The paper is concerned with the problem of proper name-functions in Polish reportages of the 20th century. The analysis is focused on diachronic changes. For the research, two periods of Polish history were chosen: soc-realism and post-socialism epochs. The observation of onomastic material proved that culture had a significant impact on proper name functions in reportage understood as a dynamic and polyphonic speech genre. Furthermore, the proper name as a specific language sign is undoubtedly an important element which informs of the cultural and social factors, customs and traditions of a particular period. The results of this study confirm the benefits of contextualizing onomastic research within a broadly understood cultural background.

This article deals with the function of proper names in Olga Tokarczuk's novel Anna In w grobowcach świata [ Anna In in the Tombs of the World] and the short story collection Opowiadania bizarne [ Bizarre Stories]. In either case we are confronted with a stunning diversity of imaginary worlds described with erudite care and, by implication, a high level of strategic control. While drawing on a vast pool of well attested names from both Western cultural history and non-European mythologies, she also creates apellatives based on attributes highlighted in the storytelling (the stories themselves are often the product of her magical imagination). Invented or real, all proper names in Tokarczuk's narratives are handled in such a way as to display to the full their semantic, pragmatic and aesthetic qualities. Also, it seems, their placement in the text and their effect on the reader's reactions during the process of reading are carefully planned. what this article tries to demonstrate is that in Tokarczuk's art of fiction the creative transformation of proper names, their reinterpretation and contextualization functions as a complement to the imaginary worlds, rooted in bizarre, meta/genre creativity.