Neology in research on the lexicon in English

Abstract

The paper explores the complexities and variations in the neological developments in terminology related to the study of lexemes and the lexicon in English. Neology and terminological variation are essential for knowledge development in scientific communication, with linguistics presenting unique challenges due to its constructed ontological and epistemological reality. The research investigates neoterms in lexicon studies, examining semantic and lexical neoterms, their word-formation patterns, and conceptual complexities, aiming to understand the evolution of terminology in this subdomain. The employed methodology is qualitative-descriptive and synchronic, using wordformation analysis, definitional analysis, and domain conceptual analysis to explore the neoterms in lexicon research. The analyses reveal that most of the neoterms do not lead to the same units of understanding, reflecting different theoretical models and conceptualizations of the lexicon as a characteristic of language and its architecture. The difficulties in achieving a unified ontology of linguistics and the constant need for new terms due to the constructed nature of linguistic categories and the diversity of languages are highlighted. “Neologisms are like casting show winners. A minority of them become established singers, some are one-hit wonders and others almost instantaneously disappear into oblivion.” (Kerremans 2015: 15)