Ebook: Language Development : The lifespan perspective

This paper focuses on the writing of compound words in the private journals of Thomas Mann (1875–1955) and Harry Graf Kessler (1868–1937),* with special attention to their later years. It will be established that the percentage of closed compound words decreases with time while hyphenated compound words, medial capital spelling and separate spelling increase – resulting in a greater variety of compounds. Endogenous and exogenous factors influencing their writing will also be examined. The variability of compounds outside the orthographic norm increases noticeably in conjunction with the age of the authors. The main aim of this paper is to discuss whether and to what extent these spellings can be interpreted as signs of old age.**