英语缩略词研究中的现存问题及思考

Rethinking of the Problems in English Abbreviations Research

20世纪后期开始盛行的英语缩略词成为英语新词中的重要类型。已有的英语缩略词的研究存在术语不统一,分类混乱的状况。文章从共时和历时的角度,探讨了引起英语缩略词研究问题产生的主要原因。为了解决相关争议,abbreviation应该作为这一词类和构词法的术语,使研究的努力都集中到对其本质的认识上来。英语缩略词是一种形式简化的语言意义和概念的表达,是词汇化中形式缩减类别的最典型代表。英语缩略词目前还没有一种系统的理论对其加以阐述,值得进一步关注。

Though English abbreviations which began to prevail in the late 20 th century have become an impor-tant type of English neologisms, the situation of the related research of English abbreviations is confusing fornon-identical terms and a variety of classification. This article probes into the main causes of the problems in theresearch of English abbreviations in both diachronic and synchronic perspectives. To solve the problem, thisstudy proposes that the word abbreviation be used as the unified term for this kind of word-formation and thewords in it, so that the related study focuses on the understanding of the nature of abbreviations. English abbrevi-ations are simplified forms representing meaning and concepts in English, which stand for the typical form re-duced type of word-formation in lexicalization. There is no systematical theory to account for English abbrevia-tions at present, so that it is worth our further concern.