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UNIVERZA V MARIBORU
FILOZOFSKA FAKULTETA
Oddelek za anglistiko in amerikanistiko
Diplomsko delo
NEOLOGISMS IN PUBLIC
DISCOURSE
Mentorica: Kandidatka:
doc. dr. Katja Plemenitaš Tanja Medvešek
Maribor, junij 2009
ZAHVALA
Zahvaljujem se svoji mentorici doc. dr. Katji Plemenitaš za
pomoč pri nastajanju diplomskega dela.
Zahvala pa gre tudi staršem, ki so mi omogočili študij ter
mi pri tem vedno stali ob strani.
I Z J A V A
Podpisana Tanja Medvešek, rojena 30. 10. 1977, študentka Filozofske fakultete
Univerze v Mariboru, smer angleški jezik s književnostjo in slovenski jezik s
književnostjo, izjavljam, da je diplomsko delo z naslovom Neologisms in public
discourse, pri mentorici doc. dr. Katji Plemenitaš, avtorsko delo. V diplomskem
delu so uporabljeni viri in literatura korektno navedeni; teksti niso prepisani brez
navedbe avtorjev.
Tanja Medvešek Maribor, 15. junij 2009
ABSTRACT This diploma thesis focuses on the new words called neologisms used in public
discourse. The main source for this research was the Internet. Neologisms are
mainly presented from a word-formational standpoint. Some terminology is also
explained for better understanding of word-formational processes. We explained
the reasons why new words are coined and what neologisms by the definition
really are.
The neologisms we have found were analyzed and categorized into word-
formation categories; we wanted to find out which is the most productive word-
formational process in creating neologisms in English language. We also
analyzed their meaning and frequency of use. We used the linguistic corpus
Coubild Bank of English to analyze the frequency of the words.
Key words: neologism, nonce-words, word-formation, lexikology, vocabulary,
society, culture.
POVZETEK
Diplomsko delo je osredotočeno na novonastale besede v javnem diskurzu, ki se
imenujejo neologizmi. Glavni vir raziskovanja teh besed je bil internet.
Neologizmi so predstavljeni predvsem z besedotvornega vidika. Za boljše
razumevanje besedotvornih postopkov so razloženi tudi nekateri pojmi. Raziskali
smo tudi, zakaj sploh neologizmi nastajajo in kaj neologizmi po svoji definiciji
sploh so.
Poiskani neologizmi so bili analizirani in razvrščeni glede na besedotvorni
postopek. Želeli smo ugotoviti, kateri postopek je najbolj produktiven v
angleškem jeziku. Predstavili smo pomen neologizmov in pogostost pojavljanja
oz. uporabe. Za pridobitev tega podatka smo uporabili elektronsko zbirko besedja,
elektronski korpus imenovan Coubild Bank of English.
Ključne besede: neologizem, priložnostnice, besedotvorje, leksikologija,
besednjak, družba
Contents
1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1
2 NEOLOGISMS: THE CREATION OF NEW WORDS ......................................2
2.1 Meaning and form of neologisms .................................................................2
2.2 Neologisms vs. nonce words.........................................................................3
2.3 Research history of neologisms ....................................................................5
2.4 Neologisms entering dictionaries..................................................................6
2.5 Neologisms from the word-formation perspective .......................................8
2.5.1 Some terms used in describing processes of word-formation...............8
2.5.2 Types of word-formation in English...................................................10
3 MOTIVES FOR THE CREATION OF NEW WORDS ....................................16
3.1 Changing culture .........................................................................................18
3.2 Cultural acceptance .....................................................................................20
4 PRESENTATION OF THE RESEARCH ..........................................................23
4.1 Analysis of meaning and source of chosen neologisms..............................24
4.1.1 Creating...............................................................................................24
4.1.2 Borrowing ...........................................................................................25
4.1.3 Combining...........................................................................................26
4.1.4 Shortening ...........................................................................................32
4.1.5 Blending ..............................................................................................33
4.1.6 Shifting................................................................................................41
4.1.7 Source unknown..................................................................................42
4.2 Word-formation types of chosen neologisms .............................................44
4.3 Frequency of chosen neologism: Cobuild Bank of English........................50
4.4 Detailed analyses of some selected neologisms..........................................54
5 CONCLUSION...................................................................................................57
6 Bibliography........................................................................................................59
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1 INTRODUCTION
One of the important characteristics of every language is its instability. The
language changes because of the fast-changing culture, technology and politics.
Changes can be visible in vocabulary, especially in the area of word usage, or in
grammar.
In this diploma work we focused on vocabulary and its use. Our main focus was
on new words called neologisms. We were interested in the origin of these new
words and the word-formational processes they were based on.
Firstly, we got familiar with different word-formational processes and
classifications. We chose John Algeo’s classification because of his seventh
class: source unknown. After we studied the theory of neologisms we started to
search for interesting new words. Our criteria was also to look for neologisms
consisting of one single word and not a phrase. Our main linguistic source was the
Internet. We were looking for words that were based on different word-
formational processes and were published in newspapers or heard on TV or radio.
We collected the words in different areas such as fashion, technology, computers,
sport etc. At the end we also looked at word frequency of the chosen neologisms.
For this research we used corpora from The Bank of English.
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2 NEOLOGISMS: THE CREATION OF NEW WORDS
2.1 Meaning and form of neologisms Term neologism stands for words which are created to denote new objects or to
express new concepts in a certain period of time in language.
A neologism came from Greek language: neo means 'new' and logos means
'word'. The term neologism was coined in 1803 (Wikipedia).
According to Algeo (1991) a new word is a form or use of a form not recorded in
general dictionaries. The form may be one that is usually spelled as a single word
or a compound or even an idiomatic phrase.
Definition taken from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia is similar:
“A neologism is a word, term, or phrase that has been recently created (or
"coined"), often to apply to new concepts, to synthesize pre-existing concepts, or
to make older terminology sound more contemporary. Neologisms are especially
useful in identifying inventions, new phenomena, or old ideas that have taken on a
new cultural context.”
Which words belong to the class of neologisms is relative and depends on
historical characteristics. Every new word that appears in the language is
neologism at the beginning of its existence. After some time and after being
accepted by the speakers it can enter the standard vocabulary. For example: in
year 1984 a word robot was coined by Karel Čapek and today it is used in many
languages. Another example is newspeak first mentioned in George Orwell’s
novel from 1984. (Muhvić, 2005)
While gathering definitions of neologisms from different sources we can conclude
that they are very diverse and inaccurate. Nevertheless, we can sum up some
fundamental facts about this lexical category from all these diverse definitions.
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According to R. Simeon neologism is:
• new linguistic formation which is not widely excepted as a word or phrase,
• old word used in a new content,
• new word or word phrase which has recently appeared in language.
D. Herber for example believes neologisms are lexical units or signs which appear
in a certain period of time of linguistic development of one group. They start to
become accepted and eventually become a language standard. After some time
they are not felt as new anymore by their users. M-F. Mortureux feels a dose of
instability and lots of contradictions in all understandings of neologisms. (Muhvić,
2005)
While defining neologisms we also have to take into consideration the dimension
of time. We are talking about the time elapsed from the creation of the new word.
Definitions of neologisms always stress that these are new words. What is “new”?
How much time can pass by? We can not really say. It depends and it is a very
biased opinion. One of the facts that causes this difference of opinions is also its
diverse system of generation.
2.2 Neologisms vs. nonce words
Not all new words belong to the class of neologisms. Some are used in one special
situation or by a single person. Someone can create a new word just to identify
himself, his personality, to be notable by public and show his creativity.
Form and meaning or just meaning make neologisms different from other
vocabulary. Consequently we distinguish between two types of neologisms
(Muhvić, 2005):
1. denominal neologisms or just neologisms
2. stylistics neologisms or occasionalisms
Denominal neologisms are mainly used by a wider group of people. Stylistic
information is not important in this group of neologisms. They are created to
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satisfy the need for communication. Speakers tend to make their utterances as
efficient and effective as possible to reach their communicative goals. In
comparison with the second group of neologisms this one is undoubtedly
numerical.
Stylistic neologisms are often marked as occasionalisms or nonce-words. We
have to stress the difference between neologisms and nonce words here. By its
definition nonce words are words coined “for the nonce” — made up for one
occasion and not likely to be encountered again. Neologisms are much the same
thing as occasionalisms. However, there is a slight difference. They are brand-
new words or brand-new meanings for existing words, coined for a specific
purpose, and occasionally these words will enter the standard vocabulary.
The notion of stylistic neologisms is connected with the frequency of their usage.
Stylistic neologisms often occur in literature and reflect the writer’s style. They
are usually used only once. The given word or meaning holds only in the given
context and is meant only to “serve the occasion”. They rarely become a part of
standard vocabulary, because normally they are not made to measure the taste of
wide range of people (speakers or writers). The creators’ intention was not for the
word to become a part of everyday conversations but – as we said - to serve
stylistically. Nonce words are often created as part of pop culture and advertising
campaigns. Nonce words frequently arise through the combination of an existing
word with a familiar prefix or suffix. They are coined for use at the moment of
speech. They are temporary and they are not meant to live long. Theoretically they
could become a part of vocabulary.
Regardless of who created a new word (famous or unknown writer, translator or
average speaker) occasionalisms can at the certain time develop into neologisms.
If the need recurs, nonce words easily enter regular use (initially as neologisms)
just because their meaning is obvious. We can conclude that all occasionalisms
are potential neologisms.
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To sum up: neologisms are some stable innovative element which entered into
communication of a group of people. Occasionalisms, on the other hand, are
understood as words and meanings of words which are used once in a text or in a
communication instance. Every neologism has its author who usually remains
unknown. On the other hand, we know who the authors of occasionalisms are.
2.3 Research history of neologisms
Far back in year 1813 Thomas Jefferson in a newspaper called “Edinburgh
Review” wrote that new words were extremely important for the language.
Already at that time he felt the need for new words to denote new products, new
climate … Debate about these words burst out at the end of 18th century. One
example of this discussion is “Oxford English Dictionary” from 1754 and 1797
which includes explanations of the words such as neological and neology.
(Encyclopedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition)
Firstly, new words were gathered in so-called “Dictionaries of hard words”. In
Great Britain these kinds of dictionaries have a long tradition.
One of the authors is Thomas Bount. His principal works include Glossographia;
a dictionary interpreting the hard words of whatsoever language (1656), which
went through several editions. It defined around 11,000 hard or unusual words,
and was the largest English dictionary at the time of its publication. The aim was
not to present a complete listing of English words, but to define and explain
unusual terms that might be encountered in literature or the professions. (ibid.)
The dictionary was the first to include etymologies and the first to cite sources for
the words being defined. It contained many highly unusual words that had not
previously been included in dictionaries, and others which were not included in
any of the following dictionaries. Glossographia was surpassed in popularity by
the publication in 1658 of The New World of Words by Edward Phillips.
Regardless, Glossographia went through many editions and even more
reprintings, the latest of which was in 1969. (ibid.)
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In the 20th century neologisms were recorded more systematically. The
dictionaries looked like the ones we know today. At the beginning they were just
the appendix of the previous dictionaries: Webster’s American Dictionary of the
English language from 1900 had an appendix titled Appendix of New Words with
the explanation of 121 new words. Because of the fast spread of neologisms it
became clear that neologisms would have to be published in separate dictionaries.
(ibid.)
2.4 Neologisms entering dictionaries
What characteristics must a new word have to get included into a dictionary? In
my opinion it must be memorable at least in one way. Maybe the concept hidden
in the word attracts a person, maybe its spelling is intriguing, pronunciation ...
People are different and we perceive things in different ways.
The possibility of adding new words to a dictionary is another method of giving
the speaking community a chance of active participation. The Australian
Macquarie Dictionary – appearing both in print and online – invites its users to
send new words or phrases that they come across and think should be registered in
the dictionary. The online version of the dictionary also has the sections Word of
the year and Word of the week in which the most prominent words are chosen by
a committee and through online voting. Thus, the committee’s choice can be
different from that of the people.
The Oxford English dictionary also encourages its users to send in new words:
they are asked to email the word they have spotted along with a brief explanation
of its meaning and the information regarding where they found it. Newly invented
words, however, are usually not included in the dictionary. (Muhvić and Skelin,
2008)
Muhvić and Skelin (2008) say that “the use of a newly invented word by a single
person is not sufficient to merit a dictionary entry (unless the person happens to
7
be, for example, William Shakespeare or Jane Austin). On the other hand “there is
nothing to stop you using an invented word – so long as you don’t mind the fact
that it will not be understood and will have to be explained every time” (ibid.). If
it genuinely fills a gap in the language, then it may well catch on among a
significant section of the population. It will then become part of the language, and
if it is used in print (or can be traced, for example, in scripts or transcripts of
broadcasts), it will fall within the sphere of the OED’s Reading Programme.
(ibid.)
Many neologisms in the fantastic literature have become successful enough to
make it into dictionaries and/or everyday language. The following table presents
just a few examples and their sources.
Word Author Source Year
Robot Karel Capek R.U.R. 1920
Lilliputian Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels 1726
Muggle J.K. Rowling Harry Potter Books 1997
All three neologisms are easy to pronounce and remember, and each of the three
denotes a new concept. Before Karel Čapek, there was no word for a mechanical
person (Sedia, 2005). Muggle is a new word that has not entered the dictionary
yet, but it is widely used by certain group of people - by Harry Potter’s fans.
8
2.5 Neologisms from the word-formation perspective
To understand the structure and meaning of neologisms we have to mention some
terms that are crucial for their understanding. Therefore, some terms and word-
formational processes are briefly introduced. The actual examples from my
research are given in the fourth chapter.
2.5.1 Some terms used in describing processes of word-formation
Morpheme
“The morpheme occupies the lowest rank in grammar. It is the smallest
meaningful unit and has a key position in linguistic structure.” (Blaganje, Konte,
1987)
We can distinguish three kinds of morphemes:
a) lexical (root) morphemes: they reveal the basic lexical meaning of the
word. They can stand alone forming a word. Therefore they are also called
free morphemes.
b) inflectional (grammatical) morphemes: they convey grammatical meaning
(e.g. the plural inflection –s, the possessive case inflection –‘s …). They
are always at the end of the word and never change the part of speech the
word belongs to.
c) derivational morpheme: they are units of meaning added to words in order
to change them into other parts of speech.
Lexical morphemes referred to as the root of the word, inflectional and
derivational morphemes are bound morphemes, because they can not stand
alone. Bound morphemes are affixes and are divided into prefixes, infixes and
suffixes.
9
Word
“Word is taken to denote the smallest independent, indivisible, and
meaningful unit in speech, susceptible of transposition in sentence.”
[Marchand, 1969]
A word is not necessarily just a sequence of sounds and letters with an overall,
indivisible meaning and/or grammatical function; a word may be made up of a
whole collection of meaningful components, of which some may in other
contexts stand alone as words in their own rights and others may be used only
as parts of words. (Singleton, 2000)
Morphology and word-formation
Morphology generally relates to the structure of words. However, many
morphologists are inclined to make a distinction between morphological
phenomena that have to do with word formation – to which specifically they
attach the term lexical morphology – and aspects of morphology which have
rather to do with grammatical modification of words – which they label
inflectional morphology. (Singleton, 2000)
“Word-formation is a branch of the science of language which studies patterns
on which a language forms new lexical units, i.e. words. Word-formation can
only be concerned with composites, which are analyzable both formally and
semantically.” (Algeo, 1991)
10
2.5.2 Types of word-formation in English
While studying the structure of neologisms we have come across different
processes of word-formation and thus different results of the procedure. Since
these processes are crucial for the understanding of the newly coined words, we
introduce some basic terms and word-formational processes in the following
chapter.
New words can be coined by combining existing words into a new unit or a word
with an affix, by changing the word class of existing words, by abbreviating them
and combining their abbreviated forms etc.
While searching for the appropriate classification of patterns on the basis of which
new words are formed in a language, we came across different theories and
classifications. According to Marchand (1969) there are two major groups:
1) words formed as grammatical syntagmas, i.e. words made up of full
linguistic signs. This includes compounding, preffixiation, suffixation
derivation by zero-morpheme, and back derivation.
2) words which are not grammatical syntagmas, i.e. words which are
composites and are not made up of full linguistic signs: blending, clipping,
rime and ablout combinations, and expressive symbolism.
English Word-Formation by Klinar and Davis (1989) recognizes seven large
groups and the following categorization: root-creation, reduplication, blending,
clipping, backformation, conversation, and compounding.
When studying further we came across a dictionary of neologisms – Fifty years
among the New Words by John Algeo (1991). We used his classification of types
of word-formation as a base.
According to Algeo (ibid.) there are six basic etymological sources for new
words: creating, borrowing, combining, shortening, blending, and shifting. All of
11
them have a number of important subtypes. There is also a seventh category of
words: source unknown. My decision was based on this last category.
1. CREATING
This process is also called root-creation.
Some new words are made from nothing or, at least, not from existing words.
They were neither inherited from Old English, nor were they adopted from
any foreign language or result in any other process. This is the least productive
process of all since it means a word would have to be made up completely
from scratch. It is theoretically possible, however we have no examples of this
process since we cannot be sure of any words.
Another method of creating is imitating a sound from nature. Such words are
called imitative, echoic or onomatopoetic. English is very rich in these words,
e.g. boom, pop, moo.
2. BORROWING
A more productive source of new words is to borrow them from other
languages.
We distinguish from:
a) simple loanwords
b) adapted loanwords
c) loan translations
Simple loanwords:
These are adopted directly into English, sometimes with minor modifications
of pronunciation, and sometimes with spelling change. Since 1066 French has
been the main source of loanwords into English. Sometimes the borrowing
doubles back upon itself, so that we have items that combine French and
English.
German was the source of great number of loanwords at the time of World
War II and Spanish has also provided some loanwords.
12
Adapted loanwords:
Some loanwords demanded remodeling of meaningful parts of their form,
rather than only adjustments of pronunciation and spelling. They are adapted
from their foreign word-pattern to a more native one. Classical languages had
an enormous influence on English. English has borrowed a large number of
Greek and Latin roots which are today a part of English, used like any other
elements to make now words. Sometimes we can still see that people go back
to the classical sources to borrow roots when they need to create a fancy term,
especially in medicine or technology.
Loan translations:
Sometimes English borrows only the meaning of a foreign word and not the
form. Such borrowings, also called calques or loan translations, may exist
alongside the corresponding simple loan they translate.
3. COMBINING
This is, by most counts, the most productive source of all. This is a process of
combining existing words or word parts into a new form. Such combinations
are of two types: compounds and derivatives. The difference is that a
compound combines two or more full words or bases, whereas a derivative
combines a base with one or more affixes.
Compounds:
Compounds, the result of joining two or more bases (independent words) into
a lexical unit, are the most numerous. The process of making these words is
called compounding or composition.
All word classes in any combination possible can be used in compounding,
with the exception of articles. Usually they consist of two words with a space
between them, less often solid or spelled using a hyphen. However, there is a
great deal of variations.
13
Compounds are formed according to a particular pattern, therefore we
distinguish between:
a) suffix-like compounds: using a particular word in a last position
sometimes forms compounds.
b) prefix-like compounds: using a particular word in a first position
sometimes forms compounds.
c) classical compounds: we stick together two words with a vowel between
the two compound bases (English adopted this from Greek and Latin)
d) letter compounds: some compounds consist of a noun and one or more
letters of alphabet; the letters often stand for words.
e) alphanumeric compounds: combinations of letters and numerals.
f) sound patterns in compounds: some sounds are parts of compounds;
they can be repeated; sometimes rime is used.
g) respelled compounds: compounds are unconventionally spelled,
frequently used to attract.
h) compound phrases
4. SHORTENING
A new word can be made of omitting some part of old word. We distinguish
between:
a) clipping
b) alphabetism
c) acronymy
d) phonetic elision
e) backformation
Clipping
This is the simplest form of shortening. An expression is shortened at the
boundary between main parts. There are different kinds of clipping according
to the part of the reduction of the word:
a) Back-clipping or hind-clipping: the beginning of the word is retained.
b) Fore-clipping: the end of the word is retained.
14
c) Back- and fore-clipping: the middle of the word is retained.
d) Compounding of clipped words: one part of original combination often
remains intact. Usually, the first element is clipped.
Alphabetism
“Alphabetisms or initialisms are abbreviations using the initial letters of the
words of an expression, pronounced by the alphabetical names of the letters.”
(Algeo, 1991)
Acronymy
“The term acronym is used in several ways, but here it is a form made of the
initial letters of the words of an expression, like an alphabetism, but
pronounced according to the normal rules of English orthography.” (Algeo,
1991)
Many acronyms are homonyms with another word and thus pun on it. Very
frequently it is made up for the sake of the pun.
Some forms mix the alphabetic and acronymic principles. The word is partly
pronounced with letter names and partly in the normal spelling-pronunciation
way.
Phonetic elision
The new word is invented by the omission of a specific sound. This sometimes
happens as a result of phonetic processes (aphesis, apocope, syncope).
Backformation
Backformation is also called back-derivation. In this process new words are
formed by omitting an affix or other constituent morpheme.
15
5. BLENDING
New words can be coined by blending the sounds and combining the meaning
of two others. The first sounds of one word are usually blended with the last
sound of another. The result of this process is a bland or a portmanteau word.
This process has a number of different variations to coin new words:
a) blending with first element clipped
b) blending with second element clipped
c) blending with both elements clipped
d) blending by overlapping sounds only
6. SHIFTING
Shifting is also called conversion or functional shift. It is a process where one
part of speech is converted into another. The forms of the words remain
unchanged, but they are used in different grammatical functions. The shift
may be in grammar, meaning or even form. That makes them new words.
7. SOURCE UNKNOWN
Some words have origins that are unknown in whole or in part. Etymologists
try to find the origin of such words but sometimes it is just not possible.
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3 MOTIVES FOR THE CREATION OF NEW WORDS
According to Algeo (1991) the need for new words is both pragmatic and
esthetic. Pragmatically, when there are new things to talk about, we need new
words to name them. Or sometimes we want to talk about old things in a new
way.
In fact, the vocabulary of a language is not a closed system but is constantly being
enriched by new words. But why does the language register extend? The reasons
are various:
1. appearance of new concepts or things which need to be named
2. new names as an addition for the already named things because of:
• expressive note – vulgar, humorous
• stylistic reasons – use of jargon, formal and
informal situations
• pragmatic factors – language economy
3. historical, political reasons.
In this chapter, the two prevailing factors involved in the creation of new words
will be presented in detail: the public and its acceptance and the ever-changing
culture.
According to Th. Shippon neologisms are either recognized as a part of
vocabulary or they quickly disappear from the usage in certain language. It is not
necessary for a word to become a part of language.
Neologisms are not present to the same extent in all linguistic areas. Many are
created in the field of technology and techniques, while they are infrequent in the
area of creating new verbs. The reasons for this are obvious.
A very productive area when speaking about neologisms is literature; specially in
the fictional literature or science fiction. Many authors use onomatopoeic words -
17
words that mimic a natural sound. Comic books, for example, are full of
onomatopoeia. We often associate certain sounds with visual images. This device
is often used in fiction where good characters have pleasant-sounding names full
of vowels and lilting sounds, and the villains have names that are based on
sibilants or burdened with too many consonants. (Sedia, 2005)
A speaker in a certain moment feels lack of words in his mother tongue to express
something (e.g. describing a thing). This will force him to reach for a word of
foreign language. Less likely, he will create a new word from the elements of his
mother tongue. This is rarer because you usually need more time and inspiration.
We can say neologisms are closely related to public discourse.
18
3.1 Changing culture Language is very sensitive to any change in everyday social life of people.
Language is the mirror of society and reflects the fast social, scientific and
cultural changes that are a part of modern society. New words are constantly
added as speakers have to refer to new subject and ideas.
Journalists in particular take advantage of the power that English has to generate
new terms. When we read a newspaper or an advertisement we will likely come
across a word that we have never seen before and was coined by a creative writer
or speaker.
If we are familiar with the language we normally have no problem decoding the
meaning of these new words - new words tend to be transparent in meaning. We
can also use context to help us understand neologisms. Context clues are the most
frequent means of understanding unknown words.
Some of these words are borrowed from other languages while others are coined
from native material. Thus, all languages are subject to the acceptance or creation
of neologisms because of the social and technological development which brings
along new phenomena to which new words are necessarily linked. The triggers to
create new words are present mostly in communication: at a certain moment the
speaker finds out that the words he has at the disposal in his mother tongue cannot
express a new concept, at least not precisely enough, because a word for it is
missing. One can proceed in two ways: one will either take a foreign word which,
within the course of time, might become a loan word or one can create a new
word with elements of one’s mother tongue (it happens more seldom because it
asks for more time and inspiration). Both ways are common in all languages
regardless of their being open to foreign influences and ready to integrate foreign
words or more purist in the sense that they try to coin new words out of their own
linguistic resources. (Muhvić, 2008)
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It is clear that such neologic procedures are linked solely to denominative neology
because they answer the need to communicate a new experience and are not
inspired by aesthetic considerations but by the necessity to be efficient in
communication. (Muhvić, 2008)
Words are a mirror of their times. By looking at the areas in which the vocabulary
of a language is expanding fastest in a given period, we can form a fairly accurate
impression of the chief preoccupations of society at that time and the points at
which the boundaries of human endeavour are being advanced. (John Ayto,
British lexicographer, 20th Century Words, 1999)
Neologisms tend to occur in cultures which are rapidly changing, and in situations
where there is easy and fast propagation of information.
Neologisms often become popular by way of mass media, the Internet, or word of
mouth. Every word in a language was, at some time, a neologism. Though most
of these ceased to be such through time and acceptance.
20
3.2 Cultural acceptance
After being coined, neologisms are being judged by:
a) the public and
b) linguists.
Both want to determine their suitability to the language. Many are accepted very
quickly; others need more time. Language experts sometimes object to a
neologism because they believe that a suitable term for the thing described already
exists in the language. Some non-experts who dislike the neologism sometimes
use the argument that the use of neologism is "abuse and ignorance of the
language." (Muhvić, 2005)
Neologisms often become accepted parts of the language. In some cases they
disappear from common usage. Whether a neologism becomes a part of the
language depends on many factors. The most important one is acceptance by the
public. Acceptance by linguistic experts and incorporation into dictionaries also
plays a part. In some cases strange new words succeed because the idea behind
them is especially memorable or exciting. When a word or phrase is no longer
"new," it is no longer a neologism. Opinions differ on exactly how old a word
must be to no longer be considered a neologism; cultural acceptance probably
plays a more important role than time in this regard. (Omics)
Some neologisms, especially those dealing with sensitive subjects, are often
objected to on the grounds that they obscure the issue being discussed, and that
such a word's novelty often leads a discussion away from the root issue and onto a
sidetrack about the meaning of the neologism itself.
Proponents of a neologism see it as being useful, and also helping the language to
grow and change; often they perceive these words as being a fun and creative way
to play with a language. Also, the semantic precision of most neologisms, along
with what is usually a straightforward syntax, often makes them easier to grasp by
people who are not native speakers of the language. (ibid.)
21
The outcome of these debates, when they occur, has a great deal of influence on
whether a neologism eventually becomes an accepted part of the language.
Linguists may sometimes delay acceptance, for instance by refusing to include the
neologism in dictionaries; this can sometimes cause a neologism to die out over
time. Nevertheless if the public continues to use the term, it always eventually
sheds its status as a neologism and enters the language even over the objections of
language experts.
According to expectance by people and mass media we recognize three groups of neologisms.
• Unstable - Extremely new, being proposed, or being used only by a very
small subculture.
• Diffused - Having reached a significant audience, but not yet having
gained acceptance.
• Stable - Having gained recognizable and probably lasting acceptance.
(ibid.)
In many languages very interesting fact is noticed in connection to neologisms.
On the one hand, we can see that public is very fascinated by new words. These
new words are firstly shown and observed in printed media and that is followed
by readers commenting the new word. On the other hand, interests about these
words are not particularly witnessed in linguistic circles, although neologisms
intervene with many important areas of language like lexicology, word formation,
linguistics etc.
In 1836 Wilhelm von Humboldt commented that vocabulary of a certain language
must not be an inactive mass, on the contrary: it has the all-time ability to generate
and re-generate new words.
All languages are exposed to coining of new words and changes of new words.
They are forced into this because of the fast social development which brings
about new events and therefore a need for new words.
22
Every word evokes a certain response in us. Many authors rely on languages that
already exist. Creating new words on the basis of an established language has the
advantage of authenticity – the words feel like connected parts of a large whole,
not an assortment of random sounds. Those kinds of words are more likely to be
accepted by the public.
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4 PRESENTATION OF THE RESEARCH
In this chapter neologisms we have researched are introduced. We will present
neologisms from different points of view. We will analyze their origin, the word-
formational process they are based on, and their meaning. The first criterion was
to select forty-four different neologisms from different areas, such as fashion,
sport, politics etc. The second criterion was the date of the creation of neologisms.
We decided to investigate the period of three years: 2004-2006.
While searching for these neologisms we were trying to find interesting new
words from the aspect of meaning and word-formational process. Our main source
was the Internet. Almost all of these examples had been primarily published in
newspapers or magazines. Printed material is easier to gather and is more precise
than oral since oral citations do not provide reliable information regarding
spelling. In other research studies, for example, speech and other forms are
equally valid as sources of evidence. The dominance of printed citations is a
matter of convenience.
First we were interested in the meaning of the word and its context which is often
indispensable when trying to understand a new word. Secondly, we were
interested in word-formational processes and the percentage that each process is
represented by. Thirdly, we were interested in the frequency of chosen
neologisms. To gather this data we used the Cobuild Bank of English Words.
24
4.1 Analysis of meaning and source of chosen neologisms
Because neologisms are new words, which are not widely spread, we thought that
it was necessary to give explanation of their meaning. We used different Internet
sources, like different on line dictionaries. For better understanding the context is
also very important or even essential. We must not neglect the original source,
because we want to examine which is the most productive area in human life.
After we summed up these neologisms we chose to sort them by word formational
processes.
4.1.1 Creating
No example was found.
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4.1.2 Borrowing
1 . doosra n.
Meaning: In cricket, a ball bowled in such a way that it spins away from right-
handed batsmen. The term, the Hindi/Urdu word meaning "second, another".
Example citations: After Tresco worked him away for a couple of runs, Murali
lofted his doosra towards the England player's outside edge.
Source: The Guardian, May 11, 2006
2. galactico n.
Meaning: world-famous, highly-paid soccer player
Example citations: Germany skipper Michael Ballack was today unveiled as the
latest Chelsea galactico as the Premiership champions underlined their intention
to retain the title for a third time next season.
Source: The Mirror, May 15, 2006
26
4.1.3 Combining
1. anti-anti-American adj.
Meaning: Hostile to people or ideas that are critical of the United States.
Example citations: In his latest book, "American Vertigo", French author
Bernard-Henri Lévy retraces Alexis de Tocqueville's journey through America.
He spoke with Elise Soukup.
"You're a self-titled "anti-anti-American." Is that still true?"
"What I was before, I am still. It is like in life when you know someone better:
you know his dark side and his bad habits, but it doesn't mean that you like him
less."
Source: Elise Soukup, "Fast Chat: Road Trip," Newsweek, January 23, 2006
2. Bunyanesque adj.
Meaning: Describing an action or deed that is extremely impressive, if not
superhuman; from the American tall tale featuring Paul Bunyan.
Example citations: Chamberlain was a gargantuan force in the NBA, a player of
Bunyanesque stature who seemed to overshadow all around him.
Source: NBA's Greatest Moments: Wilt Scores 100!
http://www.nba.com/history/wilt100_moments.html, 10. 6. 2008
3. bling-bling n.
Meaning: Expensive or gaudy jewelry worn in excessive amounts; a flashy or
tasteless display of wealth.
Example citations: Many of today's popular TV shows, from ''Entertainment
Tonight'' and ''Access Hollywood'' to practically anything on the E Channel,
suggest we've become a bling-bling society. TV specials showcase the opulence
of our favorite entertainers — Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, etc.
27
Newscasts report the price of diamonds and other jewelry worn by stars at popular
award shows.
Source: Davey D, "Fixation on bling-bling isn't limited to hip-hop," San Jose
Mercury News, August 8, 2004
4. clickprint n.
Meaning: A pattern of web surfing behavior that uniquely identifies the person
doing the surfing.
Example citations: By observing how people navigate around a site over a
number of sessions, an e-commerce company could distinguish between two
anonymous surfers. That could have important implications in preventing fraud: if
someone signed in with an existing user's logon, but their clickprint differed, that
might be an indication that their ID had been stolen.
Source: Charles Arthur, "Is it possible to be identified by your 'clickprint'?," The
Guardian, September 28, 2006
5. crowdsourcing pp.
Meaning: Obtaining labor, products, or content from people outside the company,
particularly from a large group of customers or amateurs who work for little or no
pay.
Example citations: I was introduced to the crowdsourcing concept earlier this
year by Patrick Lor, executive vice-president at iStock Photo. /…/ When Getty
Images purchased iStock Photo in February for $50-million (U.S.), crowdsourcing
suddenly seemed a lot more credible.
Source: Shane Schick, "'Crowdsourcing' — idea power from the people," The
Globe and Mail, August 9, 2006
6. domainer n.
Meaning: A person who makes a living from domain name speculation or by
purchasing popular domain names and filling the sites with advertising.
28
Example citations: A single good domain name — Candy.com, Cellphones.com,
Athletesfoot.com — can bring in hundreds of dollars a day, in some cases while
the owner hardly lifts a finger. Schwartz, for instance, directs his traffic to one of
the many small companies that serve as go-betweens with Google and Yahoo, the
two giants that make this all possible. The middlemen, known as aggregators, do
all the heavy lifting, designing the sites and tapping into one or the other of the
search engines advertising networks to add the best-paying links. Many other big
domainers cut out the middlemen, creating their own web pages and working
directly with Google or Yahoo.
Source: Paul Sloan, "Masters of Their Domains," Business 2.0, November 18,
2005
7. Googlejuice n., also spelled Google-juice, Google juice.
Meaning: The presumed quality inherent in a Web site that enables it to appear at
or near the top of search engine results, particularly those of the Google search
engine. Example citations: Foreshadowing the importance of links and the rise of
Google's PageRank algorithm, Pinkerton then ran a test on his newly created
database in March 1994. Which sites, he wondered, had the most references, or
links, from other sites (in today’s parlance, the most Googlejuice)?
Source: John Battelle, "The Search," Portfolio Hardcover, September 8, 2005
8. hyper-evolution n., spelled also hyperevolution
Meaning: Extremely rapid evolution, particularly as a result of man-made
factors; extremely rapid change.
Example citations: When Tiger Woods showed up at an Electronic Arts campus
in June for a progress report on the latest installment in the "Tiger Woods PGA
Tour" video game franchise, his initial reaction wasn't quite what its designers
were expecting. The golf great grew a little impatient upon viewing TV images of
his swing and asked when he could see the game. /…/ It was Woods' initiation to
the hyperevolution that is changing the look and feel of video games, which are
29
taking huge strides toward a long-standing goal of making characters and scenery
appear as real as possible.
Source: Kevin Kelleher, "Game Face," The Hollywood Reporter, September 26,
2006
9. man-flu n., also spelled man flu.
Meaning: A severe cold, mistakenly self-diagnosed as the flu, particularly by a
man.
Example citations: Psychologist Professor Geoff Beattie says: "Exaggeration is
endemic. But 'man flu' is a case of self deception.
Men appear to be conditioned to think that anything that stops them dead in their
tracks must be a flu, rather than the common cold.
A cold simply doesn't sound serious enough."
Source: Jane Symons, "Women also catch man-flu," The Sun (England),
November 30, 2006
10. mashup n., also: mash-up, mash up.
Meaning: Information created by combining data from two different sources.
Example citations: Ever heard of a "mashup"? This is a music track that
combines samples of one familiar song with the recorded vocals from another,
such as "Switchin' Alive," with Will Smith rapping "Switch" over the Bee Gees'
"Staying Alive."
Source: Eric Gwinn, "Create your own music 'mashups' with free software," St.
Paul Pioneer Press, November 16, 2005
11. neogeography n.
Meaning: The practice of combining online maps with data — such as blog posts,
websites, and annotations — related to specific places on those maps.
Example citations: Cartography could be undergoing a digital revolution, with
neogeography, the practice of mixing online maps with blogs, gaining in
popularity a recent report suggests.
30
Source: K. C. Jones, "Internet Brings Digital Revolution to Mapping," CMP
TechWeb, May 4, 2006
12. newpeat n.
Meaning: A repeat that is slightly different from the original.
Example citations: In many ways, NBC's "newpeats" are the TV version of what
other industries have already been doing. The music business in recent years has
been putting out greatest hits CDs with one or two new songs on them. The
popularization of DVDs, too, has made splicing together old material acceptable:
A new DVD of "Don't Look Back," a 1967 documentary about Bob Dylan,
includes a whole new documentary culled from unused footage of the original.
Source: Brooks Barnes, "NBC Remixes 'The Office'; Reruns Become
'Newpeats'," The Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2007
13. splitters n.
Meaning: A family that splits their time between two or more houses.
Example citations: Enabled by cheap airfares, flexible work schedules and
technology like cellphones, BlackBerrys and the Internet, a growing number of
people are shuttling between two or more homes, blurring the age-old distinction
between the primary and the vacation home. Unlike previous generations, these
"splitters" do not think of themselves as living and working in one place and
relaxing in another. On the contrary, they come and go as they please, making
friends and doing business in places hundreds, even thousands, of miles apart.
Source: Motoko Rich, "Double Nesters", The New York Times, January 19, 2006
14. superinfector n. Also: super-infector, super infector
Meaning: A person with a contagious disease who demonstrates an above-
average ability to pass the disease on to others.
Example Citation: In China's Guangdong province ... a shrimp salesman
apparently caused 90 others to fall sick at three hospitals in January. Many of
those who fell sick apparently did not infect others, but one of them, a doctor
31
named Liu, became a super-infector. He traveled to Hong Kong and stayed at the
Metropole Hotel.
Nearly 20 people may have picked up Liu's infection there. One of them was the
26-year-old super-infector who then showed up at the Prince of Wales Hospital.
Another man, a Chinese American businessman named Johnny Chen, traveled to
Hanoi, where he was hospitalized. He was also a super-infector: 11 healthcare
workers who cared for him fell sick and four died.
In each generation of this expanding network, most of the infected patients
apparently recovered without passing on the illness. But a handful, the shrimp
salesman, Liu, the 26-year-old and Johnny Chen, became super-infectors.
Source: Shankar Vedantam, "A Single Patient Can Prove Lethal," The
Washington Post, April 13, 2003
15. ubersexual n.
Meaning: A heterosexual man who is masculine, confident, compassionate, and
stylish.
Example citations: The phenomenon of the ultra-groomed metrosexual man,
such as David Beckham, 30, is over. Now men have to be ubersexual — more
macho but still in touch with their feminine side, like Jamie Oliver, 30.
Source: Jon Lipsey, "Are you man enough?," Daily Star, September 15, 2005
16. uncouple v.
Meaning: to physically separate oneself from his/her significant other, to cease
the habits of a typical couple.
Example citations: Could you guys uncouple for just a little bit? It's not like
you're eating alone!
Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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4.1.4 Shortening
1. cruits n. Meaning: A group of people that are being sought out to join a team or
organization.
Example citation: They're bringing the 'cruits in'.
Source: Sports website, September 23, 2003
2. RINO n., also spelled rino
Meaning: A member of the Republican party who is viewed as being too liberal.
Example citations: After all, Moore said, "I think if you're a Republican in 2004
you've got to stand for a few things. You've got to be for school choice, and
you've got to be for cutting taxes, and you've got to be for smaller government.
Otherwise, what are Republicans good for? That's why we keep saying [Arlen]
Specter's a rino—a Republican in name only—and let's replace him with a real
Republican."
Source: Philip Gourevitch, "Fight on the Right," The New Yorker, April 12, 2004
3. WOW n.
Meaning: The wife or girlfriend of a professional tennis player competing at the
Wimbledon tennis championships.
Example citations: Today, give a big, warm welcome to the WOWs. The Wives
Of Wimbledon are taking centre stage as the famous tennis tournament enters its
second week.
Source: The Mirror, July 4, 2006
33
4.1.5 Blending
1. architourist n., also: archi-tourist.
Meaning: A tourist who visits other countries and cities mainly to study the
architecture.
Example citations: By selecting Hadid, one of the most original, recognisable
and radical architects working today and still one of the very few women, they
have assured themselves a structure with international profile and high archi-
tourist status.
Source: Edwin Heathcote, "Hadid's flying concrete museum," Financial Times,
December 2, 2005
2. biotecture n.
Meaning: Archictecture that incorporates elements of biology.
Example citations: A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has
developed a tree house for grownups — a proper home constructed almost
entirely from living trees and plants. The "Fab Tree Hab" uses an ancient
gardening technique called pleaching — where live tree branches are woven
together to form lattice structures — to literally grow a building from the ground
up. ... While such biotecture may seem far-fetched, the team says the tools to build
a tree house already exist.
Source: Tim McKeough, "The New Climate Almanac: Grow your own home,"
The Globe and Mail, February 17, 2007
3. bluejacking pp.
Meaning: Temporarily hijacking another person's cell phone by sending it an
anonymous text message using the Bluetooth wireless networking system.
Example citations: The tourist was "bluejacked" — surreptitiously surprised with
a text message sent using a short-range wireless technology called Bluetooth.
34
Source: Matt Moore, "Cell phone messaging takes a mischievous turn," The
Associated Press, November 13, 2004
4. cablinasian n.
Meaning: Being of Caucasian, Black, Indian, and Asian descent.
Example citationa: And then Tiger Woods said he wasn't actually 'black' at all --
he was 'Cablinasian.'"
Source: Website; November 7, 2003.
5. collabulary n.
Meaning: A common vocabulary with which Web users categorize the data they
find online, particularly one created in collaboration with classification experts to
ensure relevance and consistency.
Example citations: People have a tendency to affect tagging-based search
negatively in two primary ways: by not using enough or relevant tags; and by
tagging the same links using vastly different tag words. For example, a link about
"horses" may be tagged with "equine," "saddles," "mares," "foals," etc. In fact, it
should be tagged as simply "horses". To overcome these problems, PreFound.com
crawls the web sites that users are indicating they would like to share,
automatically adds tags based on site content, and then runs the site through a
process much like a "reverse thesaurus" which reduces large numbers of
synonyms into single "collabulary" words.
Source: "Tackling the Tag-Based Search Dilemma, PreFound.com Social Search
Engine Introduces Automatic Tagging," Business Wire, September 18, 2006
6. crackberry n.; also spelled CrackBerry.
Meaning: A BlackBerry handheld computer, particularly one used obsessively; a
person who uses such a computer obsessively.
Example citations: In Washington and elsewhere, the devices are referred to as
"CrackBerries" because of their addictive quality. Philippe Reines, a 34-year-old
Democrat who works on Capitol Hill (and who coined the term "blirting," for
35
BlackBerry flirting), said he went through severe withdrawal after finding that
Martha's Vineyard lacked BlackBerry reception. Mr. Reines wandered around the
Vineyard for days looking for spots of coverage before begging an airline
employee to take his BlackBerry on a round trip to the mainland, where it could
send and receive messages. He got 129 new messages, many of them social.
Source: Jennifer Lee, "A BlackBerry Throbs, And a Wonk Has a Date," The New
York Times, May 30, 2004
7. crittercam n.
Meaning: A camera attached to a wild animal.
Example citations: The latest wrinkle in animal observation is "crittercams." The
cameras are fitted onto wild creatures so scientists learn not only where they go,
but what they're looking at.
Source: Jan TenBruggencate, "Hawaii's Environment," The Honolulu Advertiser,
March 1, 2004
8. flog n.
Meaning: A blog that appears to be written by an individual, but is actually
maintained by a corporate marketing department or a public relations firm.
Example citations: A notorious flog was exposed last week, when bloggers
discovered that a video blog in praise of the Sony PSP was created by Zipatoni, an
agency owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies. The video blog pretended
to be the work of Charlie, an amateur hip-hop artist.
Source: Stuart Elliot, "How to Lose Cadillac And Other Lessons On Madison
Ave. in 2006," The New York Times, December 18, 2006
9. folksonomy n.
Meaning: An ad hoc classification scheme in which Web users apply their own
keywords to site content as a way of categorizing the data they find online.
36
Example citations:
Sites such as Yahoo have spent countless dollars to organize information into a
useful taxonomy. Web 2.0 companies are finding that there is great economy and
value in enabling users to dissect and sort information on their own. This process
can be as simple as enabling people to add keywords to content, such as news
articles, photographs, or Podcasts, a process known as tagging.
Tagging often produces strange, overlapping characterizations with surprisingly
beneficial results. Some have called the results a "folksonomy."
Source: John Jerney, "Web 2.0: tapping collective selfishness to create a
revolution," Daily Yomiuri Online, November 8, 2005
10. mobisode n., also: mob-isode
Meaning: A short program, or the edited highlights from a longer program,
designed to be watched on a small, mobile screen such as a digital media player or
a mobile phone.
Example citations: Cuse said the mobisodes, about 90 seconds each, will give
hardcore Lost viewers more information that they probably weren't going to get
through the show itself.
Source: “Lost will find right ending," The Toronto Sun, June 16, 2007
11. movieoke n.
Meaning: A form of entertainment in which a person acts out scenes from a
movie while a silent version of the movie plays in the background.
Example citations: Frustrated actors have a new outlet for their creative urges
that until now was only available to their singing cousins: movieoke, karaoke's
cinematic sibling. The brainchild of film fanatic Anastasia Fite, movieoke offers a
chance for those brave enough to take over from Robert De Niro in his "You
talkin' to me?" monologue in "Taxi Driver," or to strut their stuff alongside Ben
Stiller in "Zoolander."
Source: Pedro Nicolaci da Costa, "Karaoke's cinematic offspring, movieoke, hits
NYC," Reuters News, February 12, 2004
37
12. pro-ana adj.; also spelled: pro ana, proana.
Meaning: Promoting or encouraging excessive thinness, extreme weight loss, or
anorexia.
Example citations: The group dieting that is relatively ad hoc among friends and
sorority sisters takes a more organized form on the Internet, where spring break
has become a popular topic on Web sites and message boards maintained by
devotees of a controversial underground movement known as "pro-ana," or pro-
anorexia, who sometimes identify themselves in public by wearing red bracelets.
There are hundreds of pro-ana Web sites promoting and supporting the "anorexic
lifestyle," despite aggressive efforts to shut them down by eating-disorder
activists.
Source: Alex Williams, "Before Spring Break, the Anorexic Challenge," The New
York Times, April 2, 2006
13. puggle n.
Meaning: A dog bred from a pug and a beagle.
Example citations: The sudden popularity of the puggle, a dog bred from a pug
and a beagle, has started up a long-running argument among animal lovers about
mixing breeds and species.
Source: "Designer Dogs Spark Breeding Controversy," NBC 10, November 16,
2005
14. ringxiety n.
Meaning: Mistaking a faint sound for the ringing of one's cell phone.
Example citations This audio illusion — called phantom phone rings or, more
whimsically, ringxiety or fauxcellarm — has emerged recently as an Internet
discussion topic and has become a new reason for people to either bemoan the
techno-saturation of modern life or question their sanity.
Source: Brenda Goodman, "I Hear Ringing and There's No One There. I Wonder
Why," The New York Times, May 4, 2006
38
15. sideloading pp.
Meaning: Transferring music or other content to a cell phone using the cell phone
provider's network.
Example citations: Consumers in Japan, South Korea and Great Britain are
already transferring songs directly from their computers to their phones, a practice
known as sideloading, or downloading full-length tracks over their mobile
networks. Ringtones may be big in the United States now, but full-track
downloads and sideloading are the future, said Thomas Hesse, president of global
digital business at Sony-BMG Entertainment.
Source: Alex Veiga, "Wireless carriers banking on mobile music," The
Associated Press, September 23, 2005
16. slivercasting pp.
Meaning: Delivering video programming aimed at an extremely small audience.
Example citations: In the last six months, major media companies have received
much attention for starting to move their own programming online, whether
downloads for video iPods or streaming programs that can be watched over high-
speed Internet connections. Perhaps more interesting — and, arguably, more
important — are the thousands of producers whose programming would never
make it into prime time but who have very dedicated small audiences. It's a
phenomenon that could be called slivercasting.
Source: Saul Hansell, "Much for the Few," The New York Times, March 12, 2006
17. songlifting pp.
Meaning: Illegally downloading music.
Example citations: "For legal online services to continue to break new ground,
we must do our part to protect the integrity of the marketplace," said Cary
Sherman, President, RIAA. "Just as we continue to educate fans about the right
ways to enjoy music online, we will continue to enforce our rights through the
legal system. Songlifting is not without consequences."
39
Source: "RIAA Announces New Round Of Music Theft Lawsuits," Recording
Industry Association of America, February 28, 2006
18. spim n., also spelt spIM
Meaning: Unsolicited commercial messages sent via an instant messaging
system.
Example citations: "Spimmers don't actually go into AOL and type in this stuff,"
says Fred Felman, spokesman for Zone Labs Inc., of San Francisco, which
launched two antispim software products over the summer. Mr. Felman says bulk-
message software has clever ways to get around built-in controls in messenger
services by rotating the names used to broadcast pitches, or by generating new
ones when old ones are killed.
Source: Jennifer Saranow, "Angry Over Spam? Get Set for Spim," The Wall
Street Journal, December 31, 2003
19. technosexual n.
Meaning: A male with a strong aesthetic sense and a love of technology.
Example citations: Earlier this year, people who spend less money on mousse
and more on mouse pads decided that if the style-savvy guys could get their hands
on a marketable brand name, then the uber-geeks could certainly come up with
something better than nerd: Thus, the term "technosexual" was born. A
technosexual is not simply in touch with his feminine side but is connected to it
on multiple platforms. He likes gadgets that have lots of gigabytes but are still
small enough to fit in his pocket.
Source: Eric Edwards, "A new kind of lingo for those who tango," Orlando
Sentinel (Florida), May 7, 2004
20. viewser n.
Meaning: A person who watches video content online or on a computer, or who
combines regular TV watching with related digital content.
40
Example citations: The fast-paced show, which lasts five to six minutes, offers
"viewsers" — as Mr. Weiner calls viewers of online programming — a roundup
of nine offbeat video clips from various Web sites, and invites them to vote for a
"Pepsi 10th," a favorite clip of their own.
Source: Stuart Elliot, "The Plot Is the Pitch," The New York Times, September 1,
2006
21. wikification n.
Meaning: The process of opening online content to allow for collaboration from
users; to turn an online site into a wiki.
Example citations: So, Chevy marketers thought, let's take this thing a notch
further — let's have an online contest to see who can create the best TV ad for the
new Tahoe. The wikification of the 30-second spot — what could be more
revolutionary than that?
Source: Frank Rose, Commercial Break, Wired, December 1, 2006
41
4.1.6 Shifting
1. friend v.
Meaning: On a social networking website, to add a person to one's list of
acquaintances, and vice versa.
Example citations: Even though faculty members are making an effort to reach
out, students are more likely "to friend" deans. When asked how deans react to
students "friending" them, Neigeborn said "Students do friend me and I'm always
excited when it happens. I never friend students unless I talk to them about it
first." She added, "I don't want students to feel pressured because of my position
as a dean. Facebook is a social environment and I don't want to cramp anyone's
style. I'd definitely friend you back if you asked and I'd read your profile and try
to come up with something to put on your wall. I wouldn't make a habit of it, just
once as a way of letting you know that I'm happy to know you."
Source: Sakina Namazi and Casey Waltz, Rutgers deans 'friend' students via
Facebook," Daily Targum (via University Wire), November 6, 2006
42
4.1.7 Source unknown
1. zippy n.
Meaning: Zero; nothing. Example citation: "SOMETHING WICKED THIS
way comes! As we roll into the final week of October, the weather is nippy, the
World Series was lost four to zippy and the most anticipated Broadway show in
years comes to town."
Source: Newpaper Review http://www.houstonvoice.com/2005/10-
28/locallife/nightlife/nightlife1028.cfm, October 28, 2005
We searched for neologisms from different fields of our lives. We tried to group
them by the most typical areas. We made the next classification according to the
field in which they are used:
1. lifestyle (personal appearance, thinking, belief …)
2. sport (equipment, players …)
3. entertainment (TV, radio, cinema, movies …)
4. computers and new technology (new technical discoveries, innovations
…)
5. politics
6. other
We have to point out that some neologisms can belong to more than one area. We
based our decision on the context of examples presented in this diploma work.
CATEGORY NEOLOGISMS
lifestyle ubersexual, man-ful, splitters, uncouple, architourist, pro-ana,
technosexual
sport doosra, galactico, bunyanesque, cruits, WOW
entertainment bling-bling, newpeat, zippy
43
computers and
new technology
mashup, biotecture, bluejacking, crackbarry, crittercam,
mobisode, movieoke, clickprint, domainer, googlejuice,
hyper-evolution, neogeography, collabulary, flog,
folksonomy, sideloading, slivercasting, songlifting, spim,
viewser, wikification, friend
politics anti-anti-American, RINO
other crowdsourcing, superinflector, cablinasian, crittercam puggle
We assumed that the highest number would belong to the group connected with
technology and its development. We were right. Neologisms usually exist in
cultures that are rapidly changing and developing. People invent all sort of
technical things that need to be named. We live in the Computer Age or
Information Era, therefore neologisms are especially numerical in this area:
Internet plays so important role in our life, we use it all the time, we search for
information, even order our food … It is normal that this field needs to develop
and expend. As a consequence the need for new words increases.
Graph 1: Categories of neologisms according to the field of use
16%
11%
7%
50%
5% 11%
lifestylesportentertainmentcomputers and new technology politicsother
44
4.2 Word-formation types of chosen neologisms I have analyzed 44 new words. We grouped them according to the word-
formational process they are based on:
WORD-FORMATIONAL PROCESS NUMBER
creating 1
borrowing 2
combining 15
shortening 3
blending 21
shifting 1
source unknown 1
Table 1: Neologisms according to the word-formational process.
• Creating
No examples were found.
• Borrowing
word word class word-formational process type of word-formation doosra n. doosra simple loanword
galactico n. galactico simple loanword
• Combining
word word class
word-formational process
type of word-formation
anti-anti-American adj. anti + anti + American derivative
bling-bling n. bling-bling compound
bunyanesque adj. Bunyan + -esque derivative
clickprint n. click + print compound
crowdsourcing pp. crowd + source + -ing compound
45
domainer n. domain + -er derivative
googlejuice n. google + juice compound
hyper-evolution n. hyper + evolution derivative
man-flu n. man + flu compound
mashup n. mash + up compound
neogeography n. neo + geography derivative
newpeat n. new + peat compound
splitters n. split + -ers derivative
superinflector n. super + inflect + -or derivative
ubersexual n. uber + sexual derivative (borrowed prefix)
uncopuple v. un + couple derivative
• Shortening
word word class
word-formational process type of word-formation
cruits n. (re)cruits back formation RINO n. R(epublican) + I(n) + N(ame) +
O(nly) acronym
WOW n. w(ives) + o(f) + W(imbledon) acronym
• Blending
word word class
word-formational process type of word-formation
architourist n. archi(tecture) + turist blend
biotecture n. bio(logy) + (archi)tecture blend
bluejacking pp. blue(tooth) + (hi)jacking blend
cablinasian adj. ca(ucasian) + bl(ack) +
in(dian) + asian
blend
collabulary n. colla(borative) + (voc)abulary blend
crackbarry n. crack + (blue)barry blend
crittercam n. critter + cam(era) blend
flog n. f(ake) + (b)log blend
46
folksonomy n. folk + (tax)onomy blend
mobisode n. mobi(le) + (epi)sode blend
movieoke n. movie + (kara)oke blend
pro-ana adj. pro + an(orexi)a blend
puggle n. pug + (bea)gle blend
ringxiety n. ring + (an)xiety blend
sideloading pp. side + (down)loading blend
slivercasting pp. sliver + (broad)casting blend
songlifting pp. song + (shop)lifting blend
spim n. sp(am) + IM (instant
messaging)
blend
technosexual n. techni(logy) + sexual blend
viewser n. view(er) + (u)ser blend
wikification n. wiki + (identi)fication blend
• Shifting
word word class word-formational process type of word-formation friend v. friend grammar shift
• Source unknown
word word class word-formational process type of word-formation zippy n. zippy unknown
The processes of combining and blending are represented most. Let’s have a
closer look at the subclasses of these two word-formational processes. Numbers
show process of blending is highly represented by blending with second element
clipped. Out of 21 blend neologisms, 11 of them have a clipped second element.
Only 3 blends have their first element clipped while 7 blends have both elements
clipped.
47
Graph 2: Blending
With combining derivatives and compounds the results are almost equal: there are
7 compounds and 9 derivatives.
Graph 3: Derivatives and compounds
The most common combination in creating compounds is noun + noun
composition. Out of 7 compounds there are 4 formed in this way. Almost equally
are represented two types of derivation: suffixation and prefixation. We analyzed
five neologisms with a prefix and three with a suffix. We found only one example
with both affixes placed to the base.
Out of 44 neologisms we found two examples of borrowing. All three are simple
loanword. We have not found an example of adapted loanwords or loan
translations. Neologism “doosra” is taken from the Hindu language and it means
“second”. Second neologism is “galactico” and is taken from Spanish language. It
means “a superstar”. Usually this word is used to describe a world-famous
football player who has been signed by Spanish club Real Madrid.
We had some doubts which word-formational process is used with neologism
“ubersexual”. The word comes from German language. It describes a man with a
14%
53%
33%
1th element clipped2nd element clipped both elements clipped
44%
56%
compouns
derivatives
48
certain kind of characteristics. According to this we could put it in a group
borrowing. On the other hand, process of derivation is used because we have the
combination of a prefix and a base. Some words that were produced in the same
pattern as “ubersexual” are: very popular word metrosexual, technosexual,
ecosexual …
From the graph below we can see that combining and blending are two very
productive processes. The percentage of blending takes up to 48%, while
combining represents 32%. Less creative process are creating (2%), shifting (2%)
and source unknown (2%). In general, creating is the least productive word-
formational process in English. We found only one example of shifting. Well
known word “friend” is used as a verb instead as a noun.
Graph 4: Word formational processes of chosen neologisms
We believe that 44 neologisms is very small number to generalize which word
formational process is most productive. Therefore we compared our numbers with
the numbers we have found in the book Fifty years among the new words written
by John Algeo.
Graph 5: Word formational processes of neologisms from Fifteen years among the new words
2% 5%
34%
7%
48%
2% 2%
creatingborrowingcombiningshorteningblendingshiftingsource unknown
0%
68%
8%
5%
17% 0%
2%
creating borrowing combiningshortening blending shiftingsource unknown
49
If we compare the results we can conclude that in both cases the process of
combining is far most productive: in my research the percent goes up to 48 and in
Algeo’s dictionary it is 68. In the dictionary the second most productive process
mentioned is shifting (17 %), while in my case shifting is one of the least
productive processes. It represents only 2 per cent.
If we look closely at the word class of word formational process we have the
following results.
Most representative is a class of nouns – 37 neologisms (four of them are
participles). Five neologisms are adjectives (one is a participle) and only 2 belong
to a class of verbs.
50
4.3 Frequency of chosen neologism: Cobuild Bank of English
In my research we were also interested in the frequency of these neologisms. To
find out the numbers we have chosen to work with The COBUILD Bank of
English Corpus. The Faculty of Arts enabled me full access to the site. We were
looking at the information in connection with where the words were mentioned,
their source, context and the number of times they appear.
The Cobuild Bank of English has hundreds of millions of words of English text
from British, US, Australian and Canadian sources (including textbooks, novels,
newspapers, guides, magazines, and websites). The corpus has been automatically
tagged by word class, and a 200-million-word corpus has been parsed. The Bank
of English is updated and added to on a regular basis to ensure that this resource is
as up-to-date and comprehensive as possible. (Collins)
A corpus is a collection of samples of language held on a computer for analysis of
words, meanings, grammar and usage. Corpora are used in the creation of
dictionaries and this ensures that the language in dictionaries is real language, as it
is used and spoken every day.
At Collins, they are constantly updating the corpora, collecting data from
newspapers, magazines, websites, journals, books, TV, radio, conversations - all
language styles are there.
With the help of corpora, we can:
• access natural, authentic examples of vocabulary and grammar
• check evidence for new senses of existing words and terms
• check the corpus for idioms, compounds, grammar problems, synonyms,
spelling, British and American variants, and frequency statistics
51
• research phraseology and the way it is actually written and spoken,
enabling lexicographers to select typical illustrative examples for users
• gain an overview of the word in its linguistic environment, to ensure that
definitions and translations can be tested in all contexts and no
possibilities overlooked (Collins).
The information derived from the Bank of English can improve almost every
aspect of dictionary making. The corpus will show which form is most common
and further analysis will show whether one form is used more in writing and the
other in speech. Many people will have opinions about these points, but when it
comes to committing language information to print in a dictionary we believe that
we should take account of the wealth of data which the Bank of English provides
about our language. Many of the innovative features in the latest editions of
English Dictionary are possible only because of the analyses that have been
carried out of millions of examples of words in use across a range of up-to-date
texts. (ibid.)
The Cobuild Bank of English has many sub corpora. These are updated from time
to time. The first column contains the names we use during the program to refer to
each different corpus, and the last column tells you what they are. The middle
column gives the size of each corpus, in millions of words.
CORPORA’S NAME
CORPORA per million words
SOURCE
oznews 5337528 Australian newspapers
ukephem 3124354 UK ephemera (leaflets, adverts, etc)
ukmags 4901990 UK magazines
ukspok 9272579 UK transcribed informal speech
usephem 1224710 US ephemera (leaflets, adverts, etc)
bbc 2609869 BBC World Service radio broadcasts
npr 3129222 US National Public Radio broadcasts
ukbooks 5354262 UK books; fiction & non-fiction
52
usbooks 5626436 US books; fiction & non-fiction
times 5763761 UK Times newspaper
Today 5248302 UK Today newspaper
sunnow 5824476 UK Sun newspaper
We expected to find many neologisms. From the list of neologisms we found only
10 included in this corpus, and they are: biotecture, bunyanesque, cablinasian,
crittercam, flog, friend, puggle, sideloading, splitters and uncouple.
When we started analyzing these words more closely, we found out that almost all
were used in different context and the meaning was therefore different. Does this
mean that these words are really new neologisms or maybe they are nonce-words?
Search results showed that only four neologisms were the one we were searching
for. These are:
- bunyanesque
- biotecture
- cablinasian
- crittercam
For each of these neologisms we will show a concordance line, we will name the
source of the neologisms (the corpora) and give the frequency according to the
size of each corpora.
Bunyanesque
usbook/US of the imagery of Close Encounters was Bunyanesque, especially near the
usbook/US the shakes and worried this likeable, Bunyanesque figure might fade
oznews/OZ inally made him a star, and created the Bunyanesque expectations of him
Two of the examples were taken from American books and one example was
found in Australian newspapers.
53
The frequency by sub-corpora:
corpus total numbers of occurrences
average number per million words
usbooks/US 2 0,79
oznews/OZ 1 0,63
Biotecture
usmags/UK Earthship builder with Earthship Biotecture, the company behind the
usmags/UK expand Courtesy of Earthship Biotecture Earthships, the funky home-
Neologism biotecture was found only twice. Both times it was recorded in
American magazines.
The frequency by sub-corpora:
corpus total numbers of occurrences average number per million words
usmags/US 2 0,77
In both cases the source is the same: American magazines.
Cablinasian
brnews/UK Woods, who later described himself as a ` Cablinasian" to represent his
brnews/UK South African; Woods a wiry, intense ` Cablinasian" as he calls
brnews/UK ecent fortunes of the Englishman and the Cablinasian (Caucasian-Black-
This word was noticed three times and always in British newspapers.
Frequency by sub-corpora:
corpus total numbers of occurrences average number per million words
brnews/UK 3 1,12
Crittercam
oznews/OZ when he thought up the idea of crittercam -- a camera which attaches to
oznews/OZ he had a breakthrough -- the crittercam stayed on a whale for 24 hours
oznews/OZ he had a breakthrough -- the crittercam stayed on a whale for 24 hours
oznews/OZ new video camera known as ` Crittercam" (developed by the National
54
We found four matching lines and all four were taken from Australian magazines.
The frequency by the sub-corpora:
corpus total numbers of occurrences average number per million words
oznews/OZ 4 1,61
All four come up many times in newspapers (8 times), two times they were
recorded in books and two times in magazines. The main reason is probably
because newspapers and magazines have the task to bring something new to the
public. This media has to be always up to time. We can also say, that the main
source for discovering new words is written source. We believe reasons are
practical: we have time to study the word in its context and we can not go wrong
with the spelling. The only advantage of spoken source is the pronunciation. Here
we can only guess.
4.4 Detailed analyses of some selected neologisms
Some of chosen neologisms we find more interesting because of different
features. We will look them up more closely from different points of view. Some
brought my attention because of its meaning, word class, origin, spelling …
1. UBERSEXUAL
Evolution of this word starts with a word metrosexual, also a neologism which
is already well accepted by public. Metosexual is a neologism of the 2000s,
which firstly identified famous football player David Beckham. Generally this
term applied to heterosexual men with a strong concern for their appearance.
(wikipedia).
The word ubersexual (also spelled übersexual) was created by the same
pattern. They both have word sexual as a stem, but prefix is different. By this
analogy also many other new words were coined. E.g.:
- technosexual (someone who loves technology),
55
- ecosexual (environmental conscious person) and
- retrosexual (a men with undeveloped aesthetic sense who spends as little
time and money possible on his apperence and lifestyle).
The word ubersexual derives from German word über, which means above or
superior and Latin word sexus, which means gender. In other words
neologism can be translated as a superior person, a person of a great
importance. This term always refers to a man; therefore it praises male persons
and their qualities.
2. CABLINASIAN
This neologism draw my attention because of the high number of words
coined to make a brand new word. This word was made by the well known,
very famous golfer Tiger Wood. It is a blend of four words: Caucasian, black,
Indian, and Asian:
ca(ucasian) + bl(ack) + in(dian) + asian
He probably wanted to describe his ethnic background, but no suitable term
existed, so the need for a new word came. This is one of the main reasons why
neologisms are made: the speaker could not express himself clearly and
sufficiently. He felt the need to sum up in one word his mixed heritage. We
have already talked about this important factor for creating new words in
chapter 3.
3. PUGGLE
The word puggle has two meanings:
1. A baby echidna, also known as spiny anteaters, four extant mammal
species.
2. A small mixed breed of dog created by mating a pug and beagle.
56
In first case puggle is not a neologism. The word is a part of standard
vocabulary. However, in second case puggle appears as a new word. Is this
word created from two names of dog breeds: pug and beagle. Looking briefly
at this word we could say this is an old word used in new context. However,
this is not the case. The creation of the new word is different and it does not
have any connections to the old word.
4. BLING-BLING
This neologism is interesting from the word-formational prospective. Bling-
bling is an ideophone intended to evoke the "sound" of light hitting silver,
platinum, or diamonds. It is not onomatopoeia, because the act of jewelry
shining does not make a sound. Knowing this bling-bling is not a product of
creating. This is not an imitative, because an imitative must imitate some sort
of sound. Combining is a word-formational process used for creating this
word. Bling-bling is a compound where the sound pattern is used.
57
5 CONCLUSION
Rapid change in community brings out the need for new words for speakers to
express their thoughts. Speakers want to express themselves as accurately and
clearly as possible. The development of the word forces them to create new forms
to achieve this fact. Neologisms enter our mind and our language in daily
communication.
For our research we chose 44 different neologisms from the period 2004-2006.
They were taken from different areas of people’s life: fashion, technology, culture
… While searching for neologisms through the Internet, we came across many of
them. That shows languages are developing, like culture and technology are.
Language has a property, which is called productivity or creativity.
We have investigated neologisms from different points of view. We looked
closely at their creational processes, meaning, frequency of use, media they were
found in, and the area they were used in. We listed them according to their word-
formational process. At this point we gave the explanation, context and named the
source of each neologism.
Word-formation has a very important role in forming new words, therefore
analyses and the classification according to the word formation process was made.
The most often used process is blending and the most uncommon are creating and
shifting. We were surprised that shortening is at the bottom of the list as we
assumed that people always want to economize and put as much energy into
everything as it is really necessary. The percentage of creating is also low. To
make a new word that is memorable in some was is not easy. Especially in today’s
society when everything is judged severely it is hard to meet the needs of the
people.
While searching through Coubild’s bank of words we expected to find not all but
almost all neologisms. Unfortunately we found only few. we can think of two
reasons: these words are really new or they are considered to be nonce words. All
58
examples were found in written media. Written media is easier to investigate and
easier to analyze, but it is also more static and less dynamic.
We can confirm our assumptions that neologisms have an important part in every
society. They are necessary for cultural development of each language society.
The new words are made every day, because we are developing every day.
Sometime old ideas are used and sometimes we have to use our creativeness.
When they can enter standard vocabulary? Depends mainly on people and also on
linguists.
59
6 Bibliography
• Algeo, J. (1991): Fifty Years among the new words : A dictionary of
Neologisms, 1941-1991. The United States of America: Cambridge
University Press
• Ayto J. (2003): Newspapers and neologisms, New Media Language (182-
186). London: Routledge
• Bauer, L. (1984): English Word-formation. Cambridge: Cambridge
Unviersitiy Press
• Blagajne, D., Konte I. (1987) Modern English Grammar. Ljubljana: DZS
• “Collins – The Bank of English”.
http://www.collins.co.uk/books.aspx?group=180 Last accessed: 28 Sep
2007
• “Cultural acceptance”.
http://omics.org/index.php/Neologism Last accessed: 30 October 2004
• Jackson, H. and Amvela, Z. E. (2000): Words, Meaning and Vocabulary :
An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology. London: The Cromwell
Press
• Klinar, S., Davis, M. (1989) English Word – Formation: Part one and Part
two with exercises. Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta Univerze Edvarda
kardelja v Ljubljani: third edition
• Marchant, H. (1969): The Categories and types of Present – Day English
Word – formation: A Synchronic – Diachronic Approach. Munchen: C.H.
Becksche Verlagsbuchhandlung Munchen: Second edition
• Muhvić-Dimanovski, V. (2005): Neologizmi : problemi teorije I primjene.
Zagreb: Filozofski fakultet, Zavod za lingvistiku
• Muhvić-Dimanovski, V. and Skelin Horvat, A. (2008): Contests and
nominations for new words – Why are they interesting and what do they
show, Contemporary Linguistics (1-26) on www.ceeol.com. Last accessed:
16 Feb 2009.
• “Neologisms.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/neologism Last accessed: 12 March 2008
60
• Sinclair, J. (2008): Borrowed ideas, Language, People; Numbers: Corpus
Linguistics and Society (21-41). Amsterdam – New York: Rodopi
• Singleton, D. (2000): Language and the lexicon. New York: Oxford
University Press
• Sedia, E. (2005): Making Neologisms Work in Speculative Literature--
Reflection's Edge
www.reflectionsedge.com/archives/feb2005/mnwsl_es.html Last accested:
7 Oct 2008.
List of sources for neologisms:
• http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/MED-Magazine/
• http://www.wordspy.com/
• http://pages.zoom.co.uk/leveridge/dictionary.html
• http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Words04/neologisms/s.html
• http://rdues.bcu.ac.uk/newwds/2003.html
• http://esa4.rice.edu/~ling215/browse.php?l=g
• http://www-personal.umich.edu/~shameem/neolog.html
List of graphs:
- Graph 1: Categories of neologisms according to the field of use ............ 43
- Graph 2: Blending....................................................................................47
- Graph 3: Derivatives and compounds...................................................... 47
- Graph 4: Word formational processes of chosen neologisms.................. 48
- Graph 5: Word formational processes of neologisms from Fifteen years
among the new words................................................................................ 48