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Abbreviation

An abbreviation is a linguistic term that has long gone beyond the scope of the science of language into widespread use. For the first time, this word is encountered in high school.

Today we will talk about the origin of the concept, the process of abbreviation, the varieties of abbreviations, the rules for their use. But if the reader is only interested in the value, we will submit it right away.

What is an abbreviation, origin and spelling?

According to the encyclopedia "Russian language" (edited by F.I. Filin):

An abbreviation is a noun consisting of truncated words included in the original phrase. It is composed either of the first letters, or sounds, or parts of lexemes. The last word from the decoding of the abbreviation can be used in its entirety.

The spelling, reading, declension of the formed abbreviation will depend on the type used. To use it correctly, you should read the article in its entirety.

The word "abbreviation" came to Russian linguistics from Italian philology by tracing. In the original language, this is "abbreviatura", which literally translates as "abbreviation". In turn, in Italian, this term goes back to the Latin verb "abbrevio" (reduce), which comes from the adjective "brevis" - " short ".

The concept of "abbreviation" can be called related. This word is called the process of reducing the phrase itself. I.e:

An abbreviation is the result of an abbreviation (abbreviation) process.

Types and types of abbreviations

Having dealt with what an abbreviation is, let's move on to its varieties. There are various classifications, but traditionally in modern science there are 6 main types:

1. Initial (first letters and sounds):

RF, TSUM, university.

Syllabic (abbreviations of the initial parts of lexemes):

People's Deputy, caretaker.

1. Mixed (first with second):

social security, municipality.

2. First part of a word + whole word:

organizational work, Sberbank, maternity hospital.

3. The first part of the word + the indirect case of the whole word:

head of the department, commanders.

4. The beginning of the first word + the beginning and end (or only the end) of the second:

military enlistment office, moped.

Initial abbreviations are further divided into several subtypes:

1. Letter. Initial letters are used for education. Such are also read as a combination of letters (i.e. "RF" is pronounced as "Er-Ef").
2. Sound. The first sounds are taken, the abbreviation is read in one word (“TYUZ” and pronounced as “tyuz”).
3. Mixed (letters + sounds). Some are read as letters, some as sounds (“CSKA” is pronounced “tse-es-ka”).

All non-initial abbreviations (that is, types 2-6) are also called compound words.

Declension of abbreviated words

The declension of the first three types depends on the sound of the stem ending.

1. If the stem ends in a consonant, the noun is declined according to the second type (like the words table, house, etc.). For example: TSUM (where?) - in TSUM. The ending in the form of a lowercase letter is assigned close to the stem, no signs are needed.
2. If the stem ends in a vowel, the abbreviation is not inflected. For example: CSKA (where?) - in CSKA.

Since the fourth and sixth types end with a whole word, they are inclined as if it were free, not part of the abbreviation. For example: Sberbank - in Sberbank.

The fifth type is not inclined.

Writing abbreviations

The answer to the question of how the abbreviation is written depends on the phrase to which it goes back, and the type of abbreviation.

For initials, the relevant rules are:

1. Letter abbreviations are always written in capital (capital, large) letters (even if in the phrase some of the words are written with lowercase: exercise therapy (physical therapy), Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ministry of Internal Affairs).
2. Sound and alpha-sound can be written differently. If the abbreviation denotes a common noun, capital letters are used: university, bunker.
3. If we are talking about the names of organizations where at least the first word in the phrase was capitalized, all letters will be capital: MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), STSI (State Inspectorate for Road Safety).

Compound words (types 2-6) are written:

1. With a lower case, if they denote a common noun: department head, food store.
2. With a capital, but the rest of the lowercase - a proper name: Mossovet, Gosplan.

Brief Summary

This is a brief note about the abbreviation - what it is, how words are read and written, how to decline them. This information is sufficient for proper use. More details - in the works of linguists.