Lingwistyczny rodowód barona Kudkudaka

Abstract

The article analyzes the origin of the nickname Kudkudak. It is carried by one of the supporting characters of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher saga. The analysis leads to the conclusion that this onomatopeic personal name is not an individual neologism of Sapkowski. In various phonetic variants, it occurs in Borderland Polish, from where it found its way into literary texts. Its source is most likely the Ukrainian word kudkudák (кудкудак), which means the voice of a hen, is an imitation of the voice of a hen. Sapkowski›s source of inspiration was either the Polish language of his family on his father›s side or children›s literature, most likely Jan Brzechwa›s poem Kokoszka-smakoszka.

Keywords

• proper names in literature
• Polish-Ukrainian linguistic contacts
• idiolect
• proper names in Sapkowski’s prose
• origin of the nickname Kudkudak