A morpho-semantic approach to social networking neologisms in ‘modern’ Tshivenḓa usage

Abstract

New words are constantly entering the lexicon to describe new concepts and technologiesand what they mean, resulting in neologisms. Conversely, older words continually fall out of use asthey decrease in cultural significance. This study is set against the background of recent technologicaladvancements in internet-based communication and its corresponding effect on vocabulary. Socialnetworking sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp, and email have attracted millions of Africanlanguage-speaking users who connect and communicate via the internet, using both computersand mobile devices. This has largely expanded on various languages’ vocabularies. For instance,‘Apple’ and ‘Blackberry’ are no longer just fruits, they now also belong to the social media register.The lexical system of African languages as it is represented in the social networking sites has beenneglected as a field of study. Hence, the pertinence of this study which explores social networkingneologisms across African languages, with a distinct focus on Tshivenḓa as one of the 12 officiallanguages in South Africa. The study takes a morpho-semantic approach, while Newmark’s modelof neologism typology is used as a theoretical point of departure. The design and methodology ofthe study is qualitative descriptive, which employs purposive sampling. Data analysis involved wordclassification according to their formation processes and analysis to reveal their meanings, wordclass and word formation type. The findings highlight that borrowed lexical items with new senses arethe dominant type of neologism found in the interface and translation procedures of neologisms fromEnglish to Tshivenḓa. This is dominated by the application of transference and couplets. The studyhas implications for linguists, language practitioners, lexicographers and researchers.