negative ^ positive component. We must admit that the formula ought to decode the intermediate phase: shall analyze original dominant meaning of place names, combinability with descriptive words and meaning shifts in the tourism advertising discourse. Let's consider the following example: original negative ^ neutralized in the geographical discourse ^ positive in the TAD.

There are a number of exciting things to do in Shorncote. From historical sites to cultural attractions, explore the exhaustive list of all other local attractions in Shorncote. Discover new places to see and unique things to do nearby Shorncote. Don't miss out on these amazing sights at Shorncote. Check out the list of attractions and activities to do in Shorncote and nearby areas. It will help you to plan a perfect trip to Shorncote [17].

The etymological analysis shows that the compound noun Shorncote (Schernecote 1086) comes from the OE word combination scearn + cot [10, p. 944]. The OE scearn “dung, muck” comes from Proto-Germanic *skarnom in the Past Participle form ^ *sker “to cut” [3]. The OE cot developed into ME “small house, bedchamber, den” [3].

According to A. Mills Shorncote is interpreted as “cottage(s) in a dirty or muddy place”. In example 1 the intensive use of intensifiers is registered. Such intensifiers as exciting, cultural attractions, perfect, amazing are used in TAD to highlight the place name. Intensifiers aim at the adding the additional positive components into the semantically neutral or pejorative oikonyms and form the positive perception of the oikonyms by the tourists and allows to fulfil the main function of TAD.

Place-names and intensifiers in the TAD change the client's perception of the place name with an original negative component, e.g: exciting things to do in Shorncote, amazing sights at Shorncote, a perfect trip to Shorncote strengthen the reader's positive perception of Shorncote, despite the fact that the pejorative component remains dominant in its original semantics.

Now one can see that the TAD neutralizes the dominant pejorative component in the place name semantics and adds the positive components to place names semantics. Shorncote acquires the positive connotation in the TAD. We consider that such change is supported by its combinability with intensifiers in TAD. Thus the combinability of place-names with the negative component and the intensifiers in the professional discourse actualizes the positive semantic component of the place name, for instance: “causing great enthusiasm and eagerness” and “excellent in all respects” used in the TAD. Here Shorncote is presented as “amazing place for a perfect trip" in tourists' consciousness.

There s so much to explore in Hungerford, so many reason to visit and stay in our beautiful, historic town surrounded by an area of outstanding natural beauty. Some come for the famous antiques, others for the walks, the history and the waterways. Perhaps it's our fabulous food and our stylish shops that attract visitors from around the world [7].

The compound noun Hungerford comes from the word combination “Hunger ford”. The etymological analysis points out that it developed from merging of two stems: ME Hungerford ^ OE hungor + ford [10, p. 596]. The OE hunger, hungor means “unease caused by lack of food, debility from lack of food, craving appetite” which came from Proto-Germanic hungruz and probably from the Proto-Indo-European root kenk “to suffer hunger or thirst”. The ME nounford ^ OE ford “shallow place where water can be crossed” borrowed from Proto-Germanic *furduz ^ PIE *prtu“a going, a passage” [3].

The meaning of the place name Hungerford according to Mills' Dictionary is possibly “ford leading to poor or unproductive land” [10, p. 596] and a negative component prevails.

In example 2 the intensifiers outstanding, beautiful, historic, fabulous provoke the client' positive perception of the place name.

And such combinations of place name with intensifiers as much to explore in Hungerford, beautiful, historic town, area of outstanding natural beauty, attract visitors from around the world cause the shifts in semantics of place name and the original pejorative component is not actualized, see: example 2.

The TAD aims to shift the pejorative component of the place name from the nucleus to the periphery name and provokes the client's positive perception of oikonyms. As shown in example 2 Hungerford as place name in the TAD acquires positive meaning and the pejorative component in the place name semantics becomes covert. The lace name Hungerford changes its meaning and in the context actualizes the meaning “beautiful place of outstanding natural beauty”.

In the TAD intensifiers beautiful, historic, outstanding, etc. imply the “excellent” and “exceptionally good” and such a combination forms a picture of “a perfect spot to visit and stay”, as the result the actualised positive component “fabulous food and our stylish shops that attract visitors" moves the original negative component into the periphery, see: Hungerford^ fertile land, e.g.:

Snape is a “must-visit" destination for anyone who wants to sample the beauty and atmosphere the Suffolk coastal countryside has become famous for, whatever the season [16].

An area of awe-inspiring vistas, contrasting landscapes and diverse wildlife. Woodland groves and heathland walks lead down to wildlife rich reedbeds... Walking, cycling, canoeing, river trips, your senses will be stunned by the wonderful views [18].

The place name Snape originates from OE sn%p (early 14c.) “to be hard upon, rebuke, revile, snub” which comes from Old Norse sneypa “to outrage, dishonor, disgrace” and probably related to similar-sounding words meaning “cut” [Harper], According to Mills' Dictionary Snape means “boggy piece of land”' [10, p. 959].

In examples 3 and 4 the intensifiers underline the positive feature of the place-name lexeme, for instancefamous, awe-inspiring, contrasting, coastal, wonderful, etc. Due to their co-ocurrence the original component is neutralized and turns positive: poor land + wonderful ^ wonderful poor land.

Combinability of intensifies with oikonyms ("must-visit" destination, coastal countryside area of awe-inspiring vistas, contrasting landscapes, wonderful views) causes shifts in the place name lexeme.

The given illustrations show that Snape is presented as a “beautiful place”. Intensifies focus the reader's perception on the context which transfers negative into positive. Tourism advertising discourse diminishes the pejorative component in the place name semantics. Examples 3 and 4 reveal the loss of the negative component “poor land”) and acquiring the component “a beautiful place worth visiting in any season” in TAD.

The examples under investigation have proved our hypothesis that tourism advertising discourse diminishes the original pejorative component of the place name semantics and actualizes its positive component. The shift in the meaning place names follows several stages: domination of the original negative component ^ neutralized in the geographical discourse ^ transferring into positive when used in the tourism advertising discourse.

The “place name” nominations preserve their negative connotations in the dictionaries entries but in the tourism advertising discourse oikonyms pejorative components are diminished and place names acquire positive connotations due to the meaning shifts.

Conclusions

The tourism advertising discourse preconditions a shift of the pejorative component in the lexical meaning of place name nominations from the dominant position to the periphery one. It also first diminishes and then in the course of time neutralizes its negative semantics.

Perspectives of the investigation. It lies in the systemic study of dynamic semantics of oikonyms in the language system and professional discourses.

References

1. Briton L.J. The English language: a linguistic history / L.J. Brinton, L.K. Amovick. Oxford : OUP, 2006. 522 p.

2. Field J. Discovering Place-Names: Their Origins and Meanings / J. Field. 4th ed. Haverfordwest: CIT Printing Service, 2005. 103 p.

3. Harper D. Online Etymology Dictionary / D. Harper. 2017. [Electronic resource], Access mode : http : II www.etymonline.com/.

4. Klemperer V. LTI : Notizbuch eines Philologen / V. Klemperer. 4 Aufl. Leipzig : Verlag Philipp Reclam, 1970. -- 350 p.

5. Kramarae C. Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge / C. Kramarae, D. Spender. NY : Routledge, 2000. 2050 p.

6. Lodej S. Concept-driven semasiology and onomasiology of CLERGY / S. Lodej II Middle and Modem English Corpus Linguistics: A Multidimensional Approach (eds. M. Markus, Y. Iyeiri, R. Heuberger, E. Chamson). Amsterdam : John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2012. -P. 93-109.

7. Love Hungerford. 2017. [Electronic resource], Access mode : http://www.hungerford.co.uk/ index.php/explore.

8. Mawer A. Place-names and History / A. Mawer. Liverpool : The University Press ofLiverpool, 1922. -- 316 p.

9. McClure E. British Place-names in Their Historical Setting / E. McClure. London : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1910.-349 p.

10. Mills D. A Dictionary of British Place-Names / D. Mills. NY : OUP, 2011. 576 p.

11. Naumenko L.V. Semasiology and onomasiology as the main aspects of lexical semantics in a foreign language / L.V. Naumenko II Scientific Review. -K. : Meganom, 2014. -P. 80-85.

12. Neroznak V.P Toponimika [Toponymy], Lingvisticheskii entsiklopedicheskii slovar' [Linguistic Encyclopedic Dictionary], M. : Direct Media Publishing, 2008. P. 4753-4759.

13. Room A.A Concise Dictionary of Modem Place-Names in Great Britain and Ireland / A.A. Room. Oxford : OUP, 1983. -- 148 p.

14. Safonova L.V. 0 lingvisticheskoy sushchnosti peyorativnosti v leksike / L.V. Safonova II Teoriya і metody leksikologicheskih issledovaniy. : Izd-vo LGPI im. A.I. Gertsena, 1985. P. 52-58.

15. Shibaeva N.P К voprosy о funktsionalno-semanticheskom pole peyorativnosti / N.P. Shibaeva II Lingvisticheskie struktury teksta. : In-t yazikoznaniya AN SSSR, 1988. P. 151-155.

16. Suffolk. 2017. [Electronic resource], Access mode : http://www. thesuffolkcoast.co.uk/ suffolk-coast-towns-and-villages/snape.

17. Triphobo. 2017. [Electronic resource], Access mode : https://www. triphobo.com/places/shomcote-england-united-kingdom/things-to-do.

18. Visit Snape. 2017. [Electronic resource], Access mode : http://www.visit-snape.co.uk.

19. Widawski M. African American Slang. A Linguistic Description / M. Widawski. Cambridge : CUP, 2015.-314p.

20. Zherebilo T.V. Slovar' lingvisticheskih terminov і ponjatij / T.V. Zherebilo. -Izd. 6-е, ispr. idop. Nazran': Piligrim, 2016. -610 p.

Размещено на Allbest.ru