Words for Women’s Boots in Present-Day Polish: a Quantitative and Contrastive Onomasiological Study

Andrew Wilson

doi:10.2478/v10015-007-0011-5

Authors

Andrew Wilson Lancaster University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/v10015-007-0011-5

Keywords:

Polish, onomasiology, terminology, footwear, boots, dictionaries, learner language, elicitation experiments, subcultures

Abstract

Footwear terminology demonstrates interesting cross-linguistic differences and is, consequently, also a problematic area for non-native speakers. In order to arrive at a more accurate picture of a subset of footwear terminology in present-day Polish, 82 native speakers were asked to name a range of six contemporary women’s boot styles. No style showed a complete agreement in the preferred head noun, although a clear trend was evident for each one, with kozaki being the most commonly used overall. The possibly uniquely Polish use of a military metaphor for tall riding-style boots (oficerki) and the special subcultural case of Dr. Martens-style boots are discussed in particular. The choice of modifiers within noun phrases for boots is also examined. Some contrastive data are presented from speakers of Greek and Russian.

References

Baldinger, K. 1964. ‘‘Sémasiologie et onomasiologie’’. Revue de linguistique romane 28, 249–272.
Google Scholar

Behrans, L. and D. Zaefferer (eds). 2002. The Lexicon in Focus: Competition and Convergence in Current Lexicology. Frankfurt/Main: Peter Lang.
Google Scholar

Cuyckens, H., R. Dirvén and J. Taylor (eds). 2003. Cognitive Approaches to Lexical Semantics. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Google Scholar

Ferrer-i-Cancho, R. and R. Sole 2003. ‘‘Least effort and the origins of scaling in human language’’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100, 788–791.
Google Scholar

Fillmore, C. 1977. ‘‘Scenes-and-frames semantics’’. In: Zampolli A. (ed.), 55–81.
Google Scholar

Fisiak, J., A. Adamska-Sałaciak, M. Idzikowski and M. Jankowski 1999. Longman Podręczny słownik. Angielsko-Polski. Polsko-Angielski. Harlow: Longman.
Google Scholar

Geeraerts, D. 2002. ‘‘The theoretical and descriptive development of lexical semantics’’. In: Behrens L. and D. Zaefferer (eds), 23–42.
Google Scholar

Grondelaers, S. and D. Geeraerts. 2003. ‘‘Towards a pragmatic model of cognitive onomasiology’’. In: Cuyckens H., R. Dirvén and J. Taylor (eds), 67–92.
Google Scholar

Grzebieniowski, T. [n.d.] Langenscheidt Pocket Polish Dictionary. English-Polish. Polish-English. New York: Langenscheidt.
Google Scholar

Grzega, J. 2004. Bibliography of Onomasiological Works (Last Updated: 1 September 2004). Retrieved December 1, 2004, from http://www1.ku-eichstaett.de/SLF/EngluVglSW/OnOn-7.pdf
Google Scholar

Günther, I., D. Janning, P. Langer and P. Oberheiden. 1995. ‘‘Ergebnis der Recherche zum Thema: ‘Schuhe als Ausdruck der Persönlichkeit’’’. Textilarbeit + Unterricht 4, 196–202.
Google Scholar

Hebidge, D. 1979. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. New York: Methuen.
Google Scholar

Hüllen, W. 1990. ‘‘Rudolf Hallig and Walther von Wartburg’s Begriffssystem and its non-/acceptance in German linguistics’’. In: Schmitt e r, P. (ed.) 129–168.
Google Scholar

Meringer, R. 1909. ‘‘Wörter und Sachen’’. Germanisch-Romanische Monatsschrift 1, 593–598.
Google Scholar

Polhemus, T. 1994. Street Style: From Sidewalk to Catwalk. London: Thames & Hudson.
Google Scholar

Polomé, E. (ed.). 1990. Research Guide on Language Change. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Google Scholar

PWN-Oxford. 2004. Wielki słownik angielsko-polski. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Google Scholar

Quadri, B. 1952. Aufgaben und Methoden der onomasiologischen Forschung: eine entwicklungs-geschichtliche Darstellung. Bern: Francke.
Google Scholar

Roach, M. 2003. Dr. Martens: The Story of an Icon. London: Collins & Brown.
Google Scholar

Schmitter, P. (ed.). 1990. Essays Towards a History of Semantics. Münster: Nodus.
Google Scholar

Stanisławski, J. 1982a. Wielki słownik angielsko-polski. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo ‘‘Wiedza Powszechna’’.
Google Scholar

Stanisławski, J. 1982b. Wielki słownik polsko-angielski. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo ‘‘Wiedza Powszechna’’.
Google Scholar

Wilson, A. and O. Moudraia. 2006. ‘‘Quantitative or qualitative content analysis? Experiences from a cross-cultural comparison of female students’ attitudes to shoe fashions in Germany, Poland and Russia’’. In: Wilson A. , P. Rayson and D. Archer (eds).
Google Scholar

Wilson, A., P. Rayson and D. Archer (eds). 2006. Corpus Linguistics around the World. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
Google Scholar

Zampolli, A. (ed.). 1977. Linguistics Structures Processing. Amsterdam: North Holland.
Google Scholar

Zgusta, L. 1990. ‘‘Onomasiological change: Sachen-change reflected by Wörter’’. In: Polomé, E. 389–398.
Google Scholar

Zipf, G. 1949. Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort. Cambridge, MA: Addison Wesley.
Google Scholar