Do you know what neologisms are? Perhaps you have heard it and even use them without knowing what they are exactly. That is why we are going to explain you in detail what it is about so that you better understand why they are important in our language.
Neologisms are expressions, words and even uses of the language that did not exist previously, but that have been incorporated to respond to the need to adapt to the reality of speakers in society.
Therefore, they are words that are incorporated into the language as the need to use new ones arises. They are the opposite of archaisms.
It is a common process in all languages, not only in Spanish. All the languages of the world are forced to this update. A word can be a neologism for a time, but once it is incorporated and normalized in the language, it is no longer something new.
It can have different origins and it can be a richness of the language or quite the opposite, a degeneration that has no turning back. It may be a barbarism or a foreigner, but they are not compound words.
How they are formed
To know how they are formed, it is necessary to know their origin and the logic that brings them to the language. As we have commented above, it is a way to adapt to the changing times of speech and to adapt to social reality.
Reality is mutating and changing and that is why new inventions and ways of thinking or expressions that require new words appear. The need to create new words is absolutely necessary and cannot be avoided.
To create neologisms, it is done in the same way that it has always been done in all languages. To understand it better It is necessary to take into account the mechanisms of creation of the pampering. To do this, you must bear in mind:
- Acronyms and acronyms. Initials or the first letters of a sentence are added to form new words. It's like an abbreviation.
- Composition or parasynthesis. Two or more words are joined together to make up a new term.
- Bypass methods. Derivative suffixes are used to create words.
- Loans from abroad. You go to another language to form a new word. For example: “hackear” (Anglicism, from the verb “to hack”: kidnap or sneak into a site).
- Onomatopoeias. Words are formed through a sound to obtain new terms.
Types of neologisms
Taking the above into account, it is important to also know the types that exist. In order to classify them, you need to understand the method used to create it. To understand it better:
- Neologisms of form. When existing words are created in the language through the aforementioned composition or derivation processes.
- Semantic neologisms. They are obtained when a word that already exists in a language has a new meaning.
- Foreignness. Words that come from other languages even if their form or pronunciation is not respected.
- Barbarisms. It is pronounced in a wrong way but it becomes popular among the speakers and it is eventually normalized.
Examples of neologisms
Next we are going to give you some examples of neologisms so that you understand even better what everything explained above is about. Do not lose detail:
- Blogs. It is used as an internet term to talk about online newspapers.
- Googling. Verb arisen from the word Google which means to search the Internet.
- Smartphone. It is used to refer to a “smartphone”.
- Fake News. It is a phrase in English that is also used in our language to refer to false news or hoaxes.
- selfie. Name used to take a self photograph.
These are just a few examples to give you an idea of what neologisms are and how they are used on a day-to-day basis. In fact, we have thought in these terms because they are words that you probably have incorporated in your daily life and that you use often.
Phrases with neologisms
But in addition to words that you can use almost without realizing it in your daily speech, there are also phrases that you can use that are also important. Because they are important? Because they are phrases with neologisms that you possibly use daily.
Let's make some sentences taking into account the previous examples:
- I was writing on my blog and I like it more and more.
- Don't believe all the fake news you see on the Internet, who knows who wrote it!
- Can we take a selfie with my new smartphone?
- I just Googled the meaning of that word, it was what I thought!
Neologisms and archaisms
At the beginning of the article we commented that neologisms are the complete opposite of archaisms. So that you do not remain in doubt, We are going to explain to you right now what are archaisms.
In this way, when you use your language, you will be able to do it properly and knowing well what are those words that you use in your day-to-day life.
Archaisms are those that constitute new forms, old, ancestral or obsolete forms that in some way continue to be used in the language in a total or partial way. In other words, they are old words that we continue to use today with total normality.
For example, today it is still widely used in geography or in more technical and specialized fields.
Now that you know what neologisms are and what differentiates them from archaisms, you can use the language more wisely. You will be able to better choose the words you are going to use, and most importantly, you will be able to understand their origin and why is that word said and not a different one.
It is always good that if you realize that you are using a neologism, that you look for its origin to understand why that word is said in that way and not in another way. You will enrich your mind and also your vocabulary.
If you ever have doubts about whether a word is right or wrong, do not hesitate to go to the RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) to be able to know if you are really pronouncing a word correctly or if on the contrary it is a word that does not exist in current social language.