Acta academica karviniensia 2013, 13(4):114-122 | DOI: 10.25142/aak.2013.068

FORMATION OF ABBREVIATED MULTI-WORD DESIGNATIONS IN CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN

Drahoslava Kšandová

Česká zemědělská univerzita, Provozně ekonomická fakulta, Kamýcká 650, 165 21 Praha 6 -Suchdol, Email: ksandova@pef.czu.cz

Contemporary Russian is characterized by a tendency to economize linguistic means. Therefore, all kinds of multi-word designations abbreviation are very productive. These multi-word designations usually constitute official names of different realia. A significant increase in the number of abbreviations is related to a natural linguistic reaction to economic and socio-political changes. In the Russian language, abbreviation is deeply embedded in the word-formation system and is closely related to derivation and composition. Most Russian linguists consider abbreviations as common linguistic means of expression. Abbreviation extends word-formation, grammatical and also semantic opportunities and determines the development of new communicative-functional tendencies that cannot be omitted. The nominative function of abbreviations has been extended while abbreviations acquire not only polysemic and homonymic capacities but also emotional and expressive qualities. The functional importance of abbreviations has been increasing too. Abbreviations are fundamentally a product of deliberate collective word-formation that is determined by both linguistic and extralinguistic factors. Abbreviations were first used in the written form and then passed to spoken language where they became consolidated and naturalized. Last but not least, we can observe a growing number of foreign abbreviations.

Keywords: abbreviation process, abbreviations, homonymy, kinds of abbreviations and clipped words

JEL classification: Z19

Received: February 7, 2013; Accepted: September 11, 2013; Published: December 30, 2013  Show citation