Zeit-komposita im deutschen und ihre funktionalen entsprechungen im rumänischen
Time compounds in German and their functional equivalents in Romanian

Author(s): Oxana Chira
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics
Published by: Biblioteca Ştiinţifică a Universităţii de Stat Alecu Russo
Keywords: time; word formation; compounding; analytic structure; temporal concepts
Summary/Abstract: The category of time represents a central organizing principle of human experience in both German and Romanian, yet their linguistic modeling differs significantly. German exhibits a high degree of morphological productivity, forming compact compounds such as “Steinzeit”, “Arbeitszeit”, or “Zeitplan”, while Romanian relies on analytic and periphrastic structures like “epoca de piatră” or “managementul timpului”. The contrast reveals two complementary strategies: German condenses meaning through morphological economy, whereas Romanian expresses temporal concepts through syntactic transparency. These structural and cultural differences illustrate distinct ways of conceptualizing time in language and highlight the interplay between morphology, syntax, and cultural cognition.

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