Mechanism of Naming : A Study on the Transition Patterns of Naming for Electric Home Appliances "The Three Sacred Treasures"

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  • 商品名の命名メカニズム : 家庭用電気製品「三種の神器」を例に
  • ショウヒンメイ ノ メイメイ メカニズム カテイヨウ デンキ セイヒン 3シュ ノ ジンギ オ レイ ニ

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Abstract

Recognizing the importance of elucidating the mechanism of naming, investigating why certain names are given to certain commercial products and what kind of names are likely to be given to new ones in future, this paper employs a new method, i.e., to survey all names given by several different companies for certain categories of products. The paper focuses on the so-called "The Three Sacred Treasures" (refrigerator, washing machine, and television), to find out if there is a regular tendency in the transition patterns of the naming. Dealing with not only proper names but also common names given to these electric home appliances, the paper analyzes the transition patterns of naming based on four kinds of constituent elements in their names: basic names, type names, function names and proper names. As a conclusion, this paper describes the following three points: (1) Appearance of these four elements follows regular patterns; (2) These patterns correspond to the patterns of introduction of new products or functions/technologies, as well as to those of their popularization or standardization; (3) Such popularization of new products and new functions/technologies in turn results in change in the concepts of these categories themselves. The paper suggests that the method employed in this paper will be effective in clarifying the mechanism of naming.

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