“Baśniowe Zacisze” Retirement Home – about the names of centres for seniors in the axiolinguistic aspect

Abstract

The subject of the research was the names of centres for seniors. Over 300 units were recorded and subjected to axiolinguistic analyses. The description focused on three aspects: 1) axiological, 2) structural, 3) functional. The work also indicates the relations between axiology, semantics and linguistic pragmatics. The research has shown that names often disintegrate features stereotypically associated with old age. Moreover, it connotes commonly valued, desired and recognized attributes of social life, such as family or health. Intentionally chosen “speaking” names often refer to the religious context, referring to events and places known from the Bible, while foreign-language names are associated with a prosperous life and increase the prestige of the facility. In the examined material, attention was also paid to the structure of names and the functions they perform – descriptive, locating and informational, and pragmatic (marketing, persuasive).