Names and Naming Verbs

An analysis of naming verbs like ‘to be called’ is presented, which assumes that names act as predicates or arguments according to the syntactic structure in which they appear. In isolation, names are claimed to be linguistic expressions identifying an abstract category of type e. When they denote a name-bearer, they are embedded in a DP and the individual denoted by the DP is associated with the abstract category they identify. This makes it possible to structurally interpret naming verbs as complex copular constructions, which relate a discourse referent to the abstract category named by the name-expression.