Introductory information, links with other sciences

Synopsis

neologism word diachronic

The subject of the investigation in this study is neologisms and their word building means in Modern English. Its aims are to present various ways of word building, analyze top 50 neologisms and to determine the most frequently used word forming types.

The work consists of two main parts. Chapter I gives a description of neologisms: definition, diachronic analysis, cultural acceptance factor. Chapter II deals with manor and major word building types, presents latest top 50 neologisms, analyzed and arranged in table according to their word building type, source and time of appearance, sphere of usage, ability to create new forms, new notion appearance. Both qualitative (semantic, structural, contextual) and quantitative methods of analysis are employed.

The material for the studies was collected in February, 2004, on www.wordspy.com.

The results of the analysis are supplied with various schemes and tables.

Introduction

There is no doubt that the English language today is the most widely used language for international communication. Words and expressions are born, live for a short time and then die or find their place in our vocabulary according to the temporary or permanent nature of the fenomena they describe.

Indeed, if no new words were to appear, it would be a sign that the language was moribund; the progress of arts and sciences gives birth to a large majority of new words: each new word that does appear should be severely scrutinized before it becomes generally accepted. So this work does a research into all word – forming means to determine the most productive ways of forming new words that appeared in the eighties, nineties and in the beginning of the XXI century. They are registered on www.wordspy.com as 50 top neologisms.

We have determined some aims in our investigation:

– to overview neologism diachronically (to present the historical development of the fenomenon);

– to investigate the problem of cultural acceptance, as that is the crucial point in the neologism existance, as stability and suitability, which are determined by the public;

– to give the complete classification of word-building means, both minor and major;

– to present the reasons for high or low productivity of each word-building type given;

– to give the overview of all possible sources, where the information on neologisms can be taken;

– to study the top 50 neologisms (Wordspy.com) and analyse them using quantative and qualitative analysis, according to their word building type, source and time of appearance, sphere of usage, ability to create new forms, new notion appearance.

The novelty of the investigation lies in analizing the new words that are unstable so far as a group and still making their way in the language.

The paper consists of the introductory part stating the objectives and aims of the investigation. Chapter I considers the notion of neologisms and the development of the fenomenon, also it deals with cultural acceptance factors. The second chapter presents the word building types and the sources of new words and then there is given a many sided description of 50 top neologisms.

In the supplement, we find it necessary to present the exersises (where derivation in neology is the main principle), where students could develop their skills to create new words, which would also widen pupils’ outlook and develop their creational language abilities.

Neologism, its definition, development and cultural acceptance

Introductory information, links with other sciences

No new science is possible without neologisms, new words or new interpretations of old words to describe and explain reality in new ways. How could Aristotle have developed the logic of syllogisms or Newton the theory of dynamics without new vocabularies and definitions? They were neologists, and everybody wanting to contribute new knowledge must be. «To reject neologisms, often despicably, is to reject scientific development. No sign of scientific conservatism is so telling as the rejection of all but the established concepts of a school of thought. Neologisms are, however, relative to the terminological paradigm actually dominating a field of knowledge. It may be a radical renewal to introduce terms from a tradition believed to be outmoded.» (Ingar Roggen, 1996)

There exist various definitions of such a linguistical event, as neologism, and every of them expresses the gist of this notion taking into the consideration one of the numerous aspects of neologism. The most general are:

« Neologism: Neologisms are «words that have appeared in a language in connection with new phenomena, new concepts,… but which have not yet entered into the active vocabularies of a significant portion of the native speakers of the language». (Woodhouse dictionary, 1972, p. 225)

«A neologism is the term used to describe a word that has been made-up or invented by a speaker, which appears in a transcript of spontaneous speech dialogue. It can also be described as a word which does not appear in the dictionary of the primary spoken language, but which is also not a foreign word.» (Internet http://en.wiktionary.org) Or:

The common thing in these both definitions is that neologism is not yet registered in dictionaries and in most cases it is a colloquial for the time being.

For instance, the word «nigilist» (nihilist) [<Latin «nihil» (nothing)] was first used in an essay in 1829 (Shanskii 1971, p. 128); and was popularized in Turgenev's Fathers and Sons (1962), through his depiction of the radical doctor of the 1860's, Bazarov.» The reason for introducing the word into the language was that there were many young people of that time believing that nothing had meaning or value. As soon as the word was coined it was accepted by the society and has existed in a number of languages since then.

If we take some sciences in particular, we may see, all of them reflect the essence of the notion, as there is «always something new». For instance, in linguistics, a neologism is a recently-coined word, or the act of inventing a word or phrase. Additionally it can imply the use of old words in a new sense i.e., giving new meanings to existing words or phrases. As it was mentioned above neologisms are especially useful in identifying new inventions, new phenomena, or old ideas which have taken on a new cultural context. The word «neologism» was coined around 1800 and was, at that time, a neologism itself.

In psychology, a neologism is a word invented by a person suffering from psychotic disorders; psychiatrists sometimes use these neologisms, which often have meaning only to the subject, as clues to determine the nature of the subject's disorder. In theology, a neologism is a relatively new doctrine (for example, rationalism). In this sense, a neologist is an innovator in the area of a doctrine or belief system, and is often considered heretical or subversive by the mainstream church.

The main point in all these defenitions is that the word or meaning is new and the implication is that the word might be adopted by the society and take roots or ignored and shortly forgotten.