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SoSe 23: The formation of short words in Germanic languages

Renate Raffelsiefen

Kommentar

Abbreviations constitute one of the main sources of new words in Germanic languages. The novelty concerns not only form but often also meaning. For instance, the German abbreviation BAFöG typically refers to monthly payments, unlike the relevant full form Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz, which refers to a law. The main focus of the seminar is on phonological issues, in particular the question of which parts of the full form are preserved in the shortening and the question of how the selected material is prosodically organized. For instance, in both English and German it is common for multiword-expressions to be shortened by selecting initials only (e.g. "IPA" from International Phonetic Alphabet). However, while such abbreviations when consisting of three letters are typically pronounced as letter compounds in English (((?i)?(pi)?(?i)?)COMP) the pronunciation as a single word is more common in German ((('ip?)?). In both languages, it is possible to abbreviate just the first word in a two-word-expression with the initial (e.g. H-bomb (< hydrogen bomb), K-Frage (< Kanzlerfrage), but not just the second (*hydrogen-B, *Kanzler-F). Using corpora we will explore shortening data from English and German, but also from other Germanic languages, to establish relevant rules. We will further model the observed patterns in Optimality Theory, to gain insight into ways in which formal models can explain observations. Participants who register for the seminar through Campus Management will receive additional information and reading material. Others should contact me directly (rrenate@zedat-fu-berlin.de). Schließen

5 Termine

Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung

Mo, 09:00 - 15:00 5 Termine

Mo, 24.07.2023 09:00 - 15:00

Dozenten:
PD Dr. Renate Raffelsiefen