English in the ergonyms of a multilingual city: Nominative models (based on Kazan)

Abstract

The English language is characterized by various modes of expression in ergonyms. The latter may contain an English lexeme not found in the official languages of Kazan, Russian or Tatar. Furthermore, ergonyms may also include English-associated vocabulary, to which international and non-international loanwords from English refer, as well as international vocabulary found in Russian, Tatar, and English dictionaries. The hypothesis of the Research is: The English language, in any of its manifestations, is represented in commercial names which are formed according to cognitive models of a specific structure, and constructs the consciousness of the target audience. Our study of the names of food service establishments on Chistopolskaya, one of Kazan’s longest and busiest streets, identified dominant models of nomination: direct (by a product) and metonymic (by a subject, by raw materials used for production, by a target audience, by a part of the product’s country of origin, by a specific room in the establishment, by a piece of professional equipment, and by the result of the activity). Direct nomination models “include” the population in a shared global gastronomic space, while metonymic transfer nomination attests to the high degree of Anglicization of Kazan residents’ consciousness, as well as their good lexical proficiency in English. The limited use of metaphorical models, however, suggests the lack of vitality in the English language for expressing national specifics and cultural codes.