Graphic models of nicknames in the German-speaking internet-space

The object of the study is a specific anthroponymic element of the onomastic system in German - the network name (nickname) and its representation in the German section of the Internet. Being a unit of the informal secondary artificial nomination in computer-mediated communication, this anthroponym performs the most essential function - self-nomination of virtual personality. Graphical means of nickname-creation serve as a research subject in the article. The data under analysis are the nicknames and the attendant personal data of German-speaking users of such Internet-services like Twitter, ICQ, Facebook, Flickr, World of Tanks, World of Warcraft. It was found that the graphical elements of the nickname-composition realize informative, play-involving, emotional and aesthetic functions, because they provide additional information about the communicants, form their speech masks. The following graphic models of nicknames are revealed and described in the article: 1) the nicknames based on numerals and theirs meanings, 2) the nicknames based on signs capitalization, 3) the nicknames with emoticon-smiles, 4) the nicknames constructed with iteration, 5) the nicknames based on «leetspeak», 6) the nicknames based on using of different alphabet signs. The research proves, that the nicknames of the German-speaking Internet-users represent, as a rule, variations of signs from different models.