Main groups of Russian internet slang: classification, features, and examples

Abstract

This article examines the formation features of Russian Internet slang and the mechanisms of creating new lexical units within it. Internet slang is regarded as one of the most active and rapidly developing layers of the modern Russian language, and the social, cultural, and technological factors influencing its development are analyzed. The study compares and generalizes the scholarly views of Russian and foreign linguists on Internet slang, youth slang, and word-formation processes. The main methods of forming Internet slang units are identified, and their linguistic characteristics are explained through relevant examples. In particular, the processes of hybridization, affixation, metaphorization, clipping, compounding, abbreviation, language play, polysemy, and lexical borrowing from foreign languages are examined. Furthermore, the role of Internet slang in youth speech, its communicative functions, its contribution to enhancing expressiveness, and its functional features in contemporary online communication are discussed. The findings demonstrate that the lexical composition of Internet slang is constantly evolving, with English borrowings playing a dominant role and gradually adapting to the phonetic, morphological, and semantic system of the Russian language. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of Internet communication processes and the developmental tendencies of slang vocabulary in contemporary Russian.