On the ambivalence of discursive compound contraction in Modern German

Abstract

The present study focuses on the contraction of German compounds with an identical component in different text genres. Two approaches to the process of compound contraction are discussed: the first which tends to treat it as a syntactic phenomenon, and the second which tends to understand it as a morphological phenomenon. Examples from contemporary German fiction, press and legislation are classified in order to illustrate the ambivalence of compound contraction between phrase formation and word formation. Omission or use of the article as well as various types of asymmetry in contracted structures, possibility to insert additional lexical elements and integration of contracted structures into further processes of word formation are specifically addressed in the research. Contracted constructions can demonstrate asymmetry according to the degree of expression-side compression, in terms of speech affiliation of determinating components, with respect to structural complexity, semantic actant type and status of determinating components. In the latter case, it concerns functioning of separated noun components and autonomous adjectives as equivalent attributes for the common main component. The results show that each approach is justified with regard to different aspects of compound contraction, provided due attention is paid to the fact that contraction can be realized to some extent variously in different genres.

Keywords

• contraction
• compounds with an identical component
• coordination
• word formation
• asymmetry