Deletionen

Deletionen refers to deletions, the act or result of removing elements from a system. In scholarly usage the term is applied across fields such as linguistics, genetics, and computing, where deletions can affect form, function, and data integrity.

In linguistics, deletion denotes the omission of linguistic material in specific contexts. Phonological deletion removes sounds in connected speech, a common phenomenon in many languages that helps explain rapid pronunciation and assimilation. Syntactic deletion, or ellipsis, omits material that is recoverable from context or prior discourse, such as leaving out repeated words in a sentence or clause. Deletion is studied as part of sound change, language contact, and morphosyntactic theory, and often interacts with phenomena such as contraction and assimilation.

In genetics, a deletion is a structural variant in which a segment of DNA is missing. Deletions can range from a single nucleotide to large chromosomal regions and may be inherited or arise de novo. They can disrupt genes or regulatory elements, potentially causing developmental disorders, congenital anomalies, or cancer, depending on size and location. Large deletions can be detected by karyotyping or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), while smaller or submicroscopic deletions are identified with array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) or sequencing-based approaches. Microdeletion syndromes—discrete, recurrent deletions affecting several genes—are well documented.

In computing and data management, deletion refers to removing data, records, or elements from files, databases, or data structures. In programming, delete or remove operations modify containers by discarding entries; in text editing, the delete function eliminates characters or blocks.

See also: deletion (linguistics), mutation, copy number variation, ellipsis, genome deletion, data deletion.