MKOU Karmaklinskaya secondary school
Head: Belokrinitskaya E.M.,
German language teacher
Karmakla, 201 8 year
Content.
Introduction________________________________________________page 2
Main part_____________________________________________ pages 2-8
1. Methods of composition.
2. Types of composition.
3. Methods of translating complex nouns.
4. Similarities and differences in word composition in German and Russian languages.
5. Frequency of use of complex nouns.
III. Conclusions________________________________________________pages 8-9
IV. References_____________________________________________page 9
Introduction.
Being in constant motion, language continuously develops and improves, having its own present, past and future. Enriching the vocabulary is one of the most important factors in the development of a language, evidence of its dynamic nature. The vocabulary of a language is in a state of continuous change in accordance with linguistic laws. With the development of society, new objects and phenomena appear, they are imprinted in new words and new meanings.
Goal of the work - consideration of word formation as one of the methods of word formation in the German language.
In accordance with this goal, the work intends to solve the followingtasks:
1. Characterize the composition of nouns in the German language;
2. Compare word composition in German and Russian;
3. Identify the frequency of use of compound nouns in the German language using a text example.
The phenomenon of compounding words is very developed in the German language. Even the famous English writer Mark Twain mentioned this extraordinary phenomenon in his works. Hardly any otherlanguagewill be able to boast of so many nouns, consisting not of two or three, but of a sufficiently large number of simple words, combined into one complex one, which can sometimes replace a whole sentence or its parts. However, the most common case is still nouns made up of two simple words. Complex words abound in all areas of our lives, without exception.
Main part
Among the complex nouns in the German language, one can distinguish both those that are often found in German speech and those that can be formed in the process of forming a statement in any order, so not all complex nouns can be found in the dictionary. Such freedom in the formation of complex words in many cases can significantly improve the style of the text, allowing you to succinctly express thoughts and not go into lengthy descriptions. Sometimes compounding words helps form plurals for nouns that don't have them (das Unglück - die Unglücksfälle ).
Compound nouns in Germanare not always formed by adding several simple nouns into one whole. With the same success, verb stem + noun, adjective + noun, preposition + noun, numeral + noun can take part in word composition.
For example:
noun + noun
Der Fuß + der Ball = der Fußball
Der Herbst + der Wind = der Herbstwind
Der Wasser + die Melone = die Wassermelone
Die Mutter + die Sprache = die Muttersprache
Die Natur + der Freund = der Naturfreund
Das Regen + der Mantel = der Regenmantel
Der Schnee + der Mann = der Schneemann
verb (stem) + noun
Schwimmen + der Halle = der Schwimmhalle
Turnen + die Schuhe = die Turnschuhe
Fahren + das Rad = das Fahrrad
Schauen + das Fenster = das Schaufenster
Schlafen + das Zimmer = das Schlafzimmer
Wohnen + das Haus = das Wohnhaus
Träumen + der Beruf + der Traumberuf
Spielen + die Waren = die Spielwaren
adjective + noun
Rot + das Käppchen = das Rotkäppchen
Rot + der Kohl = der Rotkohl
Rot + das Banner + das Ensemble = das Rotbannerensemble
Gleich + das Gewicht = das Gleichgewicht
preposition + noun
Nach + der Mittag = der Nachmittag
Mit + das Leid = das Mitleid
Ab + der Fall = der Abfall
Auf + der Satz = der Aufsatz
Aus + die Stellung = die Ausstellung
Bei + das Spiel = das Beispiel
Über + die Schrift = die Überschrift
Unter + die Tasse = die Untertasse
numeral + noun
Zwei + Zimmer + Wohnung = die Zweizimmerwohnung
Vier + das Eck = das Viereck
Drei + das Eck = das Dreieck
Drei + der Master = der Dreimaster
Drei + der bunt = der Dreibund
Hudert + das Jahr + die feier =die Hundertjahrfeier
Fünf + der Tag + die Woche = die Fünftagewoche
Different words can be combined into a complex noun by simple compounding or by using appropriate connecting elements (-e-, -er-, -(e)n-, -(e)s-).
For example:
der Naturfreund )
-e- Das Gästezimmer ,
-er-, Kinderwagen
-(e)n-, Die Massenmedien
-(e)s- Das Arbeitszimmer
Here it is important to note the fact that the main semantic word, which comes in last place in such complex words, is always a noun. It is this that determines the gender of the newly formed word. All other components of complex words act as definitions for the main word. The first word is always stressed in compound nouns.
Compoundingvery widely used in German. When translating complex nouns, it is very important to correctly decompose the noun into a defining and defined word. Complex words are translated into Russian as a group of words or as one word.
The determining word of a compound noun can be translated into Russian using the following parts of speech:
AdjectivedieEisbahnRailway
Noun in the genitive case die Schprachgeschichte History of the language, der Stundenplan lesson schedule
Noun with preposition der Briefkasten writing box
Simple noun das Tintenfaß inkwell, die Hauptstadt capital, das Wörterbuch dictionary.
Russian and German languages, being genetically and typologically close, have much in common in their word formation systems. First of all, the ways of formation of new nominative units in these languages are similar. In the field of morphemic word formation in both languages, two methods are distinguished - affixation and composition. The relationship between these two methods of morphological word production is different in these languages: the Russian language is more characterized by affixation, and the German language by compounding.
If you compare complex words in German and Russian languages, you can observe similarities in the type of composition:
In russian language
by usingconnecting vowel (o, e):
root+root = locomotive;
root + similar word = agriculture;
root+word = logging.
In German
using appropriate connecting elements:
-e- Das Gästezimmer ,
-er-, Kinderwagen
-(e)n-, Die Massenmedien
-(e)s- Das Arbeitszimmer
In russian language
without a connecting vowel:
a combination of truncated words or truncated roots - collective farm;
truncated root + word with a “taken out” middle: es(kadrenny) min(onos)ets = destroyer, people(one) com(issari)at = People's Commissariat;
combination of truncated root + word: dance floor = dance floor, party + ticket = party card.
In German
by simple addition (derNaturfreund)
Addition of stems is a type of morphological word formation when, as a result of the addition of two or more stems, a new word is formed. This method is widely used in modern Russian in the formation of nouns (especially in scientific and industrial-technical speech). The types of compounding are as follows:
1) connecting two stems (noun and verb) using the connecting vowel -o- (-e-): haymaker, timber truck, vacuum cleaner, steelmaker, icebreaker, bread cutter.
Sometimes, when forming words of this type, suffixes are also used, for example -ets, -tel-, -k-a: destroyer, legislator, butter churn, water pump, etc.;
Compare with German: Fahren + das Rad = das Fahrrad (Unlike the Russian language, the verb comes first, the noun comes second)
2) the connection of two nouns (equal or with syntactic subordination of the first part) with or without a connecting vowel: radio center, reinforced concrete, water supply, hut-reading room, north-east;
INGermanlanguage: Die Pause + der Raum = der Pausenraum
3) a combination of the stems of an adjective and a noun using the connecting vowel -o- (-e-): chernozem, low forest, Zheleznovodsk;
INGermanlanguage: Schnell + der Zug = der Schnellzug
4) a combination of the genitive case of a numeral with the base of a noun, complicated by a suffix: five-year plan, millennium, triangle;
In German:Vier + das Eck = das Viereck (Unlike the Russian language, in German the numeral is in the nominative case)
5) a combination of pronoun and verb stems, complicated by a suffix: self-criticism, self-will, cost. (When researching the text and dictionary, we did not find similar cases in the German language)
On the contrary, in the Russian language there are no complex nouns formed by combiningpreposition with a noun, such as in German, for example,
Nach + der Mittag = der Nachmittag
In the Russian language, a special type of compounding is represented by complexly abbreviated words (abbreviations). This type of word formation, although it was already known in the 19th century, became most widespread in the Soviet era, mainly for the names of organizations, institutions, and positions. This type of composition is no less productive today. Based on the nature of the combination of the initial parts of words included in such a formation, the following types are distinguished:
1) sound - a compound word is formed by adding the initial sounds of its constituent words (university - higher education institution, pillbox - long-term firing point, Youth Theater - theater for young spectators);
2) alphabetic - a compound word is formed by combining the initial letters of words and is read by the names of the letters (NTO - scientific and technical society, MSU - Moscow State University, the words are read: en-te-o, em-ge-u);
3) syllabic - a compound word is formed by combining the initial parts of words (Ministry of Health - Ministry of Health, battalion commander - battalion commander);
4) mixed - a compound word is formed from the initial syllable of one word and another word, used without abbreviations (professional card, propaganda point, State Duma), sometimes from the initial syllable of one word and the initial sounds of other words (KAMAZ - Kama Automobile Plant).
To find out how often compound nouns are used in German, I analyzed a reading text from a 6th grade textbook.In the reading text „DieWeihnachtsgansAuguste“ ( nachF. Wolf) counted the total number of nouns, they turned out to be -110, and the number of complex nouns, there were 24 of them, which is 22%. The text alone is not enough to draw any conclusions, so I studied the vocabulary of the 6th grade textbook. When counting nouns, I found that out of 621 nouns, 191 are complex, which is 31%. By calculating the arithmetic average of these indicators, I received approximately 26.5%. This is the average number of compound nouns used in the German language. This means that every fourth noun in German speech is complex. This is a very high indicator, which is what I tried to show with my work.
At the end of my work I will draw conclusions:
compounding is a productive way of word formation of nouns in the German language;
the composition of nouns in German and Russian languages has much in common;
The frequency of use of compound words in the German language is very high; according to rough estimates, every fourth noun is a compound noun.
IV. Bibliography:
I.L. Beam, L.M. Sannikova, L.V. Sadomova. German language textbook for grade 6, Moscow, Education, 2007.
Internet resources.
L.D. Tsvik, I.Ya. Galperin. A short guide to German grammar. Moscow, Education, 1987
Splicing two or more words is one of the main ways of word formation in the German language. For example, das Haus (house) + der Garten (garden) = der Hausgarten (garden at the house). In German such words are called Komposita, that is, complex words.
Splicing words together is very convenient, because you don’t need to coordinate words with each other by gender and case. Compare, for example, the word die Zimmerpflanze and the Russian translation “houseplant”. In the German version, two words are simply written together, but in Russian we have a whole phrase with a complex grammatical structure.
When forming compound words in German, the article, gender and case are determined by the last word in the connective, but the stress always falls on the first word. For example, der Handschuh (mitten).
What do you already know about difficult words in German?
Before starting the lesson, let's find out how well you handle difficult words in German. You will be asked several questions. Each question is given 20 seconds. Ready? Then click the "Get Started" button below.GET STARTED
Ways to form compound words in German
Compound words in German can be formed not only from joining several nouns, but also from joining:
- adjectives and nouns, for example, weiß (white) + der Wein (wine) = der Weißwein (white wine), groß (big) + das Projekt (project) = das Großprojekt (large project),
- verbs and nouns, for example, schreiben (write) + der Tisch (table) = der Schreibtisch (desk), fahren (to drive) + das Zeug (object) = das Fahrzeug (vehicle), schwimmen (swim), das Bad ( bathroom) = das Schwimmbad (swimming pool),
- adverbs and nouns, e.g. wieder (again) + die Gabe (gift) = die Wiedergabe (reproduction), vorwärts (forward) + die Bewegung (movement) = die Vorwärtsbewegung (movement forward), links (left) + der Abbieger (that who turns) = der Linksabbieger (vehicle turning left),
- pronouns and nouns, for example, all (all) + die Macht (power) = die Allmacht (omnipotence), ich (I) + Kult (cult) = der Ich-Kult (cult of self), wir (we) + das Gefühl (feeling) = das Wir-Gefühl (feeling of unity),
- prepositions and nouns, for example, mit (with) + der Arbeiter (employee) = der Mitarbeiter (employee), vor (before) + die Speise (food) = die Vorspeise (aperitif), nach (after) + der Winter (winter) = der Nachwinter (spring frosts),
- particles and nouns, for example, nicht (not) + die Achtung (respect) = die Nichtachtung (disrespect), nicht (not) + die Anerkennung (recognition) = die Nichtanerkennung (non-recognition), nur (only) + der Hausmann (householder) = der Nurhausmann (non-working householder),
- adjectives and adjectives, for example, hell (light) + blau (blue) = hellblau (light blue), dunkel (dark) + grün (green) = dunkelgrün (dark green), dunkel (dark) + rot (red) = dunkelrot (dark red).
Some complex words are constructed using so-called frozen forms (German: Scheinwort), that is, words that are not themselves used in modern German, but for some historical reasons are still preserved as part of some words. For example, Auerochse (bison), Brombeere (blackberry), Damhirsch (doe).
Longest word in German
If you have already understood the principle of how compound words work, then you are probably interested in knowing how long words can be in German. In 1999, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany) passed a law transferring beef labeling control responsibilities. The official German wording of the law is Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz. Impressive, right? Of course, this is a living example of how an entire sentence of the modern German language can become one word!
It is not surprising that many deputies laughed at this formulation. After this, the Minister of Agriculture of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Til Backhaus apologized for the excessive length of the title of the law.
More German practice with Eliane
If you want to master the art of forming complex words in German, sign up for first free lesson in our online center. The class will be taught by one of our professional tutors from Germany– Christoph Deininger and Eliane Roth. They will be happy to answer all your questions related to the German language and German culture, and will also help you create the optimal class schedule.
Compound German nouns is the hallmark of the German language. They are understood as words in which several different roots are adjacent. Moreover, their number in some cases amounts to tens.
Formation of compound nouns in German avoids excessive repetition of the genitive case and simplifies the use of difficult German grammar in speech.
Compound nouns in modern German
In the German language there are a huge number of nouns that consist of several words and allow you to express a voluminous meaning.
Compound nouns in German. examples:
- Two words: das Schlafzimmer - bedroom.
- Three words: das Kopfsteinpflaster - cobblestone street.
- Four words: der Schreibtischdrehstuhl - a chair to a desk, rotating on an axis.
The Germans are masters at creating interesting phrases:
- Der Handschuh - die Hand (hand) + der Schuh (shoe) = mitten.
- Der Hexenkessel - die Hexe (witch) + der Kessel (cauldron) = hell.
- Die Hornhaut - das Hörn (horn) + die Haut (skin) = cornea (eyes).
- Die Kornblume - das Korn (grain) + die Blume (flower) = cornflower.
Table 1. Compound nouns in German: methods of formation.
|
Education |
Example |
Translation |
|
Noun + noun |
der Tischtennis - die Tisch + der Tennis |
Table tennis |
|
Adjective + noun |
die Hochschule - hoch+die Schule |
graduate School |
|
Verb + noun |
der Bestimmungshafen - bestimmen + der Hafen |
Port of destination |
|
Noun + verb |
der Haushalt - das Haus + halten |
Household |
|
Numeral + nouns |
der Zweijahrplan - zwei + das Jahr + der Plan |
Two-year plan |
|
Preposition + noun |
der Mitarbeiter - mit + der Arbeit |
Employee |
|
The words that make up a compound noun can be joined to each other directly with the help of connecting elements: -(e)s; -(e)n; |
–die Leben s mittel –der Trag e handel – das Land er spiel – das Student en wohnheim – die Psych o gygiene |
Food product trading from trays international competition student hostel mental hygiene |
The gender of compound nouns depends on the gender of the base word. The first part is the defining word, the last part of the compound word is the main word. The emphasis falls on the defining words.
If two or more compound nouns are listed that have the same stems or defining words, then write one compound noun, replacing the common part with a hyphen, for example: die Kindergarten und -krippen (kindergartens and nurseries).
According to the new spelling rules, complex words can be written with a hyphen, especially if they end and begin with the same letter, for example, Flusssand - Fluss-Sand, Seeelefant - See-Elefant, etc.
Translation of German compound nouns into Russian
Compound nouns in German are often formed during conversation, so you need to learn how to translate without resorting to a dictionary.
Ways to translate complex nouns in German
There are several ways to translate complex nouns into Russian. For ease of reference, we suggest using Table 2.
Table 2. Features of the translation of German compound nouns.
|
Rule |
Compound noun |
Translation |
|
Translation of syntactic German compound nouns using the phrase “adjective + noun” |
die Wintersonne. die Gatterpforte. der Eisbrei. die Siebensachen. der Wotanshut. der Jupiterbart. das Außermenschliche |
Winter sun. Lattice gates. Snow porridge. School belongings. Wotan's hat. Jupiter's beard. Non-human nature |
|
Translation of syntactic German compound nouns by phrases with genitive non-prepositional |
der Bankdirector. der Ballettmeister. das Vogelgezwitscher. der Sofawinkel. die Straßenecke. der Frühlingsarom |
Director of the bank. Dance teacher. Tweet. Corner of the sofa. Street corner. The scent of spring |
|
Translation of German compound nouns using prepositional constructions |
die Bücherpäckchen. die Weingeleegläser. die Pferdebücher |
Bags with books. Glasses with wine jelly. Books about horses |
|
Translation of German compound nouns into Russian as a simple or complex noun |
die Mittelmäßigkeit. das Widerspiel. der Gegenteil. die Sehnsucht |
Middle. P counteraction Opposite Yearning. |
|
Translation of German compound nouns into Russian in a descriptive way or using semantic development |
die Selbstverachtung. das Klavierzimmer. die Damenwahl |
self-contempt.
The room where the piano is. It's the ladies' turn to choose their gentlemen |
In the German language there are quite a few nouns made up of several words that can be used to express a three-dimensional meaning or an entire expression. Compound nouns in German are words that are formed from two or more stems:
two words: das Schlafzimmer - bedroom;
three words: das Kopfsteinpflaster - cobblestone street;
four words: der Schreibtischdrehstuhl - a chair to a desk, rotating on an axis.
The Germans are generally masters at creating new words from a wide variety of word combinations:
der Handschuh - die Hand (hand) + der Schuh (shoe) = mitten;
der Hexenkessel - die Hexe (witch) + der Kessel (cauldron) = hell;
die Hornhaut - das Hörn (horn) + die Haut (skin) = cornea (eyes);
die Kornblume - das Korn (grain) + die Blume (flower) = cornflower.
Compound nouns in German consist of:
1. noun + noun: der Tischtennis - die Tisch + der Tennis = table tennis;
2. adjective + noun: die Hochschule - hoch+die Schule = higher school;
3. verb + noun: der Bestimmungshafen - bestimmen + der Hafen = destination port;
4. noun + verb: der Haushalt - das Haus + halten = household;
5. numeral + nouns: der Zweijahrplan - zwei + das Jahr + der Plan = two-year plan;
6. preposition + noun: der Mitarbeiter - mit + der Arbeit = employee.
The words that make up a compound noun can be added to each other:
1. directly: das Gasthaus (hotel);
2. using connecting elements:
-(e)s - die Lebensmittel (food product);
E: der Tragehandel (trade from trays);
Er: das Landerspiel (international meeting);
-(e)n: der Firmensitz (location of the company);
O: die Psychogygiene (mental hygiene).
The gender of compound nouns depends on the gender of the base word. The first part is the modifier, the last part of the compound word is the base word. The emphasis falls on the defining words.
In the word Küchenschrank (kitchen cabinet) the main word is der Schrank, so the whole word will have a masculine gender - der Küchenschrank. In the phrase Kontensperrung (blocking an account), the main word is die Sperrung, therefore the entire word will be feminine.
If two or more compound nouns are listed that have the same stems or defining words, then write one compound noun, replacing the common part with a hyphen, for example: die Kindergarten und -krippen (kindergartens and nurseries).
According to the new spelling rules, complex words can be written with a hyphen, especially if they end and begin with the same letter, for example, Flusssand - Fluss-Sand, See elefant - See-Elefant, etc.
Compound nouns in German, when translated into Russian, can have:
1. one word: der Warenaustausch - barter;
2. compound noun: die Schaffenkraft - efficiency;
3. combination of an adjective with a noun: der Kurzstreik - short strike;
4. two nouns: die Lieferfirma - supplier company;
5. combination of a participle with a noun: der Berufstätige - working in a specialty;
Formation of complex words from nominal parts of speech and verbs
One of the striking features of the German language is the formation of complex words, which, although it is currently developing most actively in the field of business communication, is still present in other layers of the linguistic community. […] It is worth noting, however, that nouns and verbs behave differently.
A compound noun always represents a kind of linguistic unity, the members of which follow directly after each other and bear one main emphasis; and the important thing is that any part of speech can act as the first member. Compare compound words with the root –fahrt, such as: Abfahrt (departure), Vorfahrt (travel first rule), Überfahrt (railroad crossing), Zufahrt (access), Rundfahrt (excursion), Schwarzfahrt (using a car without the owner’s consent ), Wohlfahrt (charity), Bergfahrt (trip to the mountains), Schifffahrt (shipping), Vergnügungsfahrt (pleasure ride), Wallfahrt (pilgrimage) - the first elements here are adverb, preposition, adjective, noun and verb. The verb does not have such freedom. Only in a very limited environment can verbs form complex words that represent a stable temporal and semantic unity. In essence, such complex words exist only with linguistic indicators that indicate the end of an action or its relation to the world. These are prefixes called prefixes (be-, er-, ent-, ge-, ver-, zer-, miß-), which are not used as independent words, and a number of prepositions (über/ unter, durch/ um, wider), to which you can add the adjective voll. Examples are complex words with the verbs fahren (to go) and stehen (to stand): befahren (to ride), erfahren (to recognize), entfahren (to break out), verfahren (to act), überfahren (to move), durchfahren (to drive through), umfahren (to run over ), widerfahren (to occur); bestehen (to consist), erstehen (to acquire), gestehen (to recognize), verstehen (to understand), überstehen (to withstand), unterstehen (to obey), umstehen (to surround), widerstehen (to resist) (you can also add: missraten (to advise against) and vollziehen (commit)). Compound words that appear to be formed from nouns, such as weissagen (to predict) and wetteifern (to compete), are actually derived from nouns. Therefore, the verb takes part only to a small extent in the formation of these complex words.
By a complex word, Reichling understands only such a combination of words, the elements of which always follow each other inseparably and can change place in a sentence only as a single whole; another condition is that the members must be united by a common stress. No member can be separated. Names like Heiliges Land (Holy Land), Rotes Meer (Red Sea) are not complex words, but phrases that in this case denote one object; the combination of an adjective and a noun, from the point of view of language, is not a word, but is combined due to the relationship to the object (that is, extralinguistically). In accordance with this, words with the so-called. separable prefixes such as ausgehen (to go out) (er geht aus) cannot actually be compounds.
Obviously, this is due to the fact that in German the sentence is built around a verb, and the verb plays a decisive role. The verb is associated with the process of constructing a sentence in time. In a simple narrative sentence (“Aussagesatz”) the “finite”, i.e. finite, form of the verb always takes second place, while the verb in the impersonal form tends to the end of the sentence: wir werden morgen die Versammlung besuchen (We will go to the meeting) – wir haben gestern die Versammlung besucht (We went to a meeting yesterday). No one will deny that in the German mind the personal and impersonal forms of the verb are connected with each other. Both forms interact to form the characteristic German sentence frame, which in a simple declarative sentence helps transform temporal sequence into simultaneous coexistence in the mind. It is the distance of the personal and impersonal forms from each other (and, consequently, their separation in time) that contributes to the fact that the sentence is perceived as an integral unity.
However, how then should we view the relationship between personal and impersonal forms? On the one hand, linguistic flair (and adherence to the Latin tradition in the study of language) suggests that both forms are one (albeit analytical, as it is usually called). However, on the other hand, the imfinite form of the verb plays a role that it shares with numerous other linguistic structures. So, you can say, for example: Die Versammlung hat um acht Uhr begonnen (The meeting began at eight o'clock); or Die Versammlung fing um acht Uhr an (The meeting began at eight o'clock); in addition, Wir werden die Versammlung besuchen (We will go to the meeting) – Wir nehmen an der Versammlung teil (We will take part in the meeting); further – Ich werde sein Verhalten beobachten (I will observe his behavior) – Ich gebe auf sein Verhalten acht (I will pay attention to his behavior). In the place that in the first case is occupied by the verb in the non-finite form (which is usually considered as a single whole together with the finite verb), in the second case there is a preposition or a noun, which is placed directly next to the verb only in a subordinate clause.
[…] This means that the question of the integrity of the word for nominal parts of speech and for the verb must be resolved differently. Only among names (and, above all, nouns) there are complex words that are given in a statement and in all types of syntactic connections. The close connections into which the verb enters depend on time and, when forming a sentence, each time lead to a predictable result. […]
Compound word and infinitive
These circumstances play a role in the debate about changing our spelling; we are talking about the question of whether it is necessary to write a noun and a verb together and, if necessary, then when. By adhering to the rule of capitalizing nouns, we are forced to make a difficult decision. We need to determine whether we will consider a noun, which seems to us to be closely related to a verb, as a noun or as part of a verb, whether we will therefore, along with teilnehmen (take part), achtgeben (pay attention), haushalten ( to run a household) write also radfahren (to ride a bicycle), skilaufen (to ski), kopfstehen (to stand on one's head) (i.e., would we consider a noun as a verbal element when it comes before an infinitive or before a verb form completing subordinate clause). Today there is apparently a developing tendency to think that in such cases there is a close connection between the noun and the verb. The reason for this is the presence of corresponding nominal forms, based on which the verb forms are formed. Since we have the noun Haushalt (farm), we say haushalten (to farm), because we know the word Radfahrer (cyclist), we use radfahren (to ride a bicycle); since we use Skilaufen (skiing) and Skiläufer (skier), we write skilaufen (skiing); the word Blindflug (blind flight) refers to the appearance of the verb blindfliegen (to fly blindly), and the word hellsehen (to be perspicacious) is associated with the noun Hellseher (clairvoyant) (in the last two cases the verb is combined with an adjective). Such formations are largely limited to the infinitive, so we can safely say that in these cases verb infinitives can be formed from complex nouns. […] Thanks to this, the characteristic feature of the noun becomes, to a limited extent, suitable for the verb. In this case, a circular process occurs. At the beginning there is a phrase: Er fährt auf dem Rad (He rides a bicycle). Under the influence of a noun, it can develop into a real compound word, in which traces of a syntactic connection are then erased (here a preposition and an article), as always happens in the formation of nominal compound words; The essence of a complex word is that it neutralizes syntactic relations that do not relate to the word, but only to the sentence. Therefore, Auf dem Rade fahren der Radfahrer (A cyclist rides a bicycle) appears. Since a new, unified concept is being introduced here, the language would also like to have a single name for this action. This completes the circular process that leads from the phrase auf dem Rad fahren and the noun Radfahrer to the formation of the corresponding verb radfahren. How syntactic connections can lead to the formation of an independent compound word is shown by such compounds as Afrikareisender (explorer of Africa) (from: Er reist durch Afrika (He travels in Africa)) and Türsteher (gatekeeper) (from: er steht /immer/ vor der Tür (He stands /always/ at the door)). Whether verbs will subsequently be formed from such nouns depends on the frequency of their use.
St. Petersburg State University
Faculty of Philology
Department of English Philology
Work on translation practice
(in German)
Die Zusammensetzung im Deutschen
H. Brinkman
Difficult words in German
(pp. 27 – 30)
Completed by a fifth year student, group 10 of the Department of English Philology
Scientific director
Saint Petersburg
German grammar, T. Henzen, V. Word formation in the German language, ed. 2. – 1957.
Weissagen is derived from wîs-sago, which in turn is a reinterpretation of dvn. wîzzago "prophet"
Reichling, A.: Het Woord (Nijenegen 1935).