Noms de Marques dans la 9e Édition du Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française

Abstract

Brand names in the 9th edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie française. The article contains an analysis of the words labelled as brand names in the 9th edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie française. The sample contains 88 items, out of which most are based on proper names, usually family and place names, and common nouns referring to various features and functions of products. These words are formed using a range of morphosyntactic processes, such as composition, scholarly derivation and abbreviation. The sample includes frequent borrowings from various European languages and particularly from English. From the semantic point of view, these words mainly designate (a) devices, equipment, machines, tools, means of transport, food products, and games, and (b) materials, substances, pharmaceutical products, synthetic fibres, and plastics. A brief analysis comparing the presence of words originating from brand names in dictionaries Larousse and Le Robert reveals a certain instability of their lexicographic treatment. Keywords: lexicalization, deonomastics, proper name, brand name, French language, Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, Larousse, Le Robert