Non-verbal components of the ergonymy presented on signboards in the city of Ufa

The study aims to identify the characteristic features of the semantic and formal representation of non-verbal signs in ergonyms found on the signboards of the city of Ufa. The article provides a comprehensive parameterization of the non-verbal component of a polysemiotic ergonym presented on a signboard: the nature of non-verbal signs, their position relative to the graphemes of the ergonym, and their functional specificity are revealed. The research is novel in that it is the first one to identify and systematize the ways of representing non-verbal signs within the ergonyms of Ufa, depending on their form, spatial organization, degree, and nature of semanticity. As a result of the study, four ways of realizing the non-verbal component of a polysemiotic ergonym presented on a signboard were identified – in the form of a transformed alphabetic sign, a graphic sign not included in the alphabet, an object image, and a color combination. It was determined that a non-verbal element in a polysemiotic ergonym on a signboard can be characterized by an internal position, as well as an external position contiguously adjacent to the text of the ergonym. It was established that a non-verbal sign is able, through its visual form, to display the semantics of the ergonym or its generic affiliation, as well as to combine both functions or generate associations indirectly related to the semantics of the ergonym.