In linguistics, a neologism [lower-alpha 1] is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that nevertheless has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. [1] Most definitively, a word can be considered a neologism once it is published in a dictionary. [2]
Neologisms are one facet of lexical innovation, i.e., the linguistic process of new terms and meanings entering a language's lexicon. The most precise studies into language change and word formation, in fact, identify the process of a "neological continuum": a nonce word is any single-use term that may or may not grow in popularity; a protologism is such a term used exclusively within a small group; a prelogism is such a term that is gaining usage but still not mainstream; and a neologism has become accepted or recognized by social institutions. [3] [4]
Neologisms are often driven by changes in culture and technology. [5] [6] Popular examples of neologisms can be found in science, technology, fiction (notably science fiction), films and television, commercial branding, literature, jargon, cant, linguistics, the visual arts, and popular culture.[ citation needed ]
Examples of words that were 20th-century neologisms include laser (1970), an acronym of light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation; robot (1921) from Czech writer Karel Čapek's play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) ; [7] and agitprop (1930; a portmanteau of Russian "agitatsiya" (agitation) and "propaganda"). [8] The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced several new neologisms in a very short amount of time, both in English and in most languages, including the common name for the disease "covid", alongside other new words and phrases such as “covidiot”, “the ‘rona”, "Zoombombing", “covexit”, “WFH”, and “quaranteams.” [9]
Neologisms are often formed by combining existing words (see compound noun and adjective) or by giving words new and unique suffixes or prefixes. [10] Neologisms can also be formed by blending words, for example, "brunch" is a blend of the words "breakfast" and "lunch", or through abbreviation or acronym, by intentionally rhyming with existing words or simply through playing with sounds. A relatively rare form of neologism is when proper names are used as words (e.g., boycott, from Charles Boycott), including guy, dick, Chad, and Karen. [10]
Neologisms can become popular through memetics, through mass media, the Internet, and word of mouth, including academic discourse in many fields renowned for their use of distinctive jargon, and often become accepted parts of the language. Other times, they disappear from common use just as readily as they appeared. Whether a neologism continues as part of the language depends on many factors, probably the most important of which is acceptance by the public. It is unusual for a word to gain popularity if it does not clearly resemble other words.
The term neologism is first attested in English in 1772, borrowed from French néologisme (1734). [11] The French word derives from Greek νέο- néo(="new") and λόγος /lógos, meaning "speech, utterance". In an academic sense, there is no professional neologist, because the study of such things (cultural or ethnic vernacular, for example) is interdisciplinary. Anyone such as a lexicographer or an etymologist might study neologisms, how their uses span the scope of human expression, and how, due to science and technology, they spread more rapidly than ever before in the present times. [12]
The term neologism has a broader meaning which also includes "a word which has gained a new meaning". [13] [14] [15] Sometimes, the latter process is called semantic shifting, [13] or semantic extension. [16] [17] Neologisms are distinct from a person's idiolect , one's unique patterns of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
Neologisms are usually introduced when it is found that a specific notion is lacking a term, or when the existing vocabulary lacks detail, or when a speaker is unaware of the existing vocabulary. [18] The law, governmental bodies, and technology have a relatively high frequency of acquiring neologisms. [19] [20] Another trigger that motivates the coining of a neologism is to disambiguate a term which may be unclear due to having many meanings. [21]
Neologisms may come from a word used in the narrative of fiction such as novels and short stories. Examples include "grok" (to intuitively understand) from the science fiction novel about a Martian entitled Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein; "McJob" (precarious, poorly-paid employment) from Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland; "cyberspace" (widespread, interconnected digital technology) from Neuromancer by William Gibson [22] and "quark" (Slavic slang for "rubbish"; German for a type of dairy product) from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake .
The title of a book may become a neologism, for instance, Catch-22 (from the title of Joseph Heller's novel). [23] Alternatively, the author's name may give rise to the neologism, although the term is sometimes based on only one work of that author. This includes such words as "Orwellian" (from George Orwell, referring to his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four ) and "Kafkaesque" (from Franz Kafka).
Names of famous characters are another source of literary neologisms. Some examples include: Quixotic , referring to a misguided romantic quest like that of the title character in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes; [24] Scrooge , a pejorative for misers based on the avaricious main character in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol ; [25] and Pollyanna , referring to people who are unfailingly optimistic like the title character of Eleanor H. Porter's Pollyanna . [26]
Neologisms are often introduced in technical writing, so-called Fachtexte or 'technical texts' through the process of lexical innovation. Technical subjects such as philosophy, sociology, physics, etc. are especially rich in neologisms. In philosophy, as an example, many terms became introduced into languages through processes of translation, e.g. from Ancient Greek to Latin, or from Latin to German or English, and so on. So Plato introduced the Greek term ποιότης (poiotēs), which Cicero rendered with Latin qualitas, which subsequently became our notion of 'quality' in relation to epistemology, e.g. a quality or attribute of a perceived object, as opposed to its essence. In physics, new terms were introduced sometimes via nonce formation (e.g. Murray Gell-Man's quark , taken from James Joyce) or through derivation (e.g. John von Neumann's kiloton, coined by combining the common prefix kilo- 'thousand' with the noun ton). Neologisms therefore are vital component of scientific jargon or termini technici.
Polari is a cant used by some actors, circus performers, and the gay subculture to communicate without outsiders understanding. Some Polari terms have crossed over into mainstream slang, in part through their usage in pop song lyrics and other works. Example include: acdc, barney, blag, butch , camp , khazi, cottaging, hoofer, mince, ogle, scarper, slap, strides, tod, [rough] trade (rough trade).
Verlan (French pronunciation: [vɛʁlɑ̃] ), (verlan is the reverse of the expression "l'envers") is a type of argot in the French language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words. [27] : 50 Some verlan words, such as meuf ("femme", which means "woman" roughly backwards), have become so commonplace that they have been included in the Petit Larousse . [28] Like any slang, the purpose of verlan is to create a somewhat secret language that only its speakers can understand. Words becoming mainstream is counterproductive. As a result, such newly common words are re-verlanised: reversed a second time. The common meuf became feumeu. [29] [30]
Neologism development may be spurred, or at least spread, by popular culture. Examples of pop-culture neologisms include the American alt-Right (2010s), the Canadian portmanteau "Snowmageddon" (2009), the Russian parody "Monstration" (c. 2004), Santorum (c. 2003).
Neologisms spread mainly through their exposure in mass media. The genericizing of brand names, such as "coke" for Coca-Cola, "kleenex" for Kleenex facial tissue, and "xerox" for Xerox photocopying, all spread through their popular use being enhanced by mass media. [31]
However, in some limited cases, words break out of their original communities and spread through social media.[ citation needed ] "DoggoLingo", a term still below the threshold of a neologism according to Merriam-Webster, [32] is an example of the latter which has specifically spread primarily through Facebook group and Twitter account use. [32] The suspected origin of this way of referring to dogs stems from a Facebook group founded in 2008 and gaining popularity in 2014 in Australia. In Australian English it is common to use diminutives, often ending in –o, which could be where doggo-lingo was first used. [32] The term has grown so that Merriam-Webster has acknowledged its use but notes the term needs to be found in published, edited work for a longer period of time before it can be deemed a new word, making it the perfect example of a neologism. [32]
Because neologisms originate in one language, translations between languages can be difficult.
In the scientific community, where English is the predominant language for published research and studies, like-sounding translations (referred to as 'naturalization') are sometimes used. [34] Alternatively, the English word is used along with a brief explanation of meaning. [34] The four translation methods are emphasized in order to translate neologisms: transliteration, transcription, the use of analogues, and loan translation. [35]
When translating from English to other languages, the naturalization method is most often used. [36] The most common way that professional translators translate neologisms is through the Think aloud protocol (TAP), wherein translators find the most appropriate and natural sounding word through speech.[ citation needed ] As such, translators can use potential translations in sentences and test them with different structures and syntax. Correct translations from English for specific purposes into other languages is crucial in various industries and legal systems. [37] [38] Inaccurate translations can lead to 'translation asymmetry' or misunderstandings and miscommunication. [38] Many technical glossaries of English translations exist to combat this issue in the medical, judicial, and technological fields. [39]
In psychiatry and neuroscience, the term neologism is used to describe words that have meaning only to the person who uses them, independent of their common meaning. [40] This can be seen in schizophrenia, where a person may replace a word with a nonsensical one of their own invention (e.g., "I got so angry I picked up a dish and threw it at the gelsinger"). [41] The use of neologisms may also be due to aphasia acquired after brain damage resulting from a stroke or head injury. [42]
Internet slang is a non-standard or unofficial form of language used by people on the Internet to communicate to one another. An example of Internet slang is "lol" meaning "laugh out loud." Since Internet slang is constantly changing, it is difficult to provide a standardized definition. However, it can be understood to be any type of slang that Internet users have popularized, and in many cases, have coined. Such terms often originate with the purpose of saving keystrokes or to compensate for small character limits. Many people use the same abbreviations in texting, instant messaging, and social networking websites. Acronyms, keyboard symbols, and abbreviations are common types of Internet slang. New dialects of slang, such as leet or Lolspeak, develop as ingroup Internet memes rather than time savers. Many people also use Internet slang in face-to-face, real life communication.
A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge. In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word lexicon derives from Greek word λεξικόν, neuter of λεξικός meaning 'of or for words'.
Pig Latin is a language game, argot, or cant in which words in English are altered, usually by adding a fabricated suffix or by moving the onset or initial consonant or consonant cluster of a word to the end of the word and adding a vocalic syllable to create such a suffix. For example, Wikipedia would become Ikipediaway.
A slang is a vocabulary of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of particular in-groups in order to establish group identity, exclude outsiders, or both. The word itself came about in the 18th century and has been defined in multiple ways since its conception, with no single technical usage in linguistics.
Verlan is a type of argot in the French language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words. The word verlan itself is an example of verlan. It is derived from inverting the sounds of the syllables in l'envers. The first documented use of verlan dates back to the 19th century, among robbers.
Jargon or technical language is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a particular occupation, but any ingroup can have jargon. The key characteristic that distinguishes jargon from the rest of a language is its specialized vocabulary, which includes terms and definitions of words that are unique to the context, and terms used in a narrower and more exact sense than when used in colloquial language. This can lead outgroups to misunderstand communication attempts. Jargon is sometimes understood as a form of technical slang and then distinguished from the official terminology used in a particular field of activity.
A loanword is a word at least partly assimilated from one language into another language, through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term that is well established in the linguistic field despite its acknowledged descriptive flaws: nothing is taken away from the donor language and there is no expectation of returning anything.
Colloquialism is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conversation and other informal contexts. Colloquialism is characterized by wide usage of interjections and other expressive devices; it makes use of non-specialist terminology, and has a rapidly changing lexicon. It can also be distinguished by its usage of formulations with incomplete logical and syntactic ordering.
Lunfardo is an argot originated and developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the lower classes in the Río de la Plata region and from there spread to other urban areas nearby, such as the Greater Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Rosario.
An anglicism is a word or construction borrowed from English by another language.
In linguistics, a nonce word—also called an occasionalism—is any word (lexeme), or any sequence of sounds or letters, created for a single occasion or utterance but not otherwise understood or recognized as a word in a given language. Nonce words have a variety of functions and are most commonly used for humor, poetry, children's literature, linguistic experiments, psychological studies, and medical diagnoses, or they arise by accident.
A cant is the jargon or language of a group, often employed to exclude or mislead people outside the group. It may also be called a cryptolect, argot, pseudo-language, anti-language or secret language. Each term differs slightly in meaning; their uses are inconsistent. Richard Rorty defines cant by saying that "'Cant', in the sense in which Samuel Johnson exclaims, 'Clear your mind of cant,' means, in other words, something like that which 'people usually say without thinking, the standard thing to say, what one normally says'." In Heideggerian terms it is what "das Man" says.
In linguistics, conversion, also called zero derivation or null derivation, is a kind of word formation involving the creation of a word from an existing word without any change in form, which is to say, derivation using only zero. For example, the noun green in golf is derived ultimately from the adjective green.
There are various lexical differences between Quebec French and Metropolitan French in France. These are distributed throughout the registers, from slang to formal usage.
In linguistics, a word sense is one of the meanings of a word. For example, a dictionary may have over 50 different senses of the word "play", each of these having a different meaning based on the context of the word's usage in a sentence, as follows:
We went to see the playRomeo and Juliet at the theater.
The coach devised a great play that put the visiting team on the defensive.
The children went out to play in the park.
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed, usually intentionally, by combining the sounds and meanings of two or more words. English examples include smog, coined by blending smoke and fog, as well as motel, from motor (motorist) and hotel. The component word fragments within blends are called splinters.
In linguistics, a protologism is a newly used or coined word, a nonce word, that has been repeated but not gained acceptance beyond its original users or been published independently of the coiners. The word may be proposed, may be extremely new, or may be established only within a very limited group of people. A protologism becomes a neologism as soon as it appears in published press, on a website, or in a book, independently of the coiner—though, most definitively, in a dictionary. A word whose developmental stage is between that of a protologism and a neologism is a prelogism.
In linguistics and literature, periphrasis is the use of a larger number of words, with an implicit comparison to the possibility of using fewer. The comparison may be within a language or between languages. For example, "more happy" is periphrastic in comparison to "happier", and English "I will eat" is periphrastic in comparison to Spanish comeré.
Riocontra is a type of argot in the Italian language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word or metathesis, and is common in slang and youth language.
In linguistics, specifically the sub-field of lexical semantics, the concept of lexical innovation includes the use of neologism or new meanings in order to introduce new terms into a language's lexicon. Most commonly, this is found in technical disciplines where new concepts require names, which often takes the form of jargon. For example, in the subjects of sociology or philosophy, there is an increased technicalization in terminology in the English language for different concepts over time. Many novel terms or meanings in a language are created as a result of translation from a source language, in which certain concepts were first introduced.
This process [of lexicalization] does not seem to be coincidental because neologisms themselves are prone to go through certain stages of transformation. They began as unstable creations (otherwise called prelogisms), that is, they are extremely new, being proposed, or being used only by a small subculture