The neologisms appeared in the last decade of modern English language

As the vocabulary of any language that is alive is enriching, new words, in other words, neologisms are appearing fast, even day by day in this technology developed era. Initially, before speaking about neologisms of Modern English it is preferable to pay attention to the definitions and explanations of neologisms to make clear what neologism actually is.

A neologism is a word or expression, which defines a new (unknown before) object or notion and that is created in a certain period of a language. In the appearance of neologisms both linguistic and extra linguistic factors are essential as many social, industrial, economical and cultural changes are the major elements of extra linguistic factors.

The term neologism is borrowed from French neologism (1734) and it is first attested in English in 1772, however, its origin goes back to the ancient times. The term comes from Greek “neos” (meaning – new) and “logo” (meaning – word). 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. Mostly, neologisms are acquired in the fields of law, technology and internet. Besides, there are some neologisms created and used by a single writer in their novels or short stories. All neologisms appear in a certain period, particularly, an urgent need for defining a new notion or object requires neologisms. However, not all these new words are long-lasting and some of them are used not more than once. On the other hand, there are always a number of neologisms that are accepted by the society as a new term or lexeme and they can be added to the lexicon of a language.

In the development of the English language many new words are coined and added to the lexicon. Each period in the development of the English language has its own neologisms appeared concerning the major events of that period. Accordingly, the Modern English period has its unique features in the occurrence of neologisms. Namely, the lexicon of the English language is enriched with the new terms which defines notions that are related to technology, internet and culture in the late Modern English period. Now, let me analyze some neologisms appeared in the last decade of the late Modern English period.

• 1.    Bankfurt – Banking/banks in Frankfurt . Although the term appeared in the 1970s – 1980s, it was officially shown in “Evening Standard” in February 16 in 2016. The term refers to the district in Frankfurt where a lot of banks are built as Frankfurt has been a trade center from the Middle Ages.

• 2.    Belfie – A Bum or Bottom Selfie (Evening Standard, December 18, 2014)

• 3.    Bizcation – Business trip with a vacation (The Times, December 9, 2019)

• 4.    Bleisure – Business trip with leisure. (The Times December 9, 2019)

• 5.    Boddler – Baby-toddler aged child who ‘boddles’ around. (March 2, 2017)

• 6.    Droniquette – Drone, Etiquette, good etiquette when flying a drone device. (Evening Standard, December 9, 2014)

• 7.    Foodstagramming – Food Instagram pictures. (The Daily Telegraph, November 2, 2016)

• 8.    Frenemies – A blend of Friend and enemy. (Evening Standard p16, from Ken Livingston’s topic for his speech in Moscow on 10th Dec 2015. Also from Wikipedia: a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry, December 9, 2015)

• 9.    Genderquake – Metaphorical earthquake caused by women through their actions on gender equality, starting in 2017. (Evening Standard, December 20, 2017)

• 10.    Gramping – Camping with your grandparents. (The Times, December 9, 2019)

• 11.    Hotspot – A place where mobile phone or Wi-Fi signals are good.

• 12.    Neverendum – A referendum that never ends. (Evening Standard, May 17, 2016)

• 13.    Phonehenge – Phone-Stonehenge (a very old mobile phone, e.g. a Nokia that does not have emojis). (The Daily Telegraph, November 2, 2016)

• 14.    Selfie – A photo taken of oneself, usually on a smart camera-phone.

• 15.    Smize – To smile with your eyes.

• 16.    Twitterati – People who tweet on Twitter a lot.(Evening Standard, November 27, 2014)

• 17.    Webinar – (web + seminar) a seminar that is held online.

• 18.    Vlog – (video + blog)

• 19.    Foodblogger – a person who prepares blogs about how to cook meals, especially video blogs.

As stated above, neologisms may appear as a result of social events as well. Accordingly, during the pandemic many neologisms have been applied to the English lexicon. Some of them are as follows:

• >    Coronavirus - A type of virus that can cause illnesses such as the common cold, or serious diseases such as SARS and COVID-19. (The Independent, November 17, 2019)

• >    Covididiot - A person who refuses to take the necessary precautions designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. (Urban Dictionary, March 23, 2020)

• >    WFH - Work from home. As the situation during the pandemic was so severe even going to work and offices was unsafe. People tried to do their job at home online rather than going to work in order not to put themselves into risky situation. ( t he Guardian, April12, 2020)

• >    Anthropause - The global slowdown of travel and other human activity due to the Covid-19 lockdown. (BBC News, November 23, 2020)

• >    Anti-mask / Anti-masker - term for a person who opposes wearing a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. (The Guardian, April 29, 2020)

• >    Anti-vaxxer - A person opposed to vaccination. (The Sun, August 19, 2019)

Neologisms or new words are formed using different ways of wordformation. Therefore, most of the given neologisms are created with the help of blending. Blending is a type of word-formation which require forming a new word by combining two existing words. Blending is considered as an unproductive way of forming words, however, it is the fact that the neologisms that are recently appearing are formed by using blending. Consequently, the study of neologisms shows that one of the unproductive ways of word-formation blending is becoming more productive in recent years.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, new words are emerged as a result of changes in the society, technology. The lexicon of any language is enhanced because of the new words, neologisms that are developed to define new notions and objects. Some neologisms come into use and are added to the lexicon shortly after the appearance which means they are becoming known to all while some others will be used no more than once only.