Appellativized first names as terms of abuse

The case of the three pejorative Finnish expressions uuno, tauno, and urpo

Abstract

In the article, three appellativized Finnish personal names are analysed in their use as a derogatory part of communication. In support of the argumentation, two kinds of data are used: corpus data from the internet forum Suomi24 (‘Finland24’) and internet questionnaire data. The methods of qualitative corpus and questionnaire research are adapted, and the approach is loosely cognitive. It is evident that the three expressions are used pejoratively and to express negative emotions. Thus, their usage makes the communication impolite or emphasizes impoliteness. By showing the meanings and usages of the three expressions, it is argued that appellativized proper names have a specific, complex semantic profile.