Development of word-formation processes in the German language

Word formation as a separate section of linguistics in the second half of the20th century and in the 21st century continues to be a relevant sphere of the linguistic researches. Today, the interest of researchers in word formation of German languages has increased the knowledge of common and different word-formation phenomena. This is very important for describing the historical development of modern German languages.

A great potential for describing mechanisms of self-regulation of word-formation means in the language system is provided by synergetics - a self-organization theory aimed at “discovering common self-organization and development laws and at applying respective designed models widely" [4, p. 99-113]. Synergetics studies common self-organization and development principles of different complex systems explaining the appropriateness of existence of transient states, non-linear and unconventional decisions in terms of solving certain tasks [9].

The application of the principles and methods of the synergetic methodology for solving the problems of word formation opens up new horizons in the study of the word-formation system as a whole and its subsystems in particular makes the relevance of the study.

The specific topic of the article is studying of word-formation processes from the position of the evolutionary linguosynergetics.

The research object of the given article is word-formation processes in the German language.

The subject matter is covering a development of word- formation processes in German language.

Results of the research: In the vocabulary of Old Germanic languages both abstract words and abstractness suffixes are widely known to have been secondary and later formations. Having appeared in the sphere of separate types of noun declension, abstract vocabulary was originally produced by stem-forming suffixes each of which had its own class of lexical units and was (as it is believed) a class indicator. The later appearance of more abstract nouns within these declension types proves the supposition of stem-forming-suffix semantics having served as a major factor by paradigmatic producing of the analyzed lexical layer. Consequently, primary abstract nouns marked in terms of word formation by stem-forming suffixes are a very old abstract-vocabulary layer and carry an explicit indication on a peculiar format of representing world knowledge. Further formation of separate abstract-noun word-formation elements (within different declension types), phonetically more distinct and stable ones, promoted fixing the formats laid by stem-forming suffixes. Following development of abstract-noun suffixes from secondary word components had, probably, to fix the laid tradition still more formally and more distinctly.

By revealing the word-formation specificity of Old High German abstract nouns one could define a set of stable derivational elements performing a similar function - marking lexical units of the same semantic community, of the same single derivational space, namely of the abstract-noun lexical-semantic group. This set comprises the representatives of the word-formation abstractness category which is regarded as “a unity of word-formation meaning by different expressing means” [10, p. 25], or “a class of lexemes characterized by a single derivational function” [11, p. 227]. Among the word-formation formants that performed a certain role in marking abstract nouns, word-formation suffixes belonging to this category can be treated as main and dominant means of producing lexemes within the analyzed lexical-semantic group.

According to the researches of V. M. Zhirmunskiy, Old High German stage is characterized by increased development of a whole number of new word-formative categories that express the needs of developing abstract thinking. This process is accomplished in German translated prose under the influence of more developed Latin language. On the one hand, to express abstract notions, some old suffixes are used (-ung, -nis, -ida), on the other hand, absolutely new suffixes are created from initially separate words with general meaning: -heit, -scaft, -tuom (“kind”, “image”, “property”, “state”). These new formations initially expressed higher degree of logical abstraction, while earlier categories of abstract words had more objective character. This is what the difference between adh. hцhi “Hohe” - specific “height” of a certain mountain, and hцchneit (“height” in the figurative sense - “elevation”), between sezzi “position” (compare ambahtsezzi “Amtsbesetzung”) and sezzunga (das Setzen) [12, p. 268-273; 13, p. 177; 14, 78-80].

The suffix -ung, -ing occurs in all Germanic languages in patronymic meaning (generic names): compare Amalungi (of Goths), Carolingi (of Franks). Its patronymic meaning is connected to its usage in local names ending with -ingen, -ungen (Dat. plural ahd. -ingum, - ungum), that desposes the initial generic settlement of Germanic peoples: compare Reutlingen, Solingen, Kissingen, Salzungen and others. That's where the development of personal meaning of the ending -ing in the words kunig “Konig”, ediling “noble” (“by origin”), arming, mahting “mighty person” etc. It is preserved in the Modern German language in the extended form of the suffix -ling, distracted from the words that already contained the suffix -l, as ahd. ediling (from edili “Edel”): compare got. gadiliggs “relative”, ahd. jungiling “Jungling” etc.; in the New German compare Fluchtling, Fremdling, Liebling; often with pej orative shade, that may have evolved from diminutive meaning of the formation with -l: compare Klugling, Schwachling, Weichling etc.

The suffix -ing in the abstract meaning is not found in the Gothic language. In Old High German it has the form -unga (feminine). In poetry, for example by Otfried (IX century) it is found only a few times in verbal nouns with more substantive meaning: for example, manunga (“reminder”), samanunga (“meeting”) and a few others. The development of proper abstract nouns with the ending -ung is deployed with extreme intensity in Old German clerical prose in VIII-X centuries in translation from Latin: compare sceidunga “division” (lat. divisio), wirkunga “action” (lat. operatio), zeigunga “definition” (lat. determinatio), korunga “test” (lat. probatio); from verbs with the suffixes: wehsilunga “change” (lat. mutatio), from wehsilцn “wechseln”, heilagunga “sanctification” (lat. sanctificatio) from heilagцn and many others. In the further development of the German language this category becomes the general form of the formation of abstract nouns and reigns in the scientific and technical vocabulary of the XIX and XX centuries on a par with substantivized infinitives.

Such formations from verbs with prefixes and suffixes are commonly used: compare Erbauung, Betretung, Versuchung, Absetzung, Zusammenstellung, Verherrlichung, Verheimlichung, Regierung, Einquartierung etc.; similar situation occurs with syntactic adhesions: Grundsteinlegung, Instandesetzung etc.

Some words in this group have lost their verbal character and turned into ordinary nouns : compare Stimmung “mood”, Sitzung “session”, Dдmmerung “twilight” etc.

The suffix -nis is found in the Gothic language in the form of -assus, which is expanded into -nassus after verbs and nouns ending with -n: compare got. Ibnassus “Gleichheit“ (from ibns “eben“, gaibnjan “ebnen“), fraujinassus “Herrschaft“ (from fraujinon “herrschen“) etc. In Old High German the suffix has another form: -nissa, -nissi (feminine), -nissi, -nessi (neuter). The duality of the genus is perserved till our days: compare Geheimnis (neuter) - Besorgnis (feminine), etc. The development of this form also occurs in Old Hight German translated prose, for example, virstandnissi ''Verstдndnis” (lat. intellectus), kihaltnissa “Enthaltsamkeit” (lat. pudicitia), forlд^^nessi “absolution” (lat. remissio) etc. Besides the formations from verbs and especially from strong participles, to which this category probably owes its -n, there initially are the abstract formations from adjectives and nouns: compare heilagnissa “Heiligkeit” (lat. sanctitas) from heilag, gotnissi “Gottheit” from Gott and others. In the New German the lexical composition of this group is significantly changed, but there are also the formations from the same grammatical categories (if possible with umlaut): Erkenntnis, Begrabnis (from verbs); Finsternis, Faulnis (from adjectives), Bildnis (from nouns).

The suffix ahd. -ida (got. - фа) was used mainly for the formation of abstract nouns from adjectives. Very often in Gothic: daubi^a “Taubheit”, diupi.a “Tiefe”, weihi^a “Heiligkeit” (from the adjective weihs “heilig”) etc.; in Old High German translated prose - both from the adjectives and verbs: compare reinida “Reinheit”, heilida “Heilung” and others. This suffix was mostly distributed in the scientific prose. In Middle High German is supplanted by formations with -heit and others. In New German only a few isolated words survived, that have lost their original abstract meaning: compare Gemeinde (ahd. Gimeinida), Gebarde (ahd. gibдrida), Beschwerde (ahd. from separate words, are initially attached to preceding noun or adjective according to the type of biswдrida), Freude (ahd. frewida) and a few others [12, p. 269-270; 13, p. 177-178;14, 78-80].

New suffixes formed compound words. In the Gothic language the suffixes of such origin has not yet occured. Their emergence in Old High German shows the failure of the old language means for the needs of the complicating abstract thought.

The word heit (got. haidus (masculine), ahd. mhd. heit (feminine)) means “person”, “position”, “kind” in an independent use. In Old High German, it can be attached to nouns and adjectives. For example, ahd. scalcheit “slavery” from scalc “Slave” (lit.: “the position of slave”), magatheit “virginity”, torheit “stupidity”, fnheit (lit.: “free state”), wisheit, hochheit and others. It is characteristic that in contrary to the old, more specific suffix -i, the suffix -heit that competes with it, is very often attached to adjectives that have abstract meaning, especially derivatives: compare ahd. gelichheit “Gleichheit”, einicheit “Einigkeit”, stetecheit “Stetigkeit”, sдlicheit “Seligkeit” and others. In the Middle High German the new ending -keit is formed from the combination -ic + heit (mhd. -ekeit.): compare mhd. bloedekeit “Blodigkeit”, lihtekeit “Leichtigkeit” etc. Later on, it is transferred to the words that did not have the suffix -ig: compare mhd. itelkeit “Eitelkeit”, lьterkeit “Lauterkeit” etc. The distribution of -keit and -heit in the modern language fluctuates. After the suffix -n goes -heit: Offenheit; after -er - usually -keit: Bitterkeit, Magerkeit, as well as after the suffixes - bar, -sam, -lich and some others: Fruchtbarkeit, Duldsamkeit, Herrlichkeit. A double formation -ig + keit is formed with the suffix -ig: Traurigkeit etc. This ending is distributed independently later on: compare Bangigkeit, Dreistigkeit - besides bange, dreist; with certain variations that allow further differentiation of meanings: Neuigkeit (Neuheit), Reinigkeit (Reinheit), Feuchtigkeit (Feuchtheit), Kleinigkeit (Kleinheit) and others.

The word schaf (schaf), an abstract feminine noun formed from ahd. scepfen “schaffen”, meant “the state” (“Beschaffenheit”). Compounds with -schaft are less numerous than with - heit, and often refer to the state, occupation and character of human relations (usually from nouns, rarely from adjectives): for example, friuntschaf(t) “Freundschaft”, formuntschaf(t) “Vormundschaft”, nachburschaft”, liebschaft “Liebschaft”; the designation of the state and occupation acquire collective sense: priesterschaft (originally “Priesteramt”), riterschaft (initially “Ritterwurde”); also Bьrgerschaft, Bruderschaft; in dialects - Freundschaft with the meaning of “Verwandtschaft” (“relatives”). Acquiring abstract value, -schaft can compete with -heit: compare Eigenschaft “property”, Knechtschaft “slavery” and others.

The word ahd. mhd. tuom (masculine/neuter), (got. doms (masculine/neuter), eng. doom “judgement”) is used in the sense of “custom”, “law”, “power”. In compound words, it meant “state”, “social position”: compare munichtuom “Monchtum” (letters. “state of monk”), magettuom “Jungfraulichkeit” (also -heit, -schaft). In this sense it competes with -schaft and may also have a collective meaning: compare Rittertum - Ritterschaft, Burgertum - Burgerschaft. From the meaning of “state” and “custom”, abstract nouns as Irrtum, Christentum, Luthertum are developed that indicate the way of thinking, religion, and so on. In some cases, the meaning of all three suffixes are crossed, and the difference between them requires special lexical interpretation: compare Eigenheit - “originality”, Eigenschaft - “attribute”, Eigentum - “Property”; Meisterschaft - “skill”, Meistertum - “position of the master”; Christentum - “Christianity”, Christenheit - “Christian nations” (collective).

Due to perservation of the developed system of word-formation in the German language, the formation of new suffixes from independent words continued in the modern language. Compare -mann: Edelmann, Amtmann, Bauersmann, Biedermann; -vogel: Nachtvogel, Spottvogel, Rachvogel; -werk: Schuhwerk, Backwerk, Triebwerk, Raderwerk; -zeug: Viehzeug, Schreibzeug, Fischzeug. These words, losing their independent objective value, are getting closer to the type of derivational suffixes: the first two of them are the names of the persons, the last two are close in meaning to the collective nouns [12, 270-272; 13, 178-179; 14, 78-80].

Conclusions: The main goal of the developmental study of German word-formation system is reconstruction of the word formation processes from the earliest ages to the modern state. We can hope that the description of German word-formation subsystems from the position of the evolutionary linguosynergetics will facilitate the discovering of yet unrecognized regularities in the evolution of German word-formation system in general.

The above-mentioned material allows making a conclusion that by revealing the word- formation specificity of Old High German abstract nouns one could define a set of stable derivational elements performing a similar function - marking lexical units of the same semantic community, of the same single derivational space, namely of the abstract-noun lexical-semantic group.

The analyzed Old High German suffix formants of abstract nouns are the youngest among abstractness suffixes in terms of their origin. Their inherent single function of an absolutizing abstract-content marker allows supposing that development of semantic content of word- formation formants of the abstract-noun lexical-semantic group was led to broadening till the most generalized meaning “a certain property, a certain characteristic”.

As rightly observes T. I. Dombrovan, by “unpacking” the word deepening in the history of its origin, we find the complexity of its structure, the inclusion in its composition of original independent words that have undergone changes due to interaction with other linguistic elements”.

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