Re: Abbreviation systems (was Re: Hello everybody)

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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