neologism

Language

2022

We explain what a neologism is, how it is formed, what types exist and examples. Also, sentences with neologisms and archaisms.

Neologisms are part of the creative capacity of language.

What is a neologism?

Neologisms are certain uses, expressions and words that did not traditionally exist in a language, but are incorporated into it due to their need to adapt to the language. reality of its speakers. That is, they are those new words and turns that speakers incorporate into a language, as new things to name and new ways of doing it emerge. They are the exact opposite of archaisms.

The appearance of neologisms is a common and ordinary process in all languages, forced as they are to adapt and update, or die. However, a word can be considered a neologism for a certain time, since once it has been incorporated and standardized as part of the language, it simply ceases to be a novelty.

Neologisms can have different origins, as we will see later. Depending on your point of view (if you are more or less purist in language matters) they can be considered a source of linguistic richness, or a symptom of degeneration and irreversible change. Most likely they are both at the same time.

Thus, a neologism can be both foreignism and barbarism, but they should not be confused with compound words, since the first ones are, as the name indicates (from the Greek neo, "new and logos, "Word"), always new.

How are neologisms formed?

Neologisms can have very different origins. But whatever the procedure and the logic that brings them into existence within a language, they are always seen as attempts by the language to adapt to a specific reality.

As we know, reality is somewhat changing, as new scientific-technological inventions arise, new ways of thinking or new affective needs to express, and all this requires a correlate in the language, that is, in a way of saying oneself. Hence, the need to create words is constant and unavoidable.

The usual mechanisms for creating neologisms are not very different from those traditionally used in the history of languages, such as:

  • Acronym Y acronyms. Adding initials and first letters of a prayer, can be obtained by using and repeating new words of proper lexical value, even forgetting that initially it was a form of abbreviation. This is the case, for example, of “laser”, which comes from the acronym in English for Light Amplification by Simulated Emition of Radiation (Amplification of Light by Simulated Emission of Radiation).
  • Composition or parasynthesis. By joining two or more words into one, you can also literally "compose" a new term. This was once the case with the term “Hispanoamérica” (composition of Hispanic America), and it is today the "firewall" (composition of cut Y fire) in its digital meaning (from Internet).
  • Bypass methods. The adition of suffixes derivatives is a traditional practice when creating words. In fact, many of the ones we use today once had this origin. In this sense, we continue to create new terms, such as "printer" (derivation of print + the suffix "ora", which gives characteristics) or "computer”(Derivation of computar + the suffix“ ora ”).
  • Loans from abroad.Often the language has no alternative, in the face of a new reality, than to go to another language to create a new term, either because it already exists in that other language, or because it had it first. This is what has happened with terms such as "crack" (Anglicism, from the verb to crack: break or force open) or "hack" (Anglicism, from the verb to hack: hijack or sneak into a site).
  • Onomatopoeia. From the attempt to reproduce with words a sound, we can also get new terms to incorporate by using our formal dictionary. This is what happened with the verb “chirriar” once, although we already have it for any word in Spanish, or with the name “pingpong”.

Types of neologisms

From what has been seen about their origin, the simplest way to classify neologisms would be from the method used to create it. However, a closer look can also differentiate them according to the following:

  • Neologisms of form. They are built using words that already exist in the language, through the aforementioned processes of composition or derivation. For example, the word "aircraft" was once a neologism, made up of the prefix aero- ("air") and ship ("ship"). This is also the case with “teleoperator” or with “biosecurity”.
  • Semantic neologisms. Instead, they are obtained when the same word already existing in the language acquires new meanings, more or less linked to those it already had. This is what happened with the word "virus" from the appearance of the software malicious on the Internet, or with "surfing" from the possibility of entering the web: both terms already existed, but they applied to other areas.
  • Foreigners. As we have already said, if they come from other languages, whether or not we respect their form and pronunciation. This is the case of "setear" (from the English set up), “Customize” (from English customize) or “hostear” (from English host), terms linked to internet slang.
  • Barbarisms. That they are mispronunciations or formulations of the language, but that when they are transmitted and popularized, they end up creating new terms, as happened with "cedé" and "cidí" (CD), or "deuvedé" and "dividedí" (DVD) to name the different types of compact discs. In many cases, barbarisms can be foreign words, neologisms or archaisms at the same time.

Examples of neologisms

An additional list of neologisms not named so far includes the following:

  • Blogs. Term used on the internet to designate online newspapers or blogs. It is also an Anglicism (of log, "Blog").
  • Googling. Verb arisen from the invention of the Internet search platform Google.
  • Smartphone. A commonly used neologism and anglicism for "smart phone," that is, computerized phone.
  • Hipster. Name of a popular subculture associated with fashion and music Independent (indie).
  • Fake news. Phrase coined in English to refer to hoaxes and misleading news, it is also used in Spanish more frequently than “hoax” or “false news”.
  • Selfie. Name given in contemporary culture to the (auto) Photography taken with the front camera of a Smartphone.
  • Tweet. How each publication is called in the social network Twitter, one of the most used in the world.
  • Vaping In other words, smoking an electronic cigarette, comes from the English term "vaping”.
  • Wifi. Word originated by the acronym of Wireless Fidelity, name in turn of the standard of communication for the Wireless Internet proposed by the American agency WECA. Today it is synonymous with "wireless Internet".

Sentences with neologisms

Here are some of the earlier neologisms put into a sentence to give you more context:

  • I was updating my blog last night, but the wifi went down.
  • You can't believe any fake news, no matter who tweeted it. Ideally, google it.
  • Don't let those hipsters in, they're vaping all day.
  • Do you want to take a selfie with my Smartphone?

Neologisms and archaisms

Archaisms are the diametrically opposite of neologisms: if the former constitute new forms, the latter are old, ancestral, obsolete forms, which somehow manage to survive totally or partially in the language.

They are often still used in a geography specific, that is, in a dialect of specific speech, or in technical or highly specialized fields. In other cases they are only used in the literary language, which comes to them as a resource stylistic.

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