Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics
proper noun (also name, nomen proprium, proper name)
Semantically defined class of nouns that unequivocally identifies objects and states of affairs within a given context. By designating an object or a state of affairs in a given statement, proper nouns replace deictic, or pointing, gestures such that direct reference to that object or state of affairs is made. Whether proper nouns have meaning and how they differ from generic names and (definite) descriptions has been open to much debate. Onomastics, in its narrower sense, deals with proper nouns and differentiates them into personal names, place names, and names of bodies of water, among others.
References
Allerton, D.J. 1987. The linguistic and sociolinguistic status of proper names. JPsyR 11. 61–92.
Conrad, B. 1985. On the reference of proper names. ALH 19.
44–124.
Kripke. S. 1972. Naming and necessity. In D.Davidson and G.Harman (eds). Semantics of natural language. Dordrecht. 253–355, 762–9.
Kuryłowicz, J. 1956. La position linguistique du nom propre. Onomastica 2. 1–14.
Searle, J.R. 1969. Speech acts: an essay in the philosophy of language. Cambridge.
onomastics
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