De quelques sigles

Abstract

Our introduction, which différenciâtes abbreviation from sigla, already identifies sigla as a remake of the explicite designation (1). The examination of contextual situations where both actualizations are to be found together shows that the latter has the property to carac- terize the referent as a known entity. In some cases, the former is even evacuated, above all when the sigla is équivoque -not chosen by chance as anyone, but on a mnemonic purpose- or lower-case. Functioning in an autonomous way, the sigla can become a naming (2-3). We then examine the processes allowing the sigla to be elaborated from the explicite designation ; the autonomous character already evocated is all the more obvious : very often, it is the analytical designation which adapts itself to the synthetical one, considered as a purpose (4). The partition from the basis is made evident when we examine the linguistic combinations which can't accept the basis -for instance "une grosse PME" , "logement HLM"- and the cases when the basis has less meaningful efficiency than the sigla itself, which by itself conveys the meaning -a "SDF" is not a "Sans Domicile Fixe"- (5). We finally examine the way in which commercial tradings are designated ; the sign is no more a sigla, not even a naming ; it becomes the trade-mark itself (6).