NA HRANICI VLASTNÝCH MIEN A DRUHOVÝCH OZNAČENÍ: SÉMANTICKÉ, PRAVOPISNÉ A PRÁVNE ASPEKTY POUŽÍVANIA SLOVENSKÝCH NÁZVOV OLYMPIJSKÝCH PODUJATÍ

The paper deals with the Slovak names referring to the Olympic Games that appear to be, in a sense, borderline cases between proper names and generic terms. The study focuses on semantic and spelling aspects of these names, but also on legal restrictions imposed on the use of the term “olympiáda” (Olympics/Olympiad), so the analysis goes beyond the traditional semantics and partly falls within the field of applied linguistics focusing on language and law. The paper shows that despite the latest proposal the Slovak spelling system cannot be consistently based on the principle of “completeness” of the name. Secondly, it is argued that spelling variants “olympiáda/ Olympiáda and olympijské hry/Olympijské hry” should be accepted in written Slovak. Finally, the study clarifies the special status of the word “olympiáda” as quasi-trademark, resulting from the legislative protection of the Olympic symbolism.