Introduction

The term “neologism” refers to a freshly created word that accommodates a language’s usage at a certain period. It provides a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may go through the process of becoming commonplace but has not been completely included into the language. They seem to be heavily impacted by societal shifts, particularly in the areas of culture and technology, as well as the recent explosive growth in internet-based communication. Nonetheless, because of their extensive usage, they appear to be rapidly and universally embraced on social media platforms worldwide (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter). These days, social networking sites have a big influence on everyone since they facilitate and expedite communication, build relationships, and support business endeavors. This paper’s hypothesis is that neologisms produced by various morphological processes are overused in internet-based communication. To support this claim, examples from the four most widely used social networks have been taken and compared. According to the analysis’s findings, a very high percentage of social networking sites use neologisms.

New terms that are distinct from those that currently exist in the English language are presented by neologisms. Various morphological processes take place when new words are created. People's inventiveness in communicating more quickly has sped up the alteration of words and rhythm in language. As a result, neologisms continue to emerge and broaden the vocabulary of English, and it is argued that a deeper and more comprehensive comprehension of them helps students use the language in a variety of contexts, acquire the knowledge they need, and enhance their communication skills (Shahlee & Mustaffa, 2019; 1-2).

It goes without saying that neologisms are particularly helpful for referring to new phenomena, innovations, or ancient concepts that have acquired a new cultural meaning. These criteria should be followed in the current study since it appears to include all the key traits that distinguish neologisms. In order to support the hypothesis that neologisms resulting from various morphological processes are overused in online communication, examples from the four most widely used social networking sites – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp – will be taken and compared in this paper.

Tables illustrating the more than 120 neologisms used in online communication from four distinct social networking sites – Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter – will also be provided as part of the research in order to more clearly observe the employment of neologisms in relation to the type of social networking site (SNS).

Additionally, the document will give the percentages of neologisms used, or the frequency of specific neologism kinds (comparisons, clip words, blend words, acronyms, and abbreviations). The data collected from four social networking sites will be presented in a helpful graph at the end, offering insightful sociolinguistic. The usage of neologisms in social media communication nowadays details, such as the kind of neologisms present in the corpus, how frequently they occur, and the context in which they are used. It is crucial to stress that the results of this study on neologisms in four distinct social networking sites (SNSs) do not necessarily reflect findings about neologism usage in online communication in general. This essay is a substantial effort in the fields of linguistics, sociolinguistics, semantics, lexicography, and English language instruction, and it must be acknowledged that additional neologism research would help us comprehend the dynamics of English vocabulary and its regular expansion.

It is clear that new terms are continuously being added to the language to explain emerging ideas, technologies, and our interpretations of them. On the other hand, when their cultural relevance declines, older terms grow increasingly archaic and gradually become less common. It is therefore not unexpected that lexicographers have discovered that science and technology are by far the most common sources of neologisms in recent years, given the impact that digital technology has had on society worldwide.

In journalistic text neologisms are commonly created in the media, advertising, and technical domains as a “response to a particular need.” For example, the need to create the (now lexicalized) neologism PC (Personal Computer) arose as soon as the product-computer became accessible to the typical consumer. Neologisms can be found in fields other than linguistics, such as psychiatry, religion, and others, and are frequently directly linked to a particular individual, work, time period, or event. It goes without saying that neologisms in many scientific fields reflect the core of the idea when they unveil something novel. They are particularly helpful in designating innovations, novel phenomena, or traditional concepts that have acquired a new cultural meaning (Usevičs, 2012; 1).     

 This definition should be followed in the current study since it appears to cover all of the key characteristics of neologisms. Some critics believed that language change in general was a process of deterioration, and they compared neologism in literature to the ongoing production and introduction of new lexical units into the language. Neologism was so denounced both linguistic and aesthetic grounds, and the phrase was exclusively employed in a negative manner. Both the neologism’s earlier meaning and the attitude it conveys are still relevant today. However, it was clear as early as the second half of the 18th century that there was no way to completely restrict the vocabulary of literary expression. As a result, derogatory neologism was given an ameliorative doublet, neology, which denoted that newly coined words were accepted and accurate. According to Usevičs (2012), the term “neologism” was once thought to be equivalent with barbarism, Gallicism (in English), anglicism (in French), and even archaism. When it comes to a term, an archaism or neologism is a historically relative issue. A word might only be regarded as an outdated notion or recognized as a neologism by examining a specific era of a language’s social existence. Although they were novel terms in their respective eras, terms like “cable television” (1966), “CD-ROM” (1988), “flashback” (1966), “environment” (1972), “hip-hop” (1985), and “piña colada” (1967) are now all well-known to the general public.

Determining the precise moment at when a new word turns into a neologism is the primary challenge. While some scholars contend that a term should not be older, others assert that a speaker must believe that a word is neologism in order for it to be named that way over 25 years old. Linguistics studies the functions of words in sentences as well as the various elements of speech. But since there isn’t a single classification scheme for neologisms, the classification debate in linguistics hasn’t been resolved yet. Furthermore, distinct facets of neologism are considered in various classifications (Usevičs, 2012; 2).

In conclusion, neologisms represent innovation in all languages and are rapidly growing within the English lexicon.  As the paper will demonstrate, they typically rely on conventional word formation processes like compounding and affixation, of which there are numerous examples; neologisms can also be formed through acronymization (RAM, or random-access memory); blending (ʻSpanglishʼ, ʻSlanguageϼ, ʻvodkatiniʼ); and conversion (ʻto network (v.), ʻto nurseʼ (v.)) (Usevičs, 2012; 3).

Due to several challenges are occurring in conversation between people by the meaning of cultural viewpoint in Uzbekistan, usage of mass-media related words is becoming common words. Even though we are communicating same language in society, basic notions, special words are reflecting and accepting by the world. That’s why it’s recommended by the article that Uzbek people can use mass-media neologisms in proper way to reduce conflicts and misunderstandings in dialogues.

They could alter a word’s grammatical function or meaning. Furthermore, the processes exist, and not all of them in every language.  Compounding is the morphological operation that, generally speaking, puts together two or more free morphemes and gives rise to a new word. The importance of compounding stems from the fact that there are probably no languages without having this process recognized, and in some languages (e.g., Chinese) it is the major source of new word formation (Lieber 2009: 44). Some examples of the compounding process are presented below:

• video-conferencing – number of people taking part in a conference or conferences by means of video equipment rather than all meeting in one place;
• break dance – to dance with acrobatic movements. The composition of this word is break (v.) and dance (v.);
• dry-clean – to clean clothes using chemicals instead of water, formed through the combination of dry (adj.) and clean (v.)

Pairs or groups of word forms that share both their phonological and (and orthographic) shape in addition to some semantic components, but which appear to belong to distinct word classes. Furthermore, it is quite effective and helps create new words in the English language because it is a simple method of transforming current words into new ones. As a result, the speaker can swiftly close a significant linguistic gap or use fewer words, and the message is flawless and simple to understand (Lieber, 2009; 49). The following words, for example, have a few new morphemic statuses, meaning that they have changed their word class while keeping their original form:

1. Verbs can be formed from nouns: ship, email, Google, and butter.
   I emailed you yesterday night, but I got your email last night.
2. Adjectives change to verbs: better, clean, empty, and open.
3. Verbs like “desire,” “guess,” “love,” and “smell” change become nouns. Your house is spotless, whereas I’ll clean mine tomorrow. You have a lovely scent however I can sense something odd in the house.

Clipping is the process of word construction where a word is shortened or decreased without affecting its meaning (Lieber, 2009; 52). LAB stands for laboratory, sitcom for situation comedy, gas for gasoline, and pub for public house. These are the most often used instances that are heard on a daily basis:

• netspeak (n.) = (internet + speak)

This term refers to the vocabulary, idioms, and grammatical and spelling quirks that are typical of online communications and publications. It can be used interchangeably with chat, conversation, or teen talk. Netspeak includes most internet-related terms, online acronyms, net trends, and internet slang (Massrura, 2013; 148).

• thumbo (n.) = (thumb + typo)

The word ʻthumboʼ refers to an error made while using the thumbs to type, particularly on a mobile device keypad. The word is mainly used by youngsters.

• flirtationship (n.) = (flirt + relationship)

The word refers to a situation in which someone regularly flirts with an acquai- ntance or friend, but it never goes any farther than that. It is more than a friend- ship, less than a relationship.

• frienemy/ frenemy (n.) = (friend + enemy)

A friend who acts like an enemy; a fair-weather or untrustworthy friend is known as ʻfrenemyʼ (alternately spelled ʻfrienemyʼ). It is a portmanteau of friend and enemy that can refer to either an enemy disguised as a friend, or someone who is both a friend and a rival. The term is used to describe personal, geopolitical, and commercial relationships both among individuals, groups, or institutions (Massrura, 2013; 148).

In 2020, Facebook was most likely the most widely used social networking site. Posts, comments, user status updates, Facebook groups, pages, and other related features are the foundation of online interaction on Facebook. Although Facebook and the Messenger app are linked, this study will not use Messenger as a source of neologisms.

CLIP WORDS (examples):

1. Make another member an admin (administrator) or moderator. Help me out! I have a Hoover Floormate vacuum/mop combo (combination).
2. The Facebook app (application) Page celebrates how our friends inspire us, support us, and help us... Learn more about Facebook advertising and how you can manage and create ads (advertisement) on Facebook.
3. Moisture perm (permanent) for medium length. Are you ready for more info (information)?
4. Show someone this vid (video) and say nothing.
5. Essential weekend vibe (vibration).
6. Scroll on our news feed and check out some merch (merchandise)!

BLEND WORDS (examples):

1. Boris Johnson crashes Brexit (Britain + exit) dinner to warn Michel Barmier deal must be done ...
2. I made an infomercial (information + commercial) on 8-bit music, ...
3. Your friend used to be a confidante and cheerleader; suddenly she turns into a frenemy (friend + enemy)
4. We’re collecting smiley face emoticons (emotion + icon).
5. Wake up sheeple (sheep + people).
6. Meet the widest Android phablet yet! (phone + tablet).
7. Please take a look at our upcoming webinar topics to see if there is a ... (web + seminar).
8. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, late snack; join us 9 - 4 every day (breakfast + lunch).
9. ...Check out my anticipated video with my mom’s hair transformation and it was a “Paranormal Hairtivity Situation” (hair + activity).

COMPOUNDS (examples):

1. I had previously registered to have less junk snail mail (snail + mail).

ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS (examples):

1. TBT → throwback Thursday
2. ... that smile. → oh my God

IMHO, boy and man should also watch this. → in my honest opinion.