Nominalization between Language System and Text in Slovene and German

Abstract

The scope of nominal style is discussed from the point of view of systemic and functional conditionality. The latter indicates that the appearance and level of nominalization is dependent on textual types, within which a stylistic device has a precisely defined function. The extent to which the language system itself facilitates nominalization can also be established comparatively, i.e., the paper compares Slovene with German, within which nominalization is a very common phenomenon. Through functional-stylistic research we can arrive at a quantitative evaluation of nominal style based on the generative-transformational capacities of the language system at a word-formational and syntactic level. Inter-linguistic comparison of the relevant procedures and the different forms of nominalization makes sense in the light of the historical connection between the Slovene and German linguistic and cultural areas, which has been confirmed by many linguistic studies, as well as by recent discussions of this topic.