NEOLOGISMS IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH: A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF WORD FORMATION AND LEXICAL INNOVATION

This study considers neologisms as an essential part of language development and lexical innovation in the modern English. Neologisms are new words, expressions or new meanings given to existing words. Often, these new words, expressions or new meanings are due to technological, cultural and social advances. The article describes basic categories of neologisms and morphological methods of their formation, such as: blending, compounding, derivation, clipping, borrowing, semantic shift. In particular, contemporary English neologisms related to digital communication, youth culture and social media are discussed. The study employs a qualitative descriptive design and illustrates how English adapts to the needs of current communication by discussing examples of linguistic innovations such as selfie, hashtag, emoji, ghosting and unfriend. The results indicate the key significance of the morphology in the formation and dissemination of neologisms, and the influence of cultural and technological factors on their acceptance and productivity. The study emphasizes the fluidity of English vocabulary and the significance of neologisms in the research of language change.