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Re: Abbreviation systems (was Re: Hello everybody)

From:Steg Belsky <draqonfayir@...>
Date:Tuesday, March 26, 2002, 3:27
On Tue, 26 Mar 2002 02:08:56 +0000 Tim May <butsuri@...>
writes:
> > My personal favorite language in the area of abbreviation is > Hebrew, where you > > get acronyms and such that become real words: Tanakh, Rashi, > STA"M.... > > > > ~Danny~
> That's most interesting. Is this due to special features of Hebrew > phonetics/morphology/grammar, or just a tendency to choose usable > acronyms? > My own conlang has triconsonantal roots, but I really don't know > anything about the semitic languages, so this is of interest to me.
- It's due to the consonantal nature of the Hebrew alphabet. For instance, _Tanakh_ stands for _Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim_. You take the first letter of each word and string them together: TNK, and then insert vowels so that it's readable. Since word-final /k/ in Hebrew is (almost) always [x], TN"K (with the " multi-word abbreviation marker) is pronounced [tanax] "Tanakh". /a/ is the most common vowel used in acronyms, as can be seen in the others mentioned above: RSh"Y "Rashi" [raSi], short for Rav Shelomo Yitzhhaqi. Since {y} in Hebrew is used as a /i/-vowel marker, it is vocalized like that in the abbreviation. ST"M "Stam" [stam], short for (if i remember correctly) Seifer (Torah) Tefillin Mezuza. Other random abbreviations are MHR"L "Maharal", TRY"G "taryag", HN"L "hanal", and RMBM "Rambam". Abbreviations of single words, such as MS' for _mispar_ "number", are marked with a single apostrophe and generally read as their full words. -Stephen (Steg) "no growth without assistance. no action without reaction. no desire without restraint. now give yourself up and find yourself again. there is a lesson for you." ~ Li, Mu Bai ; _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_

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John Cowan <jcowan@...>