SUI LOGONIMI DELLA RICEZIONE IN LATINO: IL CASO DI COMPREHENDO, AUDIO E LEGO

The research focuses on three Latin terms, comprehendō, audiō and legō, analysed in their etymological and semantic features in order to place them in the classifications of logonimic lexemes developed since the coining of the metalinguistic term logonimo by Domenico Silvestri. These terms have been selected on the basis of their common characteristic of naming different stages of the linguistic reception and because this side of the linguistic communication has been investigated to a reduced extent, which is also motivated by the poorness in the number of lexemes about the linguistic reception. Moreover, this choice ensures the possibility of verifying the similarities and differences between these terms and the logonyms of linguistic production. After a first overview of the researches on the words concerning the “speaking” with the aim of identifying the main traits of logonyms, three chapters are dedicated to comprehendō, audiō and legō presenting for each term an etymological analysis and a thorough semantic investigation based on their textual evidences. From the attestations of the terms it emerges that all these logonyms have some features in common, such as their polisemic character, in which the logonimic meaning arises from a broadening of the primary sense due to a metaphoric extension. Furthermore, they seem to be properly described through the classification elaborated by Silvestri. In particular, they are all part of the same category of logonyms, relazionali-introversi, and are to be located in the cognitive area of selection and combination. Finally, an enquiry about the relationship between logonymy and metaphor is conducted, confirming the close link among the two phenomena, observed also in the logonyms of linguistic production.