ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 3 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1036
ANTONOMASIA AS THE REFLECTION OF COGNITIVE PROCESSES
Ziyayeva Shirin Shoyoqub qizi
Teacher of English Philology Faculty, UzSWLU
Department of “Applied aspects of English language”.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15115726
Abstract.
The article deals with the analysis of antonomasia from the perspective of
cognitive stylistics, cultural linguistics and linguopragmatics. Opposing to the structural
viewpoint that analyzed stylistic devices as the elements of figurative speech only, cognitive
approach opened a new concept in the exploration of the later ones as the results of complex
cognitive processes happening in the human brain. These processes are highly dependent on the
cultural background of the creator. Along with this, antonomasia can be related to the Conceptual
Blending Theory. The conclusion highlights the importance and the role of the investigation in
Uzbek linguistics.
Keywords:
Antonomasia, cognitive stylistics, cultural linguistics, linguopragmatics,
cognitive approach, Conceptual Blending Theory, metonymic antonomasia, metaphoric
antonomasia.
АНТОНОМАЗИЯ КАК ОТРАЖЕНИЕ КОГНИТИВНЫХ ПРОЦЕССОВ
Аннотация.
Статья посвящена анализу антономазии с точки зрения когнитивной
стилистики, лингвокультурологии и лингвопрагматики. В отличие от структурной точки
зрения, которая анализировала стилистические приемы только как элементы образной
речи, когнитивный подход открыл новую концепцию в исследовании последних как
результатов сложных когнитивных процессов, происходящих в человеческом мозге. Эти
процессы в значительной степени зависят от культурного фона создателя. Наряду с этим
антономазия может быть связана с теорией концептуального смешения. В заключении
подчеркивается важность и роль исследования в узбекской лингвистике.
Ключевые слова:
антономазия, когнитивная стилистика, лингвокультурология,
лингвопрагматика,
когнитивный
подход,
теория
концептуального
смешения,
метонимическая антономазия, метафорическая антономазия.
Due to the establishment of anthropocentric paradigm in science, lately modern linguistics
was challenged by radical changes in the analysis of language as a social phenomenon.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 3 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1037
Great attention was paid to the interdisciplinary character and interconnection of all
linguistic subjects within the frameworks of the new paradigm. New era of linguistic science began
with the birth of interconnected branches as cognitive linguistics, linguopragmatics, cultural
linguistics as well as gender linguistics. The appearance of modern subjects gave stimuli to new
approaches which offered completely innovative ideas in the exploration of language and its
nature.
One of such branches, which opened new horizons in linguistic science was cognitive
stylistics. The basis of the traditional stylistics was highly dependent on structural viewpoint.
However, with the implementation of cognitive science object of stylistics was altered from
the bare analysis of linguistic forms. Stylistic devices were not only elements of figurative speech
any longer. They became products of complex cognitive mechanisms generated in human mind.
Antonomasia as one of the object elements in stylistics faced a new perspective of analysis.
Linguopragmatic and cognitive approaches revealed hidden features of this stylistic
element. Theory of conceptual blending and knowledge structures were the key points in the
discovery of cognitive processes happening in the creation of the element.
Antonomasia is a type of stylistic device based on the interaction between the logical and
nominal meanings of a word, the two kinds of meanings must be realized in the word
simultaneously. Originated from Greek as “naming instead”, it is one of the stylistic devices aimed
to express the whole story in a single word.
Two types of antonomasia are distinguished. The first type of antonomasia is formed by
means of allusion. This is the use of the name of a historical personage whose specific features are
seen in the person discussed. For instance, a traitor’s name may be referred to as
Brutus
or
Judas
.
This type is called metonymic antonomasia.
The second type of antonomasia is created with the help of metaphor. In the following
examples a common noun or specific feature is used as a proper name e.g.
Lady Snake, Miss Ape,
Doctor No
. Consequently, this kind of antonomasia is defined as a metaphoric one.
In the sentence
“Her mother is perfectly unbearable. Never met such a Gorgon.”
(O.W.
The importance of being Earnest Jack) the proper name of a mythological woman is
preceded by the indefinite article and it means not that particular personage, but any woman whose
character is similar to that of Gorgon, i.e. a cruel, bad tempered woman. When a common noun is
used instead of a proper name, antonomasia is intended to point out the leading, most outstanding
feature of a person or event, at the same time pinning this leading feature as a proper name to the
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 3 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1038
person concerned. In fact, antonomasia is the initial stage in naming individuals. E.g. The next
speaker was a tall gloomy man, Sir Something Somediv. Here we are to understand the
insignificance and triviality of the speaker who is indistinguishable among the huge amount of
common people. Among popular antonomasia are the followings:
“Son of Laertes”
or
“Man of
Pain”
for Odysseus,
“Macedonia’s madman”
for the Alexander the Great,
“The Great
Commoner”
for Winston Churchill,
“The Mahatma”
for Mohandas Ghandi,
“The Emancipator”
for Abraham Lincoln.
Antonomasia as the result of creative imagination is born in the sequence of complex
cognitive processes. These processes are individually specific owing to the distinctive features of
person’s cultural background. Kenneth Holmqvith and Jaroslaw Pluciennik, as it is given in
Tropical Truth(s): The Epistemology of Metaphor and other Tropes
by Armin Burkhardt and
Brigitte Nerlich, link their study of antonomasia to a new way of looking at culture. To find the
“true” meaning of antonomasiologically encrypted reference it is required to go beyond the
linguistically given material and engage in the culture in which it is used.
For instance, the “love pairs” notion can be expressed by means of various language items
from the perspective of different cultural background and distinctive mentality. If in Uzbek they
are referred as
“Layli va Majnun”
, in English they would appear in the form of
“Romeo and
Juliet”
. The use of these means of nomination activates extralinguistic knowledge of literature,
thus focusing the attention of the reader on the conceptually relevant information.
Referring allusively to one of the masterpieces of the genius poet Navoi
“Layli va
Majnun”
, person builds the scenario where an endeared couple of young people who are ready to
give their life are vividly created. Based on the story described in the famous work, person can
imagine the border of insanity resulted from the love and obsession, since the word
“Majnun”
in
Arabic stands for
“insane”.
Likewise, in the reference to the great work by one of the most eminent playwrights in the
history as W. Shakespeare, person tends to visualize the real obstacles and again the state of
madness that is possible to lead even to fatal outcomes.
Besides, the creation of antonomasia can be used on the Conceptual Blending Theory
proposed by J. Fauconnier and M. Turner. They argue that the conceptual integration in our mind
always involves at least four distinct conceptual “spaces” including a “generic space” containing
elements common to the two input spaces. The model representing the theory consists of four
mental spaces: two input spaces, a generic space that contains what the two inputs have in common
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 3 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1039
and a blended space that contains some elements from each input space. The blended space may
also contain additional elements (“emergent structure”) that can include new elements retrieved
from long-term memory or resulting from comparison of the elements drawn from the separate
inputs, or from the elaboration of the elements in the blended space (“running the blend”).
In the example “His closest friend turned out to be a real Brutus”, the first input space
contains the notion of a friend that is associated with loyalty, honesty built up on the tight
relationships; the second space includes “Brutus” who was one of the closest people of Julius
Caesar that took part in the assassination of the later one. Consequently, he is referred as a betrayer
in the history. Generic space consists of the notions such as “friend”, “close person”; and
eventually the blended space will result in the notion of “close person who behaves as a betrayer”
that draws the conclusion of incompetence.
In conclusion, it should be stressed that the investigation of antonomasia from the point of
cognitive aspect is quite essential and topical in modern science. Since it has not been investigated
in Uzbek linguistics yet, analysis of stylistic devices from the perspective of cognitive linguistics
and linguopragmatics will contribute substantially to the development of linguistic science and
create new perspectives for the further researches.
REFERENCES
1.
Robinson, Peter. Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition.
Routledge. 2008. pp. 3-8.
2.
Benjamin Berge, Vyvyan Evans, Jorg Zinken. The Cognitive Linguistics Reader. Equinox.
2007. pp 3-5.
3.
Armin Burkhart, Brigitte Nerlich “Tropical Truth(s): The Epistemology of Metaphor and
Other Tropes”, De Gruyter. 2010. pp. 95-98.
4.
Galperin, I.R. “Stylistics”. Moscow higher school. 1977. pp. 164-166.
5.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonomasia
6.
https://literaryterms.net/antonomasia/
7.
https://studfile.net/preview/6326656/page:12/
