The expansion of naming, the object of terminology

Abstract

Naming is recognized as the creation of brand, product or company names. Traditionally, from a linguistic point of view, naming would be part of onomastics, due to its nature as a proper name. This restricted vision has meant that interest and the majority of studies on naming are linked to the field of marketing.

However, in our ongoing research, focused on the appearance and launch of new Spanish dermocosmetic products in the Chinese market, we have observed that in the product naming designations, beyond including a proper name, there are other elements. linguistic elements that serve to designate, name and signify concepts of the product, including terminological units. In this sense, we have named this phenomenon “naming expansion” and we have proposed to delimit it as a complex linguistic unit (naming unit). In this article, we first describe this phenomenon; next, we analyze the relationship between the naming unit and the terminological units to find some possible similarities and differences; and, finally, we present an analysis model of the naming unit, delving into the description of product naming in relation to terminology.