IJELS p-ISSN: 
Email this article 
Social Media Neologisms in Bangladesh: Linguistic Creativity or Catastrophe
(1) Khulna University of engineering and Technology, Bangladesh
(2) Jashore University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh
(*) Corresponding Author
Abstract
This paper made a lexico-semantic analysis of several social media neologisms, checked their frequencies on the online corpus WebCorp, and checked their usage regarding derivations, conversions, or compounding on Bangladeshi online webpages and newspapers. The selected words were also checked in the recorded conversations and focus group interview scripts collected from the students of the two public universities in Bangladesh to scrutinize the different forms of the words found on WebCorp. The findings revealed that the words were mostly frequent in the written as well as in the spoken languages as nouns and all other formations of each of the base words were not that frequent. Some of the formations seemed to be forced creations. The discussion exposes that these neologisms have been inserted into the Bangla language without any significant changes as if they were Bangla words. Thus, they have become an inseparable part of the Bangla language and important examples of linguistic creativity. Their usage also symbolizes modern identity.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Alfred, B. (2019). A morpho-semantic analysis of netspeak neologisms in fashion and entertainment blogs in Nigeria. Journal of The Linguistic Association of Nigeria, 22(1), 103-115.
Britannica. (2023). Cybercrime. In Britannic.com encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/cybercrime
Britannica. (2023). Facebook. In Britannic.com encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Facebook
Cambridge Dictionary. (2023). Flashmob. In Dictionary.cambridge.org dictionary. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/flashmob
Čilić, I. Š., & Plauc, J. I. (2021). Today’s usage of neologisms in social media communication. Društvene i humanističke studije, 6(1 (14)), 115-140. https://doi.org/10.51558/2490-3647.2021.6.1.115
Collins. (2023). Unfriend. In Collinsdictionary.com dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/unfriend
Crystal, D. (2011). Internet linguistics: A student guide. Oxford: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203830901
Handabura, O. (2020). Social media neologisms in contemporary English of social networks: A case of Facebook and Twitter language. Philological Discourse, 2, 219-228.
Komol, R. (2023, June 21). আজ সেলফি তোলার দিন. The Daily Star বাংলা. Retrieved from https://bangla.thedailystar.net/news/diverse/news-489811
Macmillan. (2022). Unfriend. In Macmillandictionaryblog.com dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/stories-behind-words-unfriend
McDonald, L. (2005). The meaning of “e-”: Neologisms as markers of culture and technology. TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, 14, 82-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.10.110
Merriam-Webster. (2022). Unfriend. In Merriam-Webster. com dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unfriend
Nkhata, L., & Jimaima, H. (2020). Neologisms: A morphological analysis of social media discourses on the Zambian online media. Multidisciplinary Journal of Language and Social Sciences Education, 3(2), 66-93.
OUPblog. (2009, November 16). Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend. OUPblog. Retrieved from https://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend/?onwardjourney=584162_v1
Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. (2023). Flash mob. In Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/flash-mob?q=flash+mob
Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. (2023). Influencers. In Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/influencer?q=influencer
Rets, I. (2016). Teaching neologisms in English as a foreign language classroom. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 232, 813-820. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.10.110
Shahlee, S., & Ahmad, S. (2022). Morphological processes of social media neologisms. Development in Language Studies, 2(1), 19-29.
WebCorp. (1998-2023). Cybercrime. Research and Development Unit for English Studies, Birmingham City University. Retrieved from https://www.webcorp.org.uk/live/index.jsp
WebCorp. (1998-2023). Facebook. Research and Development Unit for English Studies, Birmingham City University. Retrieved from https://www.webcorp.org.uk/live/index.jsp
WebCorp. (1998-2023). Flashmob. Research and Development Unit for English Studies, Birmingham City University. Retrieved from https://www.webcorp.org.uk/live/index.jsp
WebCorp. (1998-2023). Freelancer. Research and Development Unit for English Studies, Birmingham City University. Retrieved from https://www.webcorp.org.uk/live/index.jsp
WebCorp. (1998-2023). Influncer. Research and Development Unit for English Studies, Birmingham City University. Retrieved from https://www.webcorp.org.uk/live/index.jsp
WebCorp. (1998-2023). Selfie. Research and Development Unit for English Studies, Birmingham City University. Retrieved from https://www.webcorp.org.uk/live/index.jsp
WebCorp. (1998-2023). TokTok. Research and Development Unit for English Studies, Birmingham City University. Retrieved from https://www.webcorp.org.uk/live/index.jsp
Zainal, Z., & Rahmat, N. H. (2020). Social media and its influence on vocabulary and language learning: A case study. European Journal of Education Studies, 7(11), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v7i11.3259
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/ijels.v10i1.7312
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
IJELS Journal Sinta 4 Certificate (S4 = Level 4)
We would like to inform you that Indonesian Journal of English Language Studies (IJELS) has been nationally accredited Sinta 4 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia based on the decree No. Surat Keputusan 152/E/KPT/2023. Validity for 5 years: Vol 7 No 2, 2021 till Vol 12 No 1, 2026
This work is licensed under CC BY-SA.
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
IJELS e-ISSN 2715-0895; IJELS p-ISSN 2442-790X
Indonesian Journal of English Language Studies (IJELS) is published twice a year, namely in March and September, by the English Language Studies (ELS) of the Graduate Program of Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.