This paper argues that the meaning of the multi-word proper nominal – a term preferred to proper name, as explained in the first part of the paper – la guerre d’Afghanistan can be analysed as the result of an interaction between reference and the way the phrase fits into the structure of the utterance in which it is used: what in French is called “marquage énonciatif” (enunciative marking). The model followed, “la signalétique de la denomination”, states that proper denominations should be analysed by considering the linguistic system, the discourse level and social practices. On the basis of empirical press data concerning the war in Afghanistan (October-December 2001, in Le Monde and Le Figaro, two national daily newspapers), it is shown that the meaning of la guerre d’Afghanistan is partly descriptive of the event it refers to, but also marked by dialogism and social point of view towards the event.