PREVALENCE OF NORMAL AND ABNORMAL NEOLOGISMS IN STUDENTS‘ LANGUAGE

Abstract

The article aims at discussing neologisms or new words – the newest lexical layer in Lithuanian language – their types and prevalence in students‘ language. Speaking about neologisms, it is important to define what period words are considered new words. When selecting data, the criteria applied in the theory and practice of new words was used-fixing of words and their meanings in dictionaries. If the words and their meanings are not fixed in basic dictionaries, they are considered to be  new words.

The research of students‘ language showed the abundance of different words from other foreign  languages in use. However, for some foreign words Lithuanian equivalents and substitutes are found. In order to make language expressive, students often use for that purpose new words. The use of normative and abnormal neologisms in students‘ language are analysed in the article.  The aim of the article is to analyse the prevalence of normal and abnormal neologisms in students language. Research objectives: a) describe types of neologisms from the point of view of origin and form; b) survey the neologisms used by students in terms of norm. Research object–students‘ language.

Language is changing due to the change of communicative meanings of language users. The most significantly political, economical, social, cultural changes of society life are reflected in lexics: every day new words come in use naming new realia, meaning new concepts.  During recent decades big changes  are characteristic to Lithuanian lexics as well as to many other language lexics- plenty of new words appear. There are several types of new words: 1) borrowed from other languages, having inorganic root and adapted to Lithuanian phonetic, stress, inflexion and spelling system; 2) newly  designed words from Lithuanian roots, based on individual models or translating from other languages; 3) new words which are already existing words but with a new meaning. According to the usage, new words are divided into terms and stylistic types. Terminologists not always manage to create new concepts alongside with rapid development of science and technologies. It is difficult to create so many new terms, so he process of terminisation becomes the main source of terms, when general language words are transferred to the particular science area and become terms or a term from one science area is transferred to another. Such words result from morphemic word building. According to their usage, there are two types of new words: terms also called indispensable, and stylistic also called expressive or optional/facultative. The latter are used in the text for stylistic purposes- not due to the need to name a new realia, but just to make the sentence more interesting and expressive. So new words-terms  have the main function of conveying information, while for stylistic new words the main function is emotional expression. Some new borrowed words, most often terms of different science areas are included into dictionary of general Lithuanian language. Borrowed words with usage equivalents are considered to be abnormal from the point of view of language culture.

Empirical research results demonstrated that in students language borrowed words recommended in the list of equivalents by the State Commission of Lithuanian Language dominate over Lithuanian new words. The choice of a new word or not recommended foreign word shows that new words in the questionnaire are often outrivalled by not recommended foreign words. Comparing the results of the first and the second written surveys it can be stated that half of the given neologisms are much more popular than unusable foreign words. However, only 50 percent of abnormal neologisms are used more often than recommended borrowed words.