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Reference: From conventions to pragmatics
Edited by Laure Gardelle, Laurence Vincent-Durroux and Hélène Vinckel-Roisin
[Studies in Language Companion Series 228] 2023
► pp. 233–248

Referential conventions as compromise

The case of oronyms

| Université Grenoble Alpes, LIDILEM

This chapter explores reference in the case of oronyms, that is, proper nouns which designate portions of mountainous relief. As a linguistic function, reference binds a linguistic sign to an extra-linguistic entity. How is this function initiated and how does it operate? I argue that oronyms create referents, the geographical objects speakers create by naming a portion of the relief. Likewise, humans can cognitively divide a spatial continuum to comprehend it better. Oronyms emerge from the naming process I call “toponymation”. They design (create) and designate (name) a referent which has fleeting contours and is thus difficult to retrieve. I explore oronyms in a corpus of alpine travel narratives to identify what criteria are necessary to reach towards what I call “referential efficiency”.

Keywords: proper nouns, toponyms, corpus linguistics, reference, mountains, space
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Preliminary remarks
    • 1.2Proper nouns and reference in previous research
    • 1.3Description of the corpus: Methodology and state of the art
  • 2.Toponymation and the creation of a referent
    • 2.1New referents fulfil the need to comprehend space
    • 2.2Referents result from consensus
  • 3.A fleeting referent: The grammatical structure of the oronym and the spatial reality
  • 4.Reference and convention: Towards referential efficiency
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • List of travel narratives
Published online: 2 February 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.228.12oun
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List of travel narratives

Adams Reilly, Anthony
1864 A rough survey in the Chain of Mont Blanc. The Alpine Journal: 257–274.Google Scholar
Bonney, Thomas George
1864 An excursion in the Dauphiné, with a partial ascent of the Pointe des Ecrins. The Alpine Journal: 66–74.Google Scholar
1866 The Levana District. The Alpine Journal: 79–86.Google Scholar
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1884 The passes across the Weissthor Ridge. The Alpine Journal: 193–203.Google Scholar
1882 The North District of the Saas Grat. The Alpine Journal: 332–345.Google Scholar
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1899 Four cols in the Mont Blanc Chain. The Alpine Journal: 299–306.Google Scholar
Hudson, John A.
1864 The Col delle Locchie. The Alpine Journal: 75–77.Google Scholar
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1860 The mountains of Bagnes with the ascents to the Vélan, Combin, and Graffeneire, and the passage of the Col du Mont Rouge. Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers: 52–87.Google Scholar
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1864 Explorations in the Alps of Dauphiné, during the month of July, 1862. The Alpine Journal: 145–183.Google Scholar