De-abbreviations: From Soviet Union to Contemporary Belarus

Abstract

Abstract The article is dedicated to the study of ludic de-abbreviation, backronymization, or, alternatively, humorous decoding of the well-known abbreviations (which usually serve as names for political parties, countries, universities, and so on). A brief survey of the existing research is provided. Then, despite the fact that de-abbreviation was considered characteristic of the Soviet period, now almost extinct, the author focuses on a case study based on contemporary material, which proves that de-abbreviation is still popular and productive for name-giving. As soon as an abbreviation for the name of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, used by the police for safety reasons, appeared in press (2012), it immediately caused dozens of ludic de-abbreviations suggesting alternative names for him. The article focuses on the mechanisms of these renaming de-abbreviations as well as the reasons that caused their peculiarities and multiplicity.

Keywords

• Maine
• American colonization
• Irish history
• Ferdinando Gorges