NICKNAME OF TRANSITIONAL TYPE AS A WAY OF SELF-NAMING IN GERMAN ONLINE COMMUNICATION
Nickname is a special anthroponymic unit of informal secondary naming, used mainly in online communication for the purpose of self-identification and self-naming of a virtual person. The following conditions should be fulfilled: firstly, the one who names and the object of naming are one and the same person and, secondly, the functional environment is of a virtual, computer-mediated nature. Self-naming on the Internet is performed using one of these nickname types: autonym-nickname (based on the communicant's real anthroponyms); pseudonym-nickname (derived from a common noun or another's proper name); nickname of transitional type (a combination of the user's real name and a common noun or another's proper name). Self-naming models using one of the nickname types have a number of specific features relating to their motivation, formation, meanings, graphic form and degree of anonymity. This article is focused on the transitional type nickname in the German Web-space. One in ten online “pseudonyms” is a nickname of transitional type. The author analyses the nominative and structural potential of this class of names, motives behind their creation and their functions. Such nicknames are often a combination of a real anthroponym and a common or another's proper name. The self-naming process during which the autonym is transformed into a usual or occasional appellative is less productive. The structure of such nicknames is generally multicomponent. The key motives for creating nicknames of transitional type are humor and irony, as well as assigning new meanings to the name. Nicknames of transitional type are considered to be the most original way of naming oneself as they require certain linguistic efforts and creativity.