How are compound words and abbreviations written? Letter abbreviations, compound words and graphic abbreviations.

Compound words and abbreviations have their roots in the distant past. The first abbreviations appeared in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Any written language, sooner or later in history, comes to a reduction in frequently used forms of literature. The need to use abbreviations is justified by the reduction in the resource of writing media.

From Antiquity to the Middle Ages

Previously, as is known, wrote on papyrus, birch bark, clay tablets. It was quite difficult to make them. They were very expensive. That is why it was necessary to save the medium and write as briefly as possible.

In ancient times, we meet the first abbreviations in the Roman Empire when writing names. So, Quintus in the abbreviation was based on the first letter “Q”. In Greece they are found not only on textual media, but also on coins.

In Rome, until the Middle Ages, an official set of abbreviations of legal terminology was used. It was called "Tyrone Badges". Using these icons, you could not only reduce paper consumption, but also write quickly. This was important when going through legal proceedings in forums and in court. The art of quickly writing texts using Tyrone icons is called tachygraphy.

The Middle Ages are the heyday of the Christian religion. In theological texts in Latin, short forms of literature are also used, sacred signs and symbols are introduced. Iconography is replete with specific abbreviations. In Orthodoxy, above or below the image of a saint, there are always specific abbreviations of the Old Church Slavonic language, which are very difficult for an uninitiated believer to read. There were many abbreviations in medical and alchemical texts. This trend continues to this day in various fields of scientific knowledge.

Modern abbreviations

The use of short forms in modern life has moved from a written form of expressing thoughts to oral, colloquial speech. The speech of modern man is replete with complex abbreviated words. In the Russian language, these word forms began to appear not so long ago - about 100 years ago. They began to be introduced and used en masse during the formation of Soviet power in the USSR.

Contractions can be formed in different ways. Let's look at complex word abbreviations and examples:

Abbreviations by initial letter:

  • SB - security service;
  • RSU - Rostov State University;
  • MVD - Ministry of Internal Affairs;
  • GIBDD - State Road Safety Inspectorate;
  • USA - United States of America.

Compound words based on initial sounds:

  • Youth Theater - theater for young spectators;
  • USE - Unified State Exam;
  • MOU - municipal educational institution;
  • GITIS is the state institute of theatrical art.

Words from root compounds are the most diverse group. Compound noun examples:

  • chief accountant - chief accountant;
  • special correspondent - special correspondent;
  • collective farm - collective farm;
  • Yunnat - young naturalist;
  • battalion commander - battalion commander.

Short forms, which consist of the root of the first word and the entire second:

  • salary - wages;
  • technical passport - technical passport;
  • veterinarian - veterinarian;
  • first aid post - medical center;
  • construction industry - construction industry;
  • orphanage - orphanage.

Mixed abbreviations - can consist of the root of the first word and the first letters of the rest of the word form. Here are the most famous:

  • gorono (sometimes written gorono) - city department of public education;
  • district (or districtONO) - district department of public education.

Declension of compound words in Russian

Many words in this group cannot be inflected. For example, initial abbreviations are not declined: LLC, PJSC, etc. Those abbreviations in which the reference word is feminine or neuter are also not subject to inflection: GES - hydroelectric power station.

When using a declination, the abbreviation should always be written in capital letters, and the declination itself is indicated in lowercase letters: TYUZY, SBSHNIKI.

There are many more abbreviated words in Russian than in other languages. Some industries formulate special rules for writing such words. For example, all research works (diploma, dissertation) are written and checked for compliance according to special GOST (7.0.12−2011). By the way, “GOST” is a state standard.

Abbreviations and abbreviations greatly simplify speech, as well as writing complex names and names. At the same time, in order not to be an amateur and to understand speech in which many such forms occur, it is imperative to know the decoding and meaning of these stable short expressions. Sentences with compound words can be difficult. Soviet-trained people understand this terminology much better than the modern generation of young people. The speech and consciousness of Soviet people were permeated with various short words. Modern speech is gradually getting rid of the Soviet legacy.

There are a lot of words in the Russian language. Formed by the fusion of two or more bases. Especially, the Soviet period of our history was rich in such new formations. As a result, the modern Russian language uses a huge variety of abbreviations and compound words, the spelling of which can sometimes cause difficulties.

However, in fact, there are rules governing the writing of such units, and they are not difficult to remember.

1. All compound words (having two or more stems) are written together. At the same time, each part included in their composition is written as it would be written if it were an independent word. For example:

  • Komsomol, Gazprom, wall newspaper, Mosodezhda.

Since the spelling of all the stems that form a compound word is based on independent words similar to them, therefore:

a.) on the border of the stems the letters b and b are not written, for example: tsekhyacheka. However, b can be written if it indicates the softness of the preceding consonant in the position before the vowels A, O, U, E. This rule is easy to explain: the listed vowels indicate the hardness of the consonant preceding them, therefore, if you do not write b, then the consonant will read solidly. For example:

  • costutil (without b it will be read as “costutil”);

b). At the beginning of the stems of a compound abbreviated word, Y is never written, even if the consonant sound is pronounced firmly. This is due to the fact that in the Russian language there are no words starting with Y. For example:

  • Pedagogical Institute, Gospolitizdat;

V). After consonants, E is written if a word begins with it, the stem of which was included in a compound word, for example:

  • NEP, HPP, Mosenergo.

2. The following groups of compound words and abbreviations are written in lowercase letters only:

A). All compound words:

  • cultural enlightenment, vostroktransenergo, special work, propaganda, etc.;

b). Abbreviations that are read by sounds, and not by the names of the letters included in their composition:

  • university, rono, bunker.

3. Compound abbreviated words that name institutions and organizations are written with a capital letter:

  • Mosgorgaz, Gosplan, Mosduma, etc.

4. The following groups of abbreviations are written in capital letters only:

A). Which are read by the names of the letters they contain:

  • USSR, GES, CPSU, Cheka, FBI, etc.;

b). Which are read by the sounds of the words they contain, but only if the first word in their complete transcript is written with a capital letter. Usually these are the names of government agencies and organizations of various kinds. For example:

  • MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), State Traffic Safety Inspectorate (State Inspectorate for Road Safety), NSU (Novosibirsk State University), UN (United Nations), etc.;

If these abbreviations are declined, then the case ending is written in capital letters, continuous with the entire word:

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs, TASS, etc.

V). Which are read in one part by the names of the letters, and in the other by the sounds:

  • CSKA (pronounced "tseeska")

5. In complex abbreviated proper names, composed by truncation of the stem of one word and the letter abbreviation of all other words, the first letter is written in capital. This rule applies mainly to the names of countries and states. For example:

  • AzSSR Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic)

6. There are also graphic abbreviations. They differ from abbreviations, first of all, in that, although they are abbreviated in writing, they are pronounced out loud in full. As a rule, they are written with a lowercase letter and are limited by a period. However, traditional abbreviations of metric names and names of measures are not limited to a dot (kg, m, km, s). For example:

  • north-west (northwestern), w. etc. (railway), etc.

7. Common abbreviations that do not require special explanation and are permitted for use in any publication include the following:

  • etc., etc., etc. etc., pp., cf., see, c. (cc.), g. (gg.), t. (vol.), n. Art., Art. Art. (new style, old style), AD, city (city), region, r. (river), lake, o. (island), gr., associate professor (Assistant Professor), Academician (academician), prof. (professor), im. etc.

However, if the word being abbreviated contains the letter b, then this letter cannot be abbreviated:

  • Uralsk (Ural)

When two identical consonants collide (for example, in the word “grammatical”), the abbreviation should be after the first consonant (“grammatical”). When two different consonants (“folk”) or several consonants at once (“Russian”) collide, the word should be abbreviated after all the consonants (“narodn.,” “russk.”)

What do the underlined words mean? What parts are they formed from? Why do these words have to be “deciphered”?

Why are the compound words underlined in the table called compound abbreviations?

A compound word with abbreviated stems is called compound abbreviated.

1. The artist showed in humorous drawings how one well-known compound word was formed. Tell us about his education based on the pictures. How was the neologism “univers” formed?

2. What types of correspondents are there? To answer this question, form words according to the model.

Children's correspondent - children's correspondent; young correspondent, special correspondent, own correspondent, slave correspondent, rural correspondent.

Make up a sentence with homogeneous members with any of the resulting words.

When forming a compound word, the following is taken: 1) a part consisting of several sounds: collective farm (farm) - collective farm; 2) the initial letter, for example: Ts (central) K (committee) - TsK, pronounced [tseka], 3) the initial sound, for example: s (constructive) m (montage) u (government) - SMU, pronounced (smu).

3. Distribute compound abbreviated words into three groups according to the method of abbreviation of the words from which they are derived. To avoid mistakes, pay attention to the pronunciation (for some words it is indicated in square brackets). What does each compound word mean?

State Farm, RTS, Regional Committee, VDNKh, Moscow Art Theater [MKhAT], Youth Theater, USSR, special correspondent, GTO, TASS [tas], CPSU, Komsomol, Komsomol, RSFSR, Oblono, Vocational School, State Traffic Inspectorate, HPP.

What abbreviated word means the same as Komsomol? Decipher it.

What compound word did you write down twice? Why?

4. Determine the gender of verbs with missing endings. Write by inserting the missing letters.

Sample reasoning: RTS has prepared... all the equipment for sowing. Let's decipher the word RTS: repair and technical station. Station is the main word in the phrase; it is feminine, so the verb in the past tense must be feminine: RTS prepared.

1. The Central Committee made... an important decision on compulsory secondary education (committee). 2. The CPSU raised high... the banner of the struggle for peace (party). 3. The USSR won.. the love of the working people of the whole world (union). 4. The RSFSR expanded..(s, sya) for thousands of kilometers from north to south, from east to west (republic). 5. The Komsomol called.. young people to study and work in the Leninist way (union). 6. VDNKh aroused... enormous interest (exhibition). 7. The Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR prepared... new textbooks (academy).

5. Write it down. Name difficult words. Underline compound words. What do they mean?

What other difficult words do you know related to the Soviet Army?

1. The division commander, immediately after being discharged, categorically ordered himself to be carried not to the first aid station, but here, to the command post. 2. The general’s adjutant appeared on the path that went around the ruins. He came from m..numbermen. “Where is the division commander? Left?" - he asked as he walked. 3. The door swung open, and the battalion commander, senior lieutenant Ryabchenko, entered the basement. (K. Simonov.)

Write down how the highlighted word is formed.

Construct a sentence diagram with direct speech.

6. Using the diagram, tell us about the formation of words by addition. Use not only the examples given, but also your own.

Make up a sentence with the compound word astronaut; Underline the main members in it.

7. Dictation. Indicate the case of nouns that are dependent words in these phrases. Emphasize the alternating vowels in the roots of words.

Pick up speed, accelerate in the east, land with a parachute, grow closer to the Earth, touch the Earth, cover a long distance , t..temperature outside the plane, to..encourage a comrade, to..have a great seat..to jump..out of the cockpit, to..to ascend the international...cord, to..greet the e.c. .page, story (test pilot).

Compound words are a type of abbreviation that is formed by the initial elements of each name. Simply put, if in the phrase “local committee” you add the first few letters of each word, you get “mestkom”. This is one of the ways to shorten long names, which was widely used in the USSR and remains popular to this day.

What are complex abbreviated samizdat, cultural education, Ministry of Defense, Gosstandartmetrology, social security, collective farm, educational program.

There are several rules that determine how certain compound words are written and used.

Spelling

  • All compound words are written together. Examples: local newspaper, wall newspaper, Mosodezhda.
  • Each part of the resulting word is written the same way it would be written in the original word. Thus, the letters “ъ” and “ь” cannot appear between these parts. On the other hand, a soft sign is written at the end of a part if it is followed by the letter “a”, “o”, “u”, “e” (for example, costutil).
  • At the beginning of the second part there is no “y” written: Gospolitizdat, pedagogical institute.
  • “E” after consonants is written only if the original word begins with it: Mosenergo, NEP.

Lowercase and uppercase letters

  • Complex abbreviated words are always written in small letters, unless the first abbreviated word is a proper noun: rabkor, kultrabota, special clothing.
  • Abbreviations that are read not by the names of the letters, but by their sounds, are written in small letters: rono, university, bunker.
  • If compound words mean a name, then they are written with a capital letter: Mossovet, Oblgaz.

Writing abbreviations

An abbreviation is similar to compound words, but, unlike them, it is formed only by the first letters of each component element. For example, the Ministry of Internal Affairs - MIA.

  • If the entire abbreviation is read by the names of the letters, then it is written in capitals: USSR, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Central Committee, MTS, CPSU.
  • The entire abbreviation is written in capital letters if it denotes the name of the organization. For example: EEC society), MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), UN (United Nations).
  • If an abbreviation can be inflected, then its ending is written in small letters: MFA, TASS.
  • If one part of the abbreviation is read by sounds, and the other by letters, then the entire word is written in capitals: CDSA (read “tse-de-sa”).
  • If a proper name is abbreviated, and one of the words is truncated to several letters, and the rest to one, then only the first letter is written in capital: AzSSR.

Use in literature

Almost all compound words are intended for use in oral speech, and not in literature. But there are several that can be used in all literature, except that which is intended for beginning readers:

  • etc. - the like
  • etc. - others
  • others - others
  • see - look
  • i.e. - that is
  • etc. - so on
  • Wed - compare
  • year - year
  • gg. - of the year
  • eg - For example
  • V. - century
  • Art. Art. - old style
  • t. - volume
  • centuries - centuries
  • vol. - volumes
  • region - region
  • n. e. - ad
  • lake - lake
  • city ​​- city
  • R. - river
  • and. d. - railway
  • n. Art. - a new style
  • Assoc. - assistant professor
  • acad. - academician
  • prof. - Professor
  • page - page
  • them. - name
  • gr. - citizen

Other words are abbreviated according to several rules:

  • You can’t shorten it with a vowel and with “b”: Karelian - “k.”, “kar.”, but not “ka.”, “kare.”, “Karel.”.
  • When abbreviating, you need to do it after the first of them: wall - “sten.”, grammatical - “gram.”. If several different consonants coincide, the opposite rule applies: the reduction is made to the last consonant. For example, folk - “folk”, Russian - “russk”, artificial - “art”.