Problématique de la nomination : du répertoire des sens à l’analyse de leur production

The term of naming (nomination in French) may look quite straightforward, but it in fact begs many questions, some of which are quite fundamental ones, such as categorisation in language, specificities of the noun and name, and ambiguities in linguistic terminology itself. The aim of this article is to clarify the concept of naming on the theoretical level. By examining how this concept is identified in the paradigm of synonyms (designation, appellation, denomination) and how the terms in question are used, we obtain a series of underlying epistemological options to choose between. Some arguments are then mustered in favour of a theory of naming and then illustrated in the analysis of a particular praxematic case, that of casbah. This word was borrowed in an intercultural situation marked by conflicting tensions. We examine how it is used in French.