Nominalisierung

Nominalisierung is the linguistic process in which a word or a group of words is turned into a noun or a noun phrase. In German, nominalizations are frequent and can involve verbs, adjectives, or entire clauses. When a word is nominalized, it typically functions as a noun within a sentence and is capitalized, even if the original word was not.

Morphological nominalization occurs through derivational suffixes. Common examples from verbs include das Lesen (from lesen, to read) and das Laufen (from laufen, to run). Other productive suffixes form abstract or relational nouns from adjectives or stems, such as die Schnelligkeit (from schnell, fast), die Freiheit (from frei, free), die Eigenschaft or das Eigentum (from eigen, own/t possessing), and das Verständnis (from verstehen, to understand). These suffixes help package actions, qualities, or relations into single noun units.

Syntactic nominalization can also arise without explicit suffixes by using the infinitive or a clause as a noun. The infinitive used as a noun is capitalized: Das Lesen macht Spaß. A full clause can be nominalized by means of a conjunction or by apposition, as in Die Tatsache, dass er kommt, überrascht mich. In many contexts, the infinitive or a nominalized clause serves as subject or object, allowing broader or more abstract statements.

Function and stylistic effects include abstraction, compactness, and a shift of focus from action to concept. Nominalizations are common in formal or academic German, enabling long phrases to function as compact noun phrases. They also influence word order, agreement, and the use of articles or determiners in noun phrases.