Dell'utilità pratica di usare più nomi di luogo... o soltanto uno: I nomi propri in prospettiva interazionale

This paper analyses place names in two different settings of interaction, i.e. during a guided tour and in the course of a meeting of a committee that decides about the standardisation of place names. It contrasts two cases: first, it looks at sequences in which participants are oriented towards the necessity of formulating a multitude of names (for the same referent); subsequently, it focuses on sequences of interaction that are oriented towards obtaining a unique place name. The article embraces an interactional perspective inspired by conversation analysis, and concentrates on the following questions: a) Which social practices do participants accomplish through the use of place names? b) What kind of findings can emerge from the analysis of interactional data, and is it possible to apply traditional linguistic concepts to interactional data? The main goal of the paper is thus to combine two approaches – interactional linguistics and onomastics – that are rooted in utterly different research traditions.