Spaces in compound words
As spaces in compound words is called the failed separation of compound words by spaces . Compounds are always written together in accordance with the applicable German spelling . Colloquially derogatory, such spaces are also referred to as idiot spaces .
The separation or spelling of units that are directly adjacent and related to one another in the text is regulated in Part B of the official German spelling rules of 2006 : Components of word groups are written separately, components of compositions are written together. In Part I C of the official regulation, the writer is given the option of using a hyphen to identify the individual components, distinguish them from one another and highlight them for the reader ; one then speaks of a coupling . The hyphen is expressly required in certain cases.
Compounds were often separated by spaces until the 17th century. Until the 20th century there was more and more use of compound words in one word or with a hyphen. Since the 1990s, compound words have been mistakenly written apart again more often, especially in borrowings from English, in names for shops, products and companies, in the media and in advertising graphics. Examples of this are fresh bakery instead of fresh bakery , city library instead of city library or graduate engineer instead of graduate engineer or graduate engineer .
According to the rule, the school named after Alexander von Humboldt is written as Alexander-von-Humboldt-Gymnasium ( Alexander von Humboldt-Gymnasium, on the other hand, could be Alexander von Humboldt's double name after he married a woman). It can be a Commodore MPS-801 printer (or a Commodore MPS-801 printer ), and a 60s oldie can also be the subject of a statement.
A source of common mistakes is the handling of designations, which can be both a name and a designation of origin. The Wittelsbach rule would be a rule exercised by the place Wittelsbach , on the other hand the Wittelsbach rule (or Wittelsbach rule ) is the government by the Wittelsbach family . It is similar with words like Habsburgs , Hamburgers and many others.
history
In the Middle High German Nibelungenlied , which was written in the early 13th century, there are compound words such as chvchen meister (kitchen master) written apart in a manuscript from the second quarter of the 13th century .
Written apart nominal compound words appeared parallel to the along-written version to the modern era . The Luther Bible of 1534 consistently uses spaces in noun compounds followed by a minuscule . After that, there were further spelling variants of the nominal compounds, the spelling with spaces followed by capital letters , the writing without spaces with subsequent capital letters ( inner capital letters ) and the writing with hyphen or double hyphen .
In the 18th century, the variant of the continuous spelling with hyphen largely disappeared, but has remained in compositions with names and other special cases to this day. The inner major disappeared by the middle of the 19th century. The last textbook on orthography with this variant was that of Joseph Wismayr , which was used from 1803 for the reform of the Bavarian school system.
In the official regulations published from 1861 onwards , spaces in compound words , inner capital letters and hyphens were not mentioned, because the writing together of compound words with the exception of compounds with names had become generally accepted. In the unified official regulations of the federal states of the German Reich from 1901, the hyphen was provided for confusing cases of nominal compounds, not the space.
In 1905 , Konrad Duden named the following five cases with spaces or hyphens for compound names with a name : Kaiser Wilhelmsplatz , Kaiser Wilhelms-Platz , Kaiser-Wilhelmsplatz , Kaiser-Wilhelms-Platz and Kaiserwilhelmsplatz . Duden did not mention the spelling based on the Kaiser Wilhelm Platz model, which was still verifiable in the 20th century .
In the absence of an official regulation, Duden chose the Kaiser-Wilhelms-Platz variant as the sole variant for the 8th edition of his Orthographic Dictionary of the German Language from 1905 and justified the waiver of spaces by including the variant with hyphens ( through-coupling ) official names such as Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität have already given a preponderance. In 1907, Duden also adopted his decision in the printing press .
In Austria and Switzerland, Duden's decision was not followed and spaces were retained in multi-part street names to the present day. In Austria there is now a stipulation in the area of government offices that spaces will no longer be used in compound names of street names. In Switzerland, the Federal Office of Topography has had a recommendation since 2005 to adhere to the Duden rule. In Switzerland, names derived from place names, such as Lake Geneva , are also regarded as compound words ; one writes there Lake Geneva .
Deviations from the current German writing standard
Effect on the flow of speech
Incorrectly placed spaces can disrupt the flow of reading because a compound expression cannot be immediately recognized as such. Sometimes the meaning of a spelling that differs from the standard spelling or spelling with a hyphen is ambiguous or changed, as in the advertisement of a mobile phone provider who advertised "24 months without a reason fee" or on a sign from the District Office North in Hamburg with the note " Drink water for dogs ”.
Spelling with spaces can lead to changed accentuation . The main accent of a compound word in German is usually on the first partial word. For example, the main emphasis is on rail cars in urban ([ ʃtatbaːnˌvaːgn̩ ]). A space, however, leads to another main accent, for example in Stadtbahn Wagen auf Wagen ([ ˌʃtatbaːnˈvaːgn̩ ]). In this way, so-called false sentences are often created in spoken language . The difference in meaning also becomes clear in the beginning of the sentence “My sick sisters” versus “My nurses”.
Intentional deviations
Deviations in proper names
Name spellings follow rules that may differ from the official spelling. This also applies to the placement of spaces or hyphens. Spelling of the registry offices ( civil status authorities ) must not be changed in order to avoid spaces.
In the German spelling rules it is pointed out that proper names are not bound by the orthographic rules. In the preliminary remarks of Section C Hyphenated Spelling it says:
“The hyphenated spelling of proper names does not always comply with the following rules, so that only general information can be given. Compositions of proper names and nouns to designate schools, universities, companies, companies and similar institutions are written as they are officially established. "
In the editorial section of newspapers and magazines, the spelling of companies, clubs and associations is often adapted to the rules of spelling. Company names with spaces are also often written together or combined with a hyphen.
The writer Erich Kästner explained: "The hyphen between first and last name is illogical, despite the Duden dictionary". He stipulated that all institutions that were to be named after him after his death should be written without a hyphen in his name.
Deviations in street names in Austria
In Vienna , according to a resolution of the city council of June 19, 1907, streets named after people were to be written with spaces: Johann Strauss-Gasse, Johann Nepomuk Berger-Platz and so on. This practice in their imperial capital and residence was followed by many places of the then Austro-Hungarian monarchy . The use of spaces instead of hyphens became part of the official Austrian spelling rules in these cases. In schools, these rules continued to be taught for generations, see Austrian dictionary . The reason given for the uncoupled spelling with just a single hyphen was given that in these compositions the hyphen has the task of connecting an independent group of words with another word. At least in the years since 2006, the official spelling of street names follows the rules of the old and new spelling (Johann-Strauss-Gasse) . The description boards will only be changed when there is additional need, so that the older practice will remain visible in the streetscape and on maps for a long time.
In addition, the current official spelling of the Austrian motorways and expressways can be cited as an example . According to the Federal Roads Act 1971, for example, “West Autobahn”, “Brenner Autobahn” or “Burgenland Schnellstraße” are the official spellings.
Deviations in street names in Switzerland
The spelling of street names in some Swiss cities such as Basel follows the Vienna example from 1907, according to which the first and last name of a person are not linked together with a hyphen, e.g. CF Meyer-Strasse . Zurich, which had also followed the Viennese example, switched to the coupling of the Max-Bill-Platz, Alfred-Escher-Strasse type in 2000 .
Additions with adjectives ending in -er are generally treated as compound nouns in Switzerland and written accordingly, cf. the Kreuzlinger Strasse in Konstanz and the Konstanzerstrasse in Kreuzlingen .
Deviations in brands and in advertising
For brands , in advertising and in advertisements, the hyphenation is deliberately used to draw attention to words not at the beginning of the compound, for example as early as the 1970s at Volkswagen Genuine Parts , because this is how the term original is emphasized . Often, however, negligence or a lack of spelling skills are the cause, for example in the case of women's stockings, grout cleaners, garden gloves or mini pork schnitzel . If the product names on packaging are divided into several lines, the hyphen is often omitted (spring | vegetables | soup, fruit | yogurt) . The same applies to several titles on public television, e.g. E.g .: (foreign | journal, today | journal, Spreewald | crime thriller, television | garden) .
Spaces in compound words are also used for word games. For example, in 2005 Mazda advertised a station wagon with the slogan More sports cars in order to underline the sporty character of the vehicle. The condom campaign Mach's with the Federal Center for Health Education used - with reference to the television series Liebling Kreuzberg at the time - the saying Favorite Colors .
Companies are increasingly allowing their own brand names to appear separately, even if this should correctly be followed by a hyphen, for example Mazda dealers or LEGO catalog . Some companies even explicitly insist on this spelling and any capital letters .
Deviations in the literature
In his novel OS , published in 1929, the writer Arnolt Bronnen used a private orthography that also included separating compound words. In a review of this novel, Kurt Tucholsky commented : "What a bummer."
Deviations for technical reasons
Machine translation
When transferring English texts into German, especially by machine translation , it can happen that the spaces are mistakenly adopted and, for example, car wash becomes "car wash".
Automatic spell checks
Many automatic spell checkers ( e.g. OpenOffice or Firefox ) as well as smartphone keyboards with word recognition ( e.g. T9 , SwiftKey ) often incorrectly evaluate words spelled together as incorrect or suggest incorrect hyphenation. On the one hand, missing spaces can be recognized, on the other hand, rarely used compound words are wrongly marked as errors. The spell check can be "satisfied" by separating at the word joint, because separately written nouns such as car wash are not recognized as errors. This situation is made even more complicated by the fact that correct sentences can also be formed in which two nouns are directly behind one another, such as, for example, "He brings laundry to be cleaned in the car ".
There are also spell checkers available that identify two consecutive nouns as errors. Older software (for example DOS programs and electronic typewriters) works with simple word lists, since the limited memory and the computing speed do not allow more complex algorithms . In general, this means that incorrect delimited spelling cannot be recognized.
Deviations from ignorance
English influence
One possible cause is the influence of the English on the German language through language contact . This influence, known as Anglicism , leads to the incorrect formation of compound words in German , which are usually separated in English and only spelled with a hyphen in certain cases.
Misunderstood spelling reform
Another possible cause lies in the rules on separate and combined spelling of the 1996 spelling reform . Up until the “Reform of the Reform” in 2006, more separate writing of verbs and adjectives was prescribed. In the case of superficial occupation, this could have been misunderstood to the effect that now everything can or must be written separately. Incorrect spaces in verbs such as “download” or “to make” are noticeable.
public perception
Reception in language maintenance
The use of spaces in compound words contrary to the prevailing orthography due to ignorance, taste or marketing reasons was reprimanded by language tutors in 2002. A suitcase word "Agovis", invented by Philipp Oelwein for this, from ancient Greek agora (emptiness, space) and divis (hyphen) is not very common. On the other hand, the derogatory term "idiot blank", "idiot blank" or ironically "idiot blank sign" can be found more frequently since columnist Bastian Sick humorously treated the "idiot blank" in his column onion fish as well as in his books.
Popular reception
In the everyday practice of utterances that are not linguistically oriented, occasional examples of hints and remarks that are often spiced with irony have spread, for example following the pattern: “If you want to be sure, ask your orthopedic surgeon, and if you want to be sure, find out more information and act accordingly. "
Spaces in compound words in other languages
Basque
In Basque , where there are numerous compounds, there are spellings with spaces (typically with reduplication : etorri etorri , a modal reinforcement of etorri ' to come') and with hyphen ( zuri-beltz 'black and white', galde-erantzunak 'questions and Answers') as well as compilation before ( liburudenda 'bookstore', idazmakina 'typewriter'). The determinant (the determining word) precedes the determinate (the more precisely defined word).
English
The English written language also has many compound words (e.g. download, upload, setup, upset, nevertheless, indoor, outdoor, rainbow, sidewinder, lowrider), although not as many as in German. But there are also many that are written separately. The reader and listener then only recognizes the togetherness from the possibility of hypothetical inflection through plural or genitive formation. In order to rule out misunderstandings, determiners of the noun that belong together in four-word combinations are often linked with hyphens (called hyphenation ).
Finnish
In Finnish written language, compound words are mostly written together, similar to German. The determiner is usually in the nominative or genitive case, but some other cases (or even in the plural) are possible.
Indonesian
In Indonesian , noun compounds are always written apart. The determiner follows the basic word.
Italian
In Italian , compound words are mostly written together: palcoscenico , stage, girasole sunflower. Other forms, so-called parole-frase , are written separately: agenzia viaggi , travel agency. The position of the determining and the determined part can vary, cf. camposanto 'cemetery' (defining word santo ) and ferrovia 'railroad' (defining word ferro ).
Dutch
As in German, compound words are also written together in Dutch. Often they are also incorrectly spelled separately, as in German, what the Dutch call Engelse ziekte (actually rickets, literally English disease ), because of the English influence that is held responsible for this mistake. A symptom of this "disease" is also the "blindness" to the change in meaning caused by this typo.
Russian
In Russian , compound words are either written with a hyphen ( женщина-врач schenschtschina -wratsch , “Ärztin”, literally “Frau- Doktor ”) or together, whereby connecting vowels are often used. An addition with spaces is not possible, whereas syntagmata, which consist of a noun and a congruent relational adjective , are often: домашнее задание domaschneje sadanije , homework, literally, domestic task. The determiner comes first.
Swedish
In Swedish , compound words are always written together. However, in recent times there have been more and more incorrect hyphenation, often distorting the meaning (e.g. rökfritt: smoking is prohibited, rök fritt: request to smoke as you wish; stekt kycklinglever: fried chicken liver; stekt kyckling lever: fried chicken is alive ). Among other things, the influence of English is suspected to be the cause.
Turkish
In Turkish , noun compounds are mostly written apart. The determiner precedes the basic word and the basic word is given the third person possessive suffix, e.g. B. şehir merkez i (city center).
Web links
- www.deppenleerzeichen.de
- Collection of photographed spaces in compound words
- Save the Divis! Article in the taz of February 13, 2004
- Misleading hyphenation through spelling reforms
- Large photo collection of blanks in compound words
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ageliki Ikonomidis: Anglicisms in good German: a guide to the use of Anglicisms in German texts. Buske-Verlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-87548-560-8 , p. 31.
- ↑ a b German spelling, rules and vocabulary according to the recommendations of the Council for German Spelling, Revised Regulations (2006 version with 2011 updates) - download page (link) of the Institute for the German Language Mannheim, rules (PDF), dictionary (PDF).
- ↑ dto. - Rules, Part IB Separate and combined, p. 33 f.
- ↑ dto. - rules, part IC spelling with hyphen preliminary remarks and §§ 40–52, p. 43 f.
- ↑ Nibelungen Manuscript C - Donaueschingen 63. ( digitized version of the Badische Landesbibliothek )
- ↑ Nibelungenlied around 1240, page 1 .
- ↑ Joseph Wismayr: Principles of the high German language for school and self-teaching. Zweyter Theyl, spelling teaching. In the electoral German school books publishers at RinderMarkte. Munich 1805.
- ^ Rules and vocabulary for German spelling for use in Bavarian schools. Processed on official order. Verlag von R. Oldenbourg, Munich undated [1879].
- ↑ Rules for the German spelling and dictionary. Published by the Royal Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior for Church and School Affairs on the basis of an agreement with the German federal governments and Austria. Verlag R. Oldenbourg, Munich 1903.
- ↑ a b Konrad Duden: Orthographic dictionary of the German language. Eighth, revised edition. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1905. Foreword, p. XIII.
- ↑ Photo proof of Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge .
- ↑ Picture proof of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum .
- ^ Konrad Duden: Spelling of the book printing works in the German language. Second increased and improved edition. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1907. Preliminary remarks, p. XVIII.
- ↑ Bastian Sick: Onion fish: Drink water for dogs! In: Spiegel Online. December 7, 2006, accessed September 24, 2015 .
- ↑ E1 on § 46 of the official rules (see footnote 1), p. 49: The civil writing of multi-part personal names can deviate from this regulation.
- ↑ The thing with the hyphens Erich Kästner School Idstein. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ↑ Austrian dictionary . Published on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Education. Medium edition. 22nd revised edition. Österreichischer Bundesverlag, publishing house for youth and people, Vienna. With the decree of the Federal Ministry for Education of October 17, 1951, Zl. 48.023-IV / 15/51, approved for use in teaching in all schools.
- ↑ Austrian dictionary. 22nd edition, p. 41 * above (the pages marked with * contain the spelling rules; the dictionary began automatically with page 1).
- ↑ Federal Roads Act 1971, Federal Law Gazette No. 286/1971 last amended by Federal Law Gazette I No. 58/2006, Annex I. ( ris.bka.gv.at ).
- ↑ City council resolution No. 1352/2000: street names, spelling of street names. Zurich, 23 August 2000. ( stadt-zuerich.ch PDF; 62 kB).
- ↑ Image documents, line break without hyphen .
- ^ The tactile name of Bastian Sick on June 21, 2005.
- ↑ Peter Panter: A better gentleman. In: Die Weltbühne , No. 26, June 25, 1929, p. 935.
- ^ Article from ZEIT from May 1996 on current language developments in German.
- ↑ German spelling. Rules and dictionary. Revised version of the official regulations 2004, Part I, Chapter B: Separate and combined, Paragraph 3 (Section 37). Regulations (PDF).
- ↑ Teacher friend.
- ↑ a b Der Spiegel 45/2002.
- ^ Jürgen Spitzmüller: Meta-language discourses: Attitudes to Anglicisms and their scientific reception . De Gruyter, Berlin [among others] 2005. Page 261 f. Note 6.
- ↑ A gap for the mad sense and bags of soup from the soup bag by Bastian Sick.
- ↑ chdk.wikia.com
- ^ Marcello Sensini: La Grammatica della Lingua Italiana . Milano: Mondadori 1997, p. 577.
- ↑ langeafstandsloper.php
- ↑ University thesis on split spelling (Swedish)
