This book proposes a new synthesis of the functions of proper names, from a semantic, pragmatic and syntactic perspective. A basic distinction is made between 'proper name' and 'proprial lemma'. A proper name denotes a unique entity at the level of langue to make it salient within a given basic level category. The meaning of the name, if any, does not determine its denotation. One formal reflection of this characterization of proper names is their ability to appear in such close appositional constructions as the poet Burns or Fido the dog. A new classification of names is provided as forming a continuum ranging from prototypical (personal and place names) to nonprototypical categories (brand and language names) to citations and autonyms.
Since the most recent linguistic book in English on name theory dates back to 1973, this book fills an important gap in the current literature. It is explicitly interdisciplinary, taking into account linguistic, philosophical, neurolinguistic, sociolinguistic and dialect geographical aspects of proper names.
