A contribution to the rules of writing proper nouns in the proposed modification of the Rules of Hungarian Orthography

This paper analyses the portions of the proposed new edition of the academic rulebook of spelling having to do with the spelling of proper nouns, in the perspective of onomatology. As a point of departure, the author discusses theoretical issues in proper name research, characteristics of present-day naming and name use, and requirements of clear and expedient formulation. He lists missing types and subtypes of names that are not treated as proper nouns (that is, not spelt with a capital initial) in the present rulebook, even though they would deserve that treatment. He makes suggestions with respect to the appropriate revision of the sets of examples accompanying the relevant entries. He recommends a cutback in the number of exceptions, as well as a more accurate reformulation of the individual rules. In addition, he covers issues arising in other sections of the rulebook that also touch upon the spelling of proper nouns.