The aim of this study is to investigate the institutionalization of neologisms in social media, more precisely in blogs, with a geographical view to the countries where English is the first or second official language. Especially since globalization and social media become increasingly integrated into our daily life, it is a phenomenon worth investigating. Neologisms belong to the process of word-formation; thus, this thesis belongs to the field of lexicology.
The structure of the work at hand is as follows. First, there will be a concise review on the relevant theory on World Englishes and the institutionalization process of neologisms. It should demonstrate the impact of language change. Further, the data source, the corpus of Global Web-based English, will be described and the method used for the analysis will be explained. The following step includes the corpus analysis and inspects several neologisms regarding various categories. Afterwards, a presentation and evaluation of the results helps to assess the hypothesis. Lastly, a summary and interpretation of the findings concludes this thesis and gives an outlook on further research opportunities.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Framework
2.1 English in a Global Context - "Three Circle Model"
2.2 Roswitha Fischer - "Lexical Change in Present-Day English"
2.2.1 The Concept of Neologisms
2.2.2 Motivation
2.2.3 Productivity
2.2.4 Institutionalization
2.3 Hypothesis
3 Practical Part
3.1 Data
3.2 Method
4 Results & Discussion
4.1 Results
4.2 Discussion
5 Conclusion
Objectives and Research Themes
This thesis aims to investigate the institutionalization of neologisms in social media, specifically within blogs, by analyzing their usage frequencies across different English-speaking countries. The primary research question centers on whether the frequency of such neologisms is significantly higher in "inner circle" countries compared to "outer circle" countries, testing the hypothesis that inner circle varieties serve as the primary source for the establishment and dissemination of new terms.
- Institutionalization process of neologisms in a global context.
- Application of Braj Kachru's "Three Circle Model" to modern web-based language data.
- Corpus-based analysis of 20 selected neologisms using the "Corpus of Global Web-based English" (GloWbE).
- Evaluation of socio-economic and structural factors influencing lexical spread.
Excerpt from the Book
1 Introduction
During various stages of our life we realize that our interests, habits, and topics change. Our biggest communicative strength, namely language, underlies the same process. We may not recognize it deliberately but from time to time we certainly come across terms which seem unfamiliar to us. These newly occurring terms that are gradually applied by speakers and identified as particular lexemes are called neologisms (cf. Hohenhaus 2005: 364). Neologisms are the result of language change (cf. Malec & Rusinek 2015: 150) which is divided by Jean Aitchison into two categories:
On the one hand, there are external sociolinguistic factors - that is, social factors outside the language system. On the other hand, there are internal psycholinguistic ones - that is, linguistic and psychological factors which reside in the structure of the language and the minds of the speakers (2013: 143).
One of the external sociolinguistic factors for language change is the influence of technology and the related digitalization (cf. Katamba 2005: 186). Those areas have rapidly grown in importance over the past few decades. Especially the associated social media platforms enjoy an increasing popularity worldwide. The internet-based platforms, allowing users to share content and communicate in different ways, count as one of the main sources of new terms. Through the extended usage and coverage of these platforms, the unknown terms may experience great support through the usage within the channels (cf. Page et al. 2014: 5). Since social media platforms are valued by so many users worldwide, the newly created words also have optimal opportunities for a maximum distribution beyond the borders of the speech community they originate from.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter defines neologisms as products of language change and introduces the rising importance of social media platforms as drivers for lexical innovation.
2 Theoretical Framework: This section provides the necessary linguistic foundation, utilizing Kachru’s "Three Circle Model" to explain global English varieties and Fischer’s theory on the institutionalization of neologisms.
3 Practical Part: This chapter outlines the methodology, focusing on the GloWbE corpus and the criteria for selecting 20 specific neologisms to be analyzed.
4 Results & Discussion: This section presents the empirical findings through statistical analysis and discusses why specific terms follow or deviate from the established hypothesis.
5 Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the findings, confirming the higher frequency of neologisms in inner circle countries while acknowledging the role of word-form characteristics in exceptional cases.
Keywords
Neologisms, Social Media, Blogs, Institutionalization, World Englishes, Corpus Linguistics, Lexical Change, GloWbE, Kachru, Fischer, Word-formation, Globalization, Frequency, Language Change, Standard English
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research investigates how new words, or neologisms, become institutionalized in the English language, specifically looking at how their usage frequency differs between blog posts from inner circle and outer circle English-speaking countries.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The work combines sociolinguistics, specifically World Englishes, with lexicology, focusing on word-formation processes and the impact of digital media on language evolution.
What is the primary objective of this thesis?
The goal is to test the hypothesis that neologisms appear with higher frequency in blogs originating from inner circle countries, which are seen as norm-providing, compared to outer circle countries.
Which scientific methods are utilized?
The thesis employs a corpus-based analysis using the "Corpus of Global Web-based English" (GloWbE), complemented by statistical verification through the chi-squared test.
What does the main body of the work entail?
It includes a comprehensive review of theoretical models regarding language spread and lexical institutionalization, followed by a quantitative analysis of 20 distinct neologisms categorized by word class.
Which keywords define the scope of this study?
The study is characterized by terms such as Neologisms, World Englishes, Institutionalization, Corpus Linguistics, and Social Media.
How is the "Three Circle Model" relevant to the findings?
The model helps explain the hierarchy of language dissemination, suggesting that inner circle countries set the standards that outer circle countries later adopt.
Are there notable exceptions to the results?
Yes, while most terms followed the hypothesis, words like "staycation" and "phablet" showed higher frequencies in outer circle countries, which the author attributes to the simplicity and structural properties of these specific terms.
- Citation du texte
- Vanessa Haldner (Auteur), 2017, Neologisms in Social Media. A Corpus-Based Study of Institutionalization, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/379303
