Mensch oder Maschine?(Ⅱ): Das Suffix -er im Wortschatz des Technikers

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

We have examined the derivations of the suffix -er found in a specialized dictionary of technology (RR = Routledge/Radde), their frequencies, syntactic-semantic patterns and the range of their uses: specifically we paid attention to the nomina agentis ambigua. Result of the research: In the vocabulary of RR we found 290 nouns, which are true derivations of the suffix -er. They form 1539 compound words. Indeed the nomina acti have been represented by only 10 Kernstichw??rter resp, Ersatzkernstichw??rter, but these had 134 compounds. We found only 6 names (KSW/EKSW) which designate acting persons (5 compounds). We found 131 unequivocal names of tools (instruments), of which 441 are compounds. The most extensive group, belonging to the -er-derivations, contains the nomina agentis ambigua, i.e. names which mean both tools and persons. They generate two KSW/EKSW fewer than the unequivocal nomina instrumentalia (129), but they form 858 compounds.
For the language of the technician, our research reveals an even higher degree of dehumanization in the development of the NAG than it does in everyday language. Since the diction of everyday life assimilates more and more technological vocabulary, it is reasonable to assume that everyday language, resulting from the excessive use of such NAG, will become increasingly dehumanized.
The ambivalence of the suffix -er (human/non-human agent) has negative consequences whenever this suffix is used indiscriminately for all agents within our environment. The increasing use of -er-suffix formations is a symptom of posthuman thinking moving further and further away from the idea of the human.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. Ziel der Untersuchung
• Ⅱ. Methode
• Ⅲ. Ergebnisse: Die -er-Ableitungen bei RR
• Ⅳ. Gesamtergebnis
• Ⅴ. Soziolinguistische Implikationen
• References