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Among the various relationships Leonardo Sciascia cultivated with Italian publishers, his connection with the Laterza publishing house in Bari stands out, notably due to its association with the publication of his initial venture into prose writing: Le parrocchie di Regalpetra. Drawing from this relationship, which has been recently documented through the publication of correspondence between Vito Laterza and Sciascia, my paper delves into the meticulous exchange between author and publisher. Specifically, it focuses on the editorial evolution of the work, examining various paratextual elements, ranging from the toponym chosen to signify the title, to the alignment of the title with the cover's iconography, and the overall layout of the mise en page. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the interplay between naming, Deep Time, and Deep Space (i.e., spacetime on a cosmogeological scale and from an evolutionary perspective) in the latest compositions by Italian poets Bruno Galluccio, Antonella Anedda, Andrea De Alberti, Lorenzo Vilei, Luigi Severi, and Franco Buffoni. I will examine the various strategies employed to evoke the incomprehensible depths of spacetime within poetic texts: firstly, the theme of the unnameable (explored by Anedda and Galluccio), followed by the anthropomorphization of evolutionary processes through the use of proper names like Lucy and Luca (as seen in De Alberti and Vilei's works). By comparing these compositions with other contemporary poetry collections, I will identify a recurring pattern, discernible in De Alberti, Anedda, Galluccio, and Enrico Testa's works (all published by Einaudi), characterized by alliterations and the compression of the macroscopic into the microscopic, accentuated by vast differences in scale. Lastly, I will highlight a distinct approach: the personification of celestial bodies and their names (referred to here as cosmonyms) by Buffoni and Severi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to delve into a relatively uncharted territory within scholarly inquiry: the realm of sound-symbolic literary onomastics. It meticulously scrutinizes 100 names and nicknames spanning from the 18th to the 21st century across diverse textual genres, with a specific focus on those found in children's language or texts, as well as dialect varieties. The objective is to establish a classification system for the names and nicknames of literary characters, facilitating the identification of their motivational factors, formation mechanisms, and predominant linguistic structures employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The translation of proper names (PN) in literary works poses significant theoretical and practical challenges for researchers. This article presents a case study focusing on the comparative analysis of 13 different translations of the Lithuanian national poem Metai ('The Seasons') by Kristijonas Donelaitis, a seminal text in 18th-century Lithuanian literature that profoundly influenced the development of the literary language. The poem is notable for its extensive use of proper names. In this paper, a typology of PNs is proposed for translation analysis, categorized based on parameters such as authorship, intentionality, transparency of the PN in the source language, and the potential presence of equivalents in the target language. The findings indicate that translators' choices, while diverse, are influenced by the type of PN being translated. The efficacy of this analytical model could be further tested by applying it to translations of other literary works in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on translating the anthroponymic repertoire of Adam Mickiewicz's Polish national epic, Pan Tadeusz. The research examines how proper names and nicknames serve as essential lexical elements, fulfilling various functions such as character delineation and the transmission of identity and cultural values. The objective is to spotlight the strategies employed in translating these anthroponyms, illustrating how they influence the perception of Mickiewicz's poem in Italy and reflect broader trends in onomastic translation within the contemporary Italian literary landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper delves into the realm of onomastics within the context of migration by analyzing Shi Yang Shi's autobiographical novel, Cuore di Seta. Through the protagonist's journey from China to Italy, the narrative unveils the profound significance of names in the process of identity reconstruction, as experienced through memory. The Chinese onomastic system is carefully elucidated for readers, providing insight into its cultural nuances. Throughout the story, the evolution of the protagonist is mirrored in the evolution of his nicknames, which reflect both personal growth and societal challenges encountered along the way. As the protagonist grapples with conflicts between Confucian traditions and his dual identity as a Chinese migrant in Italy, the narrative chronicles his quest for self-discovery. Ultimately, he embraces his plural nature by employing the act of renaming as a symbolic gesture of acceptance and integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to illustrate the evolution of the name 'Chominowa' within Polish collective consciousness. Initially mentioned in a poem by Zuzanna Ginczanka as the woman who reported the poetess to the Nazi authorities in 1942, this name gradually came to symbolize all Poles who collaborated with the German occupiers. Its evolution into an antonomasia reached its zenith in 2020 with the unveiling of Adam Rzepecki's art installation - a yellow neon composition featuring the name 'Chominowa'. The controversies surrounding this installation can be attributed to the tabooization of Polish collective memory, which often glosses over the darker aspects of history such as collaborationism, in an attempt to portray a purified national identity free from culpability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bible contains numerous lists of anthroponyms, organized according to genealogical structures. This article specifically focuses on five of these lists, which include: 1) the genealogy of Cain, son of Adam, as described in the fourth and fifth chapters of Genesis; 2) the genealogy presented in the book of Chronicles, spanning chapters 1.1 to 9.44; 3) the genealogy of Jesus outlined in the Gospel of Matthew; 4) the genealogy of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of Luke; and 5) the concise repetition found throughout the Bible: «I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.» The underlying question this text seeks to address is: what purpose do these extensive lists of anthroponyms serve in a text that is meant to convey a divine revelation? To explore this query, the article delves into two significant aspects of Judeo-Christian religions. Firstly, the prohibition on pronouncing the name of God, and secondly, the covenant of alliance between God and His people. These two aspects of the relationship between humans and God may appear contradictory. However, it is suggested that these lists of anthroponyms, which serve as the starting point of the research, may help reconcile this contradiction. The faithful, unable to directly invoke the name of God, can instead invoke Him through the names of His sons. This is because the 'Holy Spirit' is believed to have been infused by God into the spirit of Adam, and subsequently transmitted from one generation to another, dwelling within the spirits of those descended from Adam. The paper concludes by proposing the hypothesis that these extensive series of anthroponyms constitute the formula that enables the naming of the unutterable, representing an infinite periphrasis for the unpronounceable name of God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) was proficient in the Italian language and frequently incorporated Italian characters into his works. In this paper, we will examine the names of Italian women in four stories that predominantly take place in Germany. While Hoffmann primarily employs Cratylic (speaking) names that appear to shed light on the characters' traits due to their transparent meanings, these names are not always genuine. Quite often, their meanings are deceptive, rendering them false (lying) names. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extensive presence of names and toponyms in Alberto Arbasino's works makes it an ideal case study for exploring the significance of proper names and lists of names in literature. This paper aims to examine the role of names in Arbasino's work, starting with an analysis of the names found in the paratexts, such as titles, intertitles, indexes, and indexes of names. These names serve as structural elements that reflect the author's inclination towards classification and combination. Moving forward, I examine the role of names within the main text itself. By comparing them to the works of Proust, Flaubert, and Auden, it becomes evident that names in Arbasino's writing take on a dual nature, encompassing both seriousness and facetiousness. This duality allows his prose to oscillate between memoir and biting satire, as well as between self-portrayal and self-parody. This applies to various forms of his writing, whether it be prose, non-fiction, or hybrid works like Fratelli d'Italia. In conclusion, I offer some observations on the use of homonyms and synonyms in Arbasino's work, employing semiotic tools to analyze their significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the intricate connection between names and identity in the migrant novel Fiamme in Paradiso by Abdel Malek Smari. Within the context of migration, the protagonist Karim undergoes a symbolic journey, adopting various identities, changing his name as a means of concealment during challenging times, and even being bestowed new names by Italian individuals. By examining this symbolic trajectory through the lens of onomastics, we aim to unravel the significance of names and naming in the migration process. Additionally, an interview with the author will provide further insights into the author's intentions and perspectives on the relevance of names in the novel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the significance of anthroponyms in Katja Petrowskaja's literary debut, Vielleicht Esther. Geschichten. In this book, the Ukrainian novelist writes in German about her family's history, engaging with postmemorial research that problematizes the processes of memory and identity construction. Proper names play a crucial role in Petrowskaja's exploration as she seeks to uncover her ancestors' history using scarce documents, fragmented recollections, and sparse notes. These proper names serve a primary documentary function, affirming the existence of individuals who have often been entirely erased from the annals of history. By analyzing Petrowskaja's writing and considering her unique approach to postmemorial discourse, which embraces her diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, we observe how proper names assume a central position in her narrative journey through her family's history. She endeavors to uncover what might have been, delving into the realm of possibilities rather than focusing solely on what actually transpired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the portrayal of significant anthroponyms in both the initial Italian translation (1968) and a recent retranslation (2022) of Witold Gombrowicz's short story titled "Biesiada u hrabiny Kotłubaj" (literally: "The Banquet at Countess Kotłubaj's"). Originally written in 1928, the story features proper names that conceal humorous puns, alluding to the characters' social background or containing polysemic, primarily erotic references. Through a comparative analysis of the two translations, we uncover the changes that have unfolded over half a century in terms of translation strategies, readers' preferences and competencies, and the role of translated texts within the target culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the role of proper nouns in generating wordplays within French trench journals. Following a brief introduction to the corpus and the connection between proper nouns and wordplay, we present several examples to illustrate the frequent use of puns in these publications, intended to entertain and divert the soldiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay highlights the longstanding tradition of associating members of academies with names that reflect their specific qualities and roles within the organization. This practice has been deeply ingrained in the life of academies since their modern reestablishment. Exploring the "institutional" history of academies within Italian literary culture is a valuable research endeavor that focuses on the significance of academic naming and its central role in defining identity. The paper particularly emphasizes a significant scholarly work from the early eighteenth century, Giacinto Gimma's Idea della storia dell'Italia letterata, which serves as a precursor to Italian literary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the names given to theatrical characters representing «the parasite» in several vernacular translations of Plautus' comedies (reference is also made to works by Terence) and in a number of Neolatin and Italian comedies and tragicomedies between the sixteenth and seventeenth century. The first part looks at Greek and Latin sources, and the Humanistic and Renaissance developments of the name Pamphagus, while the second considers non-Italian works with diverse dramaturgical features, in order to illustrate the typological and onomastic differences of the characters, whose names naturally follow the outcomes of the articulated creative processes of reuse and adaptation of classical models to contemporary historical situations and events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns one of Collodi's many reflexions on proper names and on the importance of their choice; in particular, the developments and consequences of the attribution of inappropriate names are analyzed here. Collodi made the inadequate name a recurring subject in many of his writings, a comic topos that was repeated and refined through the years. The Florentine writer satirized in particular names chosen to convey a racist message, as well as those whose choice was influenced by literary and melodramatic fashions, in contrast with more traditional names now considered unpleasant or even 'common'. Collodi hits out at such fads and artificial attitudes as found in the snobbery typical of the nascent bourgeoisie, in its attempt to rid itself of what might be seen as pre-unification provincialism. He even brought his own satirical vision to bear on embarrassing names at the very beginning of Pinocchio, with that amused, paradoxical onomastic decision made by Geppetto in endowing his puppet with a name chosen because, he says, he knew a family of Pinocchi where everyone was well-off and the richest among them was a beggar!. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many characters in Theodor Fontane's novels bear inadequate names, i.e. names indicating a contradiction with a particular feature of the character in question. Such a contradiction may be based on his/her physical appearance, behaviour or profession. Onymic inadequacy can be either semantically motivated or dependent on the socio-cultural background. In the first case, inadequate names are meaningful names («speaking names» or redende Namen) pointing to a quality the literary character does not possess. In the second case, inadequate names are antithetic and consist of a sophisticated first name and an ordinary surname. The present paper deals with the coinage and function of thirteen inadequate names of characters in Fontane's novels Irrungen, Wirrungen, Frau Jenny Treibel, Effi Briest and Der Stechlin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world of Hoffmann's fairy tale, The Strange Child, is divided into the spheres of everyday life and the Supernatural. Whereas the names of the first sphere are well-chosen, normal ones, supernatural beings either have no names at all or have names which are in some way uncanny. According to Freud 'the uncanny' is related to strangeness. In this paper I analyze first the names of the everyday world and subsequently those of the supernatural sphere. I show that the most uncanny name of this tale, Pepser, fits in with Freud's theory that the uncanny is that class of the terrifying which at first glance looks like something long known to us, something familiar. Another aspect of the uncanny is that it is a quality of something that ought to have remained hidden and secret and yet comes to light. This quality too can be identified in the name Pepser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The character of Juduška, the protagonist of The Golovlyov Family (1880), a novel by Russian writer Saltykov-Ŝedrin, is an interesting example of renaming. Juduška is not, in fact, only a nickname (made up of the name Juda, Judah, and the term duška, 'pleasant, gentle person'), tainted by suggestions of duplicity, deception and betrayal; it almost immediately becomes the name that designates his identity. Juduška conceals the original Porfirij, a solemn, royal pre-name, an allusion to the colour purple, an alienating name, and is completed by a second epithet, krovopivuška, 'leech'. This paper aims to investigate the functional relations between the names of Porfirij-Juduška, his actions and his destiny in the microcosm he represents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fact that Tolkien's stories were primarily linguistically inspired is evidenced not only by his meticulous attention to anthroponyms and toponyms to ensure they fully described characters or places, but also by the musicality and connection between sound and the named object. The toponyms in The Lord of the Rings create a political and geographical world: the locations in the novel, reprised and quoted in the various languages of the peoples of Middle Earth, refer to a shared history and make the fictional world more vivid and real. For Tolkien, anthroponyms and toponyms were so crucial to the correct experience of his universe that he devised a guide for translators. Given its status as a literary classic, The Lord of the Rings has undergone numerous retranslations. This contribution aims to investigate the retranslation of place names by examining the two Italian versions: the first by Vittoria Alliata and Quirino Principe, published in 1970; the second by Ottavio Fatica, published between 2019 and 2022. The contrastive analysis of this contribution aims to: 1) explore the different interpretation introduced by the retranslated toponyms; and 2) understand how toponyms reflect the translation strategies of the two translations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]