Types of deonymization of toponyms in the German language

The research aims to determine the semantic changes of a toponym as a result of its deonymization, since only individual toponyms, recognizable by their characteristics for the linguistic community, exhibit the ability to deonymize. During deonymization, an abtoponymic meaning is formed in individual toponyms. The article examines the following mechanisms of deonymization: metaphorization and metonymization. These processes underlie such a productive method of word formation as eponymization. Particular attention is paid to the types of phraseotoponyms, where a toponym can already be used as a formed appellative or acquire a new meaning. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the structuring of types of deonymization, as a result of which toponyms lose their proper functions and undergo semantic changes: reinterpretation of meaning (as a result of metaphorization and metonymization); acquisition of a new meaning in a phraseological unit. As a result, based on the material of the German language, it was revealed that the degree and nature of the genetic connection of the deonymized component-toponym with the name of the referent influences the development of the abtoponymic meaning in the names of geographical objects.