The document discusses names and nicknames of places and things. It begins by explaining that linguists, sociologists, psychologists, and journalists are interested in nicknames for various reasons. The document then states that the current English language program does not cover nicknames in sufficient detail. It proposes examining American English nicknames from a cultural linguistics perspective. Several example nicknames for places in the US, UK, Japan and animals are provided. The document outlines its objectives, methods, practical applications and concludes that nicknames are important aspects of social interaction worth further study.

1. Names and nicknames
of places and things
PREPARED
BY TANIA PIDKOVA

2. Introduction
The nicknames are
of great interest from
many different points
of view. People of
various professions are
interested in them. For
example, the linguist
studies them because
he is concerned with
all kinds of word
creation.

3. The sociologist is concerned with reasons for nicknaming; theThe sociologist is concerned with reasons for nicknaming; the
psychologist with personal reactions to them. As for the journalist, hepsychologist with personal reactions to them. As for the journalist, he
finds nicknames interesting because of the anecdotes that are oftenfinds nicknames interesting because of the anecdotes that are often
associated with them.associated with them.
 No doubt the students who are fond of English should get more
knowledge about the language, the culture and the regional
geography of English-speaking countries.

4. Problem
The program of learning English language does not
include the theme of nicknames in details. So it is difficult
to understand English nicknames well.

5. ActualityActuality
 In this respect, the
actuality of the research
work determines the
necessity of examination
of names and nicknames
of places and things in the
aspect of culture-oriented
linguistics.
 More than that, we hope
this knowledge will be
useful for students in future
because of their intention
to enter academies.
The Weimaraner’s coat colour led
to its nickname “Silver Ghost”
The London is nicknamed
“The Tube”

6. Object of the research
Thus, the object of the research work is American names and
nicknames of places and things for the purpose of culture-oriented
linguistics. American English was chosen because nowadays it is
considered to be widespread in the world.

7. The Objective
to give the general characteristics of the most popular names and
nicknames of places and things in modern English
California is nicknamed
El Dorado State or Golden State.
Hirakata-shi, Osaka, Japan is called
“Ginkgo Street”.

8. To achieve the objective we will
have to cope with the following tasks
 to determine the main term of the work “nickname”;
to examine the place of nicknames in everyday life of
society;
to study subdivisions of nicknames;
to view the examples that prove the importance of
nicknames;
to analyze Linguistic and Cultural Guide (LCG) (Student’s
book, author Virginia Evans.) and the dictionary
of names and nicknames;
to conclude the results of a survey;
to systematize findings.

9. Practical Application
 The research paper helps to analyze the typical nicknames used
by people who use English as a foreign language;
 Helps to better understand these nicknames and use them in
everyday speech;
 The found information can be used for farther scientific researches.

10. Methods used in the research
 a method of conceptual analysis,
 synthesis,
 problematic method,
 comparative method,
 and statistical calculations.
Alabama’s nickname is
Yellowhammer State
Virginia State is called “Mother of Presidents”

11. Nickname - an unofficial, familiar, invented name given for a
person or thing, used instead of the actual name of the
person or thing; a kind of byname that describes a person or
an object by a characteristic of that person or object

12. The Usage of Nicknames
 The nicknames take a
really important part of
everyday life of
society.
 Pupils at most schools,
for instance, can refer
to classmates and
teachers among
themselves by using
nicknames that would
be meaningless to an
outsider.

13. The Usage of Nicknames
 Nicknames, along with certain slang expressions, often help to create a private
language that excludes strangers.
 The most extreme example of such a private language is that used between lovers. The
partners are likely to have nicknames for each other that are uttered only in moments of
intimacy, and that otherwise remain a closely guarded secret.
E.g.: kittie; baby; sunny; sweetie; honey; sweetheart; angel;
darling.

14. Significance of Nicknames
As the social group
widens, so the
significance of a
nickname and the
reason for it become less
intense. The nickname
may merely be a shared
joke, or a reflection of
what H.L. Mencken once
called “linguistic
exuberance, an excess
of word-making energy.”
Henry Luis Mencken

15. Importance of Nicknames
 For some kinds of people it is very important to have nicknames. For example,
politicians who depend on public support, often encourage the media to use
nicknames when referring to them, usually those nicknames are friendly or flattering.
The wrong nickname could easily ruin a public reputation, just as it can cause great
problems in private life.
 E.g. George Washington had a nickname The Father of His Country; Bill Clinton - Slick
Willie; The First Black President; Barack Obama- No Drama Obama.
Bill Clinton Barack Obama George Washington

16. The Classification of Nicknames
We found that the general concept of “nickname” can be divided
into subtypes. According to our research work nicknames are:
Friendly: Cookie; mouse; missy, Romeo, macho
Hostile: "Booger“,"Spaz“,"Nerd" “Dork " Four-eyes" “Train tracks", "tin teeth", "metal
mouth", or "braceface“.
Neutral: "Ginger", "Ranga", or "Bluey" "Blondie“,“Doc“, “Moneybags”, “Geek”

17. The Usage of Nicknames
 They can also be classed as individual or generic.
 There also exists a special kind of nickname that is more widely used than a real name
of a person. This is because the real name of the person concerned is unknown. A
typical example occurs when a criminal’s deeds attract the attention of the public
although his identity remains hidden.

18. Nicknames in crime
Some criminals, like London’s Jack the Ripper,
retain the nickname as their only certain
identification. Others may later be known by their
real names, yet the nickname may well remain
and better known.

19. Nicknames in crime
There are many people, for instance, to whom the
name Albert De Salvo would mean nothing, though
they would know of his activities as The Boston
Strangler.

20. Neutral Nicknames
Nevertheless,
countless nicknames are
far less personal, being
inherited by certain
categories of people. A
man with red hair
automatically becomes
Red; someone from
Indiana is a Hoosier;
someone who is bald - is
Curly.

21. To get good knowledge of the nicknames widely used in
every day speech we studied a dictionary of names and
nicknames
Analysis of a dictionary of names and
nicknames

22. PRACTICAL WORK
Pupils of grades 9-11 of our Gymnasium were asked the following
questions:
1.What/Who is called “Dog
Star”?
a) A nickname of area in
London;
b) A name for the star
Sirius;
c) A nickname of a dog.
3.How do the French call the
Channel which connects
Great Britain and France?
a) A Great Way
b) La-Manche
c) The Channel of Love
2.A world-known nickname of New York is..
a) A Big Apple
b) A City of Dreams
c) A Wonderland
4.What is a nickname for Great Britain?
a) A Foggy Albion
b) A Country of Seven Hills
c) The Country of Three Seas

23. 5.A nickname given to the Planet Mars is..
a) Yellow Planet
b) Red Planet
c) Brown Planet
6.Have you ever heard about City
of Lilies? What is it?
a) Amsterdam
b) Paris
c) Florence
7.Do you know what nickname was given to
London, when it was the world’s leading port?
a) The City of Ships
b) The City of Masts
c) The Queen of Seas

24. 8.Have you ever heard about “Great White Way”?
a) Khreshchatyk Street;
b) Broadway Street ;
c) Baker Street. 9.What is Black Diamond?
a) A nickname of petroleum;
b) Jewel;
c) A nickname for coal.
10.What is The City of the Seven Hills?
a) A nickname of Syracuse;
b) A nickname for Rome;
c) A nickname of Broadway.

25. According to our survey

26. Conclusion
 The nicknames are of great interest from many different points of view. People of
various professions are interested in them.
 During our work we: determined the main term of the work “nickname”; examined
the place of nicknames in everyday life of society; studied subdivisions of
nicknames; viewed the examples that prove the importance of nicknames.
 In practical part we: conducted a survey, analyzed Linguistic and Cultural Guide
and the dictionary of names and nicknames.
 In this respect we worked out some tasks that can be very useful for learning
nicknames.
 We consider that the findings of this research work can be used in further scientific
studies on the given theme.

27. Thank You For Your
Attention