Facets of proper names. A syntactic and semantic-referential perspective

Abstract

The paper proposes an interpretation within a syntactic and semantic framework of the logical and grammatical status of proper names (PNs) in their conventional and unconventional uses. In doing so, it addresses the semantics of proper names first, which are seen to be unstructured linguistic expressions, with no inherent meaning or sense; their sole function is to denote an individual directly. However, proper names have multiple uses that challenge this narrow acceptation. They often refer to sets of entities and display a behavior characteristic of common names, expressing properties of the bearer of the name, or denote individuals in fictions in their fictional uses. The notion of proper name thus turns out to be an umbrella term that subsumes different categories of nominals, some functioning as unstructured directly referring linguistic expressions, while others are structured and identify the referent(s) descriptively.