Initial abbreviations as formal onomasiological class: parameters of distinction and existence

The work deals with the study of initial abbreviations and their description as a special formal onomasiological class. Structural, semantic, and functional features that distinguish them from other types of abbreviations are considered. The phenomena of multiple equivalence and variation of structure are analysed. The sources and models of abbreviations' origin are established, with a new type of paradigmatic associations being singled out. The descriptive, comparative methods, as well as generalisation and componential analysis have been applied. The empirical corpus is constituted by the abbreviations and their decipherments from the card index of the prescriptive dictionary of abbreviations being created at Donetsk State University. The relevance of the work is determined by the insufficient study of initial abbreviations from the point of view of the synchronic equivalence approach. As a result of the study the regularities of formation and functioning of initial abbreviations have been revealed and the main directions of studying this type of abbreviations have been outlined.