Neologisms in English marketing discourse: semantic and word-formation features

Abstract

The paper deals with neologisms in English marketing discourse, exploring their semantic and word formation aspects. The analysis of the chosen data employs a range of methods, including synthesizing and analyzing data, sampling language material, employing a comparative approach, utilizing descriptive methods, conducting component analysis, and examining word formation patterns. Analyzed is the essence of marketing discourse from a linguistic perspective, aiming to define and analyze linguistic innovations used in marketing communication, along with examining word formation techniques employed in the changing English marketing discourse. A definition of marketing discourse through the lens of linguistics is given. By semantic criteria, the selected 67 neologisms were distributed into 7 thematic groups: Brand Management, Commerce, Online Shopping, Advertising, and Marketing Strategies and Tactics. Analyzing the frequency of neologisms within each thematic group, the paper reveals that Commerce dominates with 33%, followed by Marketing Strategy (24%), Advertising (16%), Brand Management (16%), and Online Shopping (11%). The paper analyses the word formation means utilized in coining neolexemes under consideration and proves that new lexemes in marketing discourse are rendered by compounding (52%), blending (25%), affixation (10%), multiple word formation processes (3%), regressive affixation and abbreviations constituting the smallest share (about 1.5% each). The study of neologisms in English marketing discourse provides valuable insights into the dynamic intersection of linguistic innovation and strategic communication. The conducted analyses offer a comprehensive understanding of neologisms’ formation, evolution, and functioning in modern marketing discourse.