The Name Game: Creative and Practical Names for a Building

Abstract

Naming takes place in both "practical" and "creative" situations. A priori one might imagine that names generated in situations that contrast with respect to their practical/ creative character would be fundamentally different (e.g., structurally). An analysis was conducted of "creative" alternative names for the New York Exposition and Conference Center, collected in a newspaper contest. The results are considered in light of a prior analysis of "practical" computer filenames. From an appropriate level of abstraction, it appears that the principles governing naming are analogous in both situations — although the character of the naming task domain ("creative" versus "practical") modulates the expression of the principles.