Zusammenhangs

Zusammenhangs is the genitive singular form of the German noun Zusammenhang, which denotes the connection, context, or coherence that links elements of a text, a situation, or a set of facts. In standard usage, the noun is written as des Zusammenhangs in the genitive, while the plural nominative is Zusammenhänge. The form Zusammenhangs appears primarily as the possessive form within a phrase, for example des Zusammenhangs, and is not typically used as an independent headword.

Etymology and meaning

Zusammenhang combines zusammen meaning together and Hang, historically referring to a tie or linkage. The term has long been used to describe how ideas, events, or objects are related within a larger whole. In everyday language, it frequently conveys both contextual meaning (the setting in which something occurs) and logical or causal connections (how one element relates to another).

Usage and senses

In linguistics and discourse analysis, Zusammenhang refers to coherence and the network of relations that link sentences and paragraphs. In everyday German, phrases like im Zusammenhang mit and im Zusammenhang stehen express that something is in relation to or within the context of something else. In philosophy, logic, and history, Zusammenhang can denote the conceptual or causal linkage between propositions, events, or phenomena.

Examples

Die Bedeutung des Zusammenhangs zwischen Ursache und Wirkung ist zentral für die Debatte. (The meaning of the connection between cause and effect is central to the debate.)

Der Satz lässt sich besser verstehen, wenn man ihn im Zusammenhang mit dem Absatz betrachtet. (The sentence is better understood when viewed in the context of the paragraph.)

Verwandte Begriffe

Zusammenhang, Kohärenz, Kontext, Verbindung. See also: discourse coherence, contextualization.