Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Bakalářská diplomová práce
Kristýna Kubová 200 2009 Kristýna Kubová
Hřbet 9 Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Kristýna Kubová Neologisms in English Bachelor ’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: PhDr. Naděžda Kudrnáčová, CSc. 2009 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. ……………………………………………… Kristýna Kubová I would like to thank to my supervisor, PhDr. Naděžda Kudrnáčová, CSc., for her valuable comments, helpful suggestions and the time that she devoted to supervising my thesis. Table of Contents
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..1
1.1 Thesis Proposal…………………………………………………………………………1
1.2 Methodology of Work………………………………………………………………..1
2. The Theoretical Part……………………………………………………………………………5
2.1 Theoretical Background……………………………………………………………..5
2.1.1 System of Vocabulary……………………………...……….………….5
2.1.2 Vocabulary Layers……………………………….……………………….6
2.2 Neologism………………………………………………………………………………….6
2.2.1 What is it?...... 6
2.2.2 Nonce Formations………………………………………………………….8
2.2.3 History of Neologisms – Neologisms in the 20th Century……8
2.3 Word Formation…………………………………………………………………………9
2.3.1 Derivation...... 10
2.3.2 Compounding or Composition…….………………………………….11
2.3.3 Conversion………………………………………………………………….13
2.3.4 Coinage………………………………………………………………………14
2.3.5 Borrowing or Loan Words……………………………………………..14
2.3.6 Blending………………………………………………………………………15
2.3.7 Clipping or Shortening………………………………………………….16
2.3.8 Backformation……………………………………………………………..17
2.3.9 Abbreviating and Acronyming………………………………………..17
2.3.10 Eponyms Words from Names…………………………………....18 2.3.11 Imitation……………………………………………………………………18
2.3.12 Word Manufacture……………………………………………………..18
2.3.13 Multiple Processes or Mixed Formations……………………….19
2.3.14 Changes of Meaning or Semantic Changes……………………19
2.4 Various Styles of Writing and Speaking in English………………………..20
2.4.1. Slang…………………………………………………………………………20
2.5 Corpus Linguistics…………………………………………………………………….21
3. The Practical Part…………………………………………………………………………………24
4. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………125
5. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………129
6. Appendix………………………………….………………………………………………………132 1. Introduction
1.1 Thesis Proposal
I have chosen this topic because I am interested in new words in English. I think
this area of vocabulary is very interesting. It shows us how the language is
developing. I have chosen this topic also from the reason that I can enrich my
vocabulary.
My research questions are: What kind of word formation is used most in creating
neologisms? Is there any style in which the use of neologisms is prevailing? Which
neologisms are the most frequent ones?
I test two hypotheses. The first one concerns the type of word formation. A lot of neologisms seem to be created by blending and compounding. On the other hand, as
Lehrer says, "a common explanation for changes in the forms we also see in neologisms … says that frequent forms tend to become shorter" (Lehrer 2007: 1).
Therefore clippings and abbreviations should be the most frequent types of word formation. I will test which statement is true and which one is not. The second hypothesis concerns the style of English in which neologisms appear. I expect that most neologisms appear in newspapers.
1.2 Methodology of Work
In my thesis, I do primary research "which involves collecting original data, analysing it and then drawing one's own conclusion from the analysis" (Dörnyei
2007: 19) My research is quantitative, which means that it "involves data collection procedures that result primarily in numerical data which is then analysed primarily by statistical methods" (Dörnyei 22).
For the research I use the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and
Google.
I have made a list of neologisms mentioned in a book by Kerry Maxwell, From Al
Desko to Zorbing – New Words for the 21st Century . I use it as an initial set of information on which I base my research. Apart from neologisms themselves, I use the data concerning word class and meaning of neologisms, which I supplement with the data I gained from searching in the corpus and Google.
I examine the neologisms from the linguistic point of view: I determine the word class(es) of each neologism and I look all the neologisms up in the Corpus of
Contemporary American English and in Google (only in pages written in English) and note down their frequency in both. To get relevant results, I typed the query into
Google in inverted commas – as an exact phrase. I search for other forms of the words – plurals, passives, gerunds, usages of nouns as verbs and vice versa. To find them, I type the query in the corpus as a lemma (then a table with results shows whether the word occurs also in other forms or not) or try to look the particular forms up manually. I give example to each word form I found (except for compounds differing from each other only with a dash or space between the component words) – I use illustrative sentences with citations of source. Illustrative sentences were not checked by a native speaker.
I also state frequencies of those word forms in Google and in the Corpus. When a particular word form was found in the corpus, I give example of it from the corpus and note its frequency in Google. In cases when a particular form of word was not found in the corpus, but it was found in Google, I write an illustrative sentence from
Google (and I do the same in cases when results in the corpus for a particular neologism have not the intended meaning of a neologism).
I also note down frequency of each neologism in various styles of English (in the
COCA) – spoken English, fiction, magazines, newspapers and academic English – to investigate in which of these styles neologisms occur the most frequently. To get a result, I count up the numbers of occurrence of each neologism in the Corpus of
American English in those five categories and compared them. I attach a table with the data I got to this thesis. The neologisms are listed alphabetically in the form which Kerry Maxwell used as a heading in her book. However, the numbers
(frequencies of particular words in respective styles of English) are already counted up for all the forms of the neologisms I found.
Finally, I determine the type of word formation of these neologisms and make a statistics of the frequency of usage of particular types of word formation processes nowadays.
I also try to find all the neologisms in two dictionaries Macmillan English
Dictionary for Advanced Learners: International Student Edition from 2007 and
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English by Albert Sydney Hornby from 2005.
The usage of corpora and Google is more closely discussed in the last chapter of the practical part of my thesis. In the practical part of my thesis, I use a number of capital letters to describe in detail the word class of the neologisms. "U" means "uncountable", "C" means
"countable", "I" means "intransitive" verb and "T" means "transitive" verb.
2. The Theoretical Part
2.1 Theoretical Background
2.1.1 System of Vocabulary
Peprník presents his view of the system of vocabulary in his book English
Lexicology : "The vocabulary is a set of interconnected phenomena that influence each other." (Peprník, 2006: 21) The system of vocabulary has its centre and periphery. "The centre is occupied by lexical units with greatest stability and frequency and with greatest independence from the changeable extralinguistic reality. In the centre prevail notional words and words with a precisely defined meaning, i.e. nouns rather than adjectives. From expressive words, only the inherently expressive words are part of the centre, that is words in which the expressive element is an integral part of the meaning, independent from the context"
(Peprník 22).
"The periphery contains words that are limited in frequency (e.g. specialist technical terms, slang), restricted as to territory and period, that is dialectisms and regionalisms, archaisms, and neologisms (including words recently loaned from other languages and not yet asssimilated ..." (Peprník 22).
"On the extreme periphery of neologisms is the nonce formation, that is a word coined on the spur of the moment to cover some immediate need (or to show off the inventiveness of the author, often a journalist) and used only 'for the nonce'... it may never become institutionalized (lexicalized), i.e. accepted as a regular lexical item"
(Peprník 22).
2.1.2 Vocabulary Layers
We can look at vocabulary from various points of view. I focus on the time and stylistic differentiation in my thesis. Other types of differentiation are territorial and social differentiations, differentiation in origin and expressivity differentiation.
Concerning stylistic differentiations, Yule writes that the general pattern is that "a written form of a message will inevitably be more formal in style than its spoken equivalent" (Yule 2006: 244).
Peprník means by differentiation in time "whether a word is or is not in full use."
(Peprník 75) Further on, he distinguishes obsolete, out of date, dated, or archaic words. On the opposite side of a timeline are neologisms. I will describe them in the next chapter.
2.2 Neologism
2.2.1 What is it?
"A neologism is a new word or sense of a word." (Peprník 76) It can come from any of the categories of word formation. "With frequent use and the passage of time they become marked and enter everyday use (and shift from the periphery to the centre of the language system)." (Peprník 76)
Štekauer describes a neologism as "a naming unit which was coined to satisfy a linguistic demand, be it the demand of a single member of a speech community, or a single unrepeated demand." (Štekauer 2008: 101)
Only in extremely few cases it is known who coined the new word, most neologisms have an anonymous origin. They are spread especially by newspapers and magazines. Lehrer wrote that "many neologisms, including blends, occur in print
– ads, newspaper and magazine articles etc." (Lehrer 3) They help to catch readers' attention and, especially in advertisements, they intend to be memorable. "The speaker wants the hearer to remember the name of the product, process, or business establishment." (Lehrer 3)
"The motif for producing a neologism can be, besides the real need such as a new invention or discovery of something, also the puristic effort to replace foreign terms by domestic ones." (Peprník 77) "Another motif is the attempt at increasing the prestige of an occupation, e.g. ... dustman – sanitation engineer …" (Peprník 77)
"Languages are accommodating and inventive in meeting these needs." (Fromkin
2003: 511) Apart from those needs, "there is also a great increase, indeed acceleration, in clever, trendy, eye and ear catching words." (Lehrer 1) Neologisms are often "witty; they involve word play, such as puns and allusions, as well as the puzzle of novelty." (Lehrer 3) On the other hand, there is a requirement of existence
"a word will not be formed to denote an item/action/quality which does not exist."
(Bauer 1983: 85) A new word "must denote something which the speaker feels to be real... which is nameable." (Bauer 86)
Every new word undergoes a certain process. Bauer (Bauer 42, 45, 48) divides this process in three stages – nonce formation, institutionalization and lexicalization.
The word is coined (nonce formation), then it can remain only a nonce formation or it is accepted by a speech community or its part as a known lexical item
(institutionalization). The nonce formation changes to a neologism. Finally, the neologism either becomes lexicalized or slowly disappears from vocabulary. An article On the Theory of Neologisms and Nonce formations , written by
Štekauer, was published in Australian Journal of Linguistics in 2002. At first, Štekauer presented theory and then distinguished between neologisms and nonce formations.
He also commented on the 'life' of new words: "They are either integrated to the centre of the system, or survive some time at its periphery, and then disappear."
(Štekauer 109)
2.2.2 Nonce Formations
Bauer defines a nonce formation as "a new complex word coined by a speaker/writer on the spur of the moment to cover some immediate need." (Bauer
45) He pinpoints one negative aspect of nonce formations – that they, especially compounds and nominalizations of verbs, are potentially ambiguous. One example of a nonce word is flatwife (instead of housewife).
Nonce formations are known also as 'word fugitives' and usually they are usually created ad hoc, that means only for one occasion. "The neologism found in written text only once is called 'hapax legomenon' (the nonce word, autorské slovo)"
(Peprník 77).
As Štekauer states, "the notion of 'nonce formation' seems to be ambiguous ..."
(Štekauer 97) Therefore various linguists use it in different contexts.
2.2.3 History of Neologisms – Neologisms in the 20th Century
In this chapter I would like to give a few examples of neologisms appearing during the twentieth century. I have chosen the words from a list of neologisms from Peprník' English Lexicology (Peprník 77) , originally from the Oxford Companion to the
English Language . They are sorted by the date of their appearance. I am using only some of the words which were included in that list, mostly that ones which are frequently used also nowadays:
1940s: acronym, bikini, spaceship, vegan, VIP, ...
1950s: cosmonaut, do it yourself, LSD, sci fi, shopping mall, ...
1960s: disco, fast food, genetic engineering, pop art, sitcom, ...
1970s: junk food, petrodollars, ...
1980s: cash point, telemarketing, ...
2.3 Word Formation
Word formation is a particular process of creating a new word. There are various theories of word formation.
Lipka is one of those linguists who support the semantic theory of word formation, saying that it is "a powerful method in the study of the semantic structure of lexical items." (Lipka 1972: 190) The semantic theory distinguishes between "two constituents of word formative syntagmas; the 'determinant', which corresponds to the modifier or satellite in syntax, and the 'determinatum', which is equivalent to the head or nucleus of a construction." (Lipka 85) Another theory of word formation, the onomasiological theory, is supported by Štekauer.
Various types of word formation are more or less productive. Productivity is innovation of vocabulary governed by particular rules. It "is one of the defining features of human language … [and] allows a native speaker to produce an infinitely large number of sentences." (Bauer 63)
There are several types of forming words:
2.3.1 Derivation
Derivation is far the most common type of word formation in English. New words are derived by affixes from already existing words.
There are three types of affixes – prefixes, infixes and suffixes. Affixes are "small
'bits' of the English language which are not usually given separate listings in dictionaries." (Yule 69) Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word. Suffixes are added to the end of the word. Infixes, affixes incorporated inside a word, are not normally found in English. Although, according to Yule, "it is possible to see the general principle at work in certain expressions, occasionally used in fortuitous or aggravating circumstances by emotionally aroused English speakers:
Hallebloodylujah! , ..." (Yule 69) This process of putting infix in the middle of a word is also called "expletive infixation" (Štekauer 107)
As Fromkin states, "even new bound morphemes may enter the language."
(Fromkin 511) She also gives an example, the prefix e . It is barely two decades old and we can find it in many words such as e mail .
Examples of prefixes: un , mis , pre , ...
Examples of suffixes: less , ish , ness , ...
Some suffixes can imply a specific meaning. This fact can be then used in creating new words. Bauer gives some examples of that: "the suffix –ee ... is the one which is used to form patient nouns like appointee ..." (Bauer 223), "the –ese suffix ... is the one denoting a 'characteristic jargon'... [and is used] for deriving nationality adjectives from noun bases." (Bauer 250), the suffix –i is used for forming a word describing nationality, the suffix –nik "appears to mean simply 'person'." (Bauer 261), the meaning of the suffix –esque is "in the manner or style of the person in the base
[or] having the (artistic, bizarre, picturesque) style of the person in the base." (Bauer
267) "The suffix –ie produces hypocoristics." (Peprník 109) and "some English ... suffixes are inherently depreciative or negative: ard , eer ..." (Peprník 109)
2.3.2 Compounding or Composition
It is joining of two separate words to produce a single form. In other words, it is
"combination of two free forms, or words that have an otherwive independent existence" (Adams 1973: 30). The result is called a compound word. The items of a compound word "may not be separated by other words and their order is fixed."
(Adams 30) "Compounds are variously spelled with dashes, spaces, or nothing between the individual words." (Fromkin 93) – they are called open, hyphenated or solid compounds. Compound words are usually "constructed out of a relatively small number of morphemes, whose meanings are well known." (Francis 155) Francis gives us examples: tele means far, distant; meter means measure, bio means life and so on.
However, "the meaning of a compound is not always the sum of the meanings of its parts; ..." (Fromkin 94) For instance blackboard can be also white. Compounding is very common way of creating new words in English and "the kinds of combinations that occur in English are nearly limitless" (Fromkin 93) "The vast majority of compounds in English are nouns." (Bauer 202)
Bauer in his English Word Formation states that "the subclassification of compounds is done in many different ways: by the form classes of the items that make up the compound ... by semantic classes ... by presumed underlying operators linking the two elements ... by presumed underlying syntactic function ... and so on."
(Bauer 202) He also adds that "many scholars use a mixture of two or more of these methods of classification." (Bauer 202)
However, we can generally distinguish these types of compounds:
noun + noun compounds:
common noun + common noun, i.e. skinhead , jazz rock .
gerund + noun, i.e. holding pattern , parking orbit .
proper noun + noun, i.e. Wellington airport , Mao flu .
verb + noun compounds (the determined item + the determining item:
gerund + noun, i.e. holding pattern , parking orbit .
stem + noun, i.e. killjoy , pickpocket .
noun + verb compounds, i.e. nosebleed , sunshine .
verb + verb compounds, i.e. make believe , pass fail . This pattern is rare.
adjective + noun, i.e. fast food , software .
noun + adjective, i.e. leadfree .
adjective/adverb + verb, i.e. double book , fine tune .
verb + adjective, i.e. fail safe . This pattern is rare.
adjective + adjective. i.e. bittersweet , ready made . particle + noun, i.e. overkil, in depth .
particle + verb, i.e. overeducate .
verb + particle, i.e. see through (blouse), wrap around (skirt).
adverb + noun, i.e. now generation . This pattern is also rare.
verb + particle, i.e. drawback , throughput .
phrase compounds, i.e. son in law , forget me not .
quotational compounds, i.e. a boys will be boys attitude , a bring your own party .
reduplication (often combined with rhyme) or "rhyme motivated compounds"
(Bauer 212), i.e. heebie jeebies , razzle dazzle , culture vulture .
ablaut motivated compounds (similar to rhyme motivated compounds, but involving vowel change or alternation between the two elements.), i.e. flip flop .
intensifying noun modifier, i.e. brand new , stone deaf .
Adams points out that there is one more category of compounds called 'semi compounds' (Adams 9). Those are phrases consisting of verb + complement + preposition, such as give rise to ; preposition noun preposition sequences like in view of and so on. She lists also another one category of compounds neo classical compounds (Adams 128).
2.3.3 Conversion
Conversion is known also as a category change, functional shift or total conversion. It is a change in the word class of a word. Noun can start to be used as a verb (or vice versa) without any change in the word itself. Sometimes the converted forms shift in meaning. "The conversion process is particularly productive in modern English, with new uses occurring frequently." (Yule 67) Examples: paper => to paper, Google => to google
2.3.4 Coinage
Coinage is one of the least common processes of word formation in English. "A coinage is a neologism a new word or word combination that is created deliberately." (Plotnik 2008: 1) It is invention of totally new terms. Sometimes people create new words outright to fit some purpose. "Societies often require new words to describe changes in technology, sports, entertainment, and so on." (Fromkin 511)
Coinage of new words often occurs in advertising and it adds many words to
English. "The most typical sources are invented trade names for one company's product which become general terms (without initial capital letters) for any version of that product." (Yule 64)
"After all, most coinages are no more than 'nonce' terms, meant only for a single occasion and a couple of laughs. At best, they end up in funny collections." (Plotnik
1) In other words, some coinages never become anything more than nonce formations. However, those new words which survive, "...after their first coinage they tend to become everyday words in the language." (Yule 64)
2.3.5 Borrowing or Loan Words
Borrowing "occurs when one language adds a word or morpheme from another language to its own lexicon." (Fromkin 512) Borrowing is one of the most common sources of new words in English.
Borrowed words are pronounced according to the phonological rules of the borrowing language. "Throughout its history, the English language has adopted a vast number of loan words from other languages". (Yule 65) "So extensive has it been that by far the greater part of the present day English vocabulary is made up of borrowed rather than native words." (Francis 131) "Of the 20, 000 or so words in common use, about three fifths are borrowed." (Fromkin 512)
English borrowed frequently from Latin ( wine , cheese ), French ( chase , guardian ).
Also Scandinavian languages ( egg , ugly ), Celtic ( shamrock , loch ), languages of
Middle East and Far East ( lemon , algebra , alcohol ), languages of New World ( potato , woodchuck , tomato ) and European languages as Russian ( vodka ), Czech ( robot ),
Polish ( polka ), Hungarian ( goulash ) or Finnish ( sauna ) enriched English vocabulary.
These examples were taken from The English Language: An Introduction:
Background for Writing (Francis 149).
"A special type of borrowing is described as loan translation, or calque. In this process, there is a direct translation of the elements of a word into the borrowing language" (Yule, 65)
2.3.6 Blending
Blending is a very frequent process of combining of two separate forms to produce a single new term. The result is called a blend. The process of blending is similar to the process of compounding, but "blending is typically accoplished by taking only the beginning of one word and joining it to the end of the other word."
(Yule 66) As Lehrer states in his essay which was published in 2005: "in the last two or three decades blends have become even more common, and nowadays, one encounters new blends almost every day." (Lehrer 1)
Examples: smog, brunch, Spanglish, ...
2.3.7 Clipping or Shortening
"Clipping refers to the process whereby a lexeme ... is shortened, while still retaining the same meaning and still being a member of the same form class."
(Bauer 233) It is a type of reduction (a short word is made from a longer one).
Clipping "occurs when a word or more than one syllable is reduced to a shorter form." (Yule 66) That often happens in casual speech. "Frequently clipping results in a change of stylistic level." (Bauer 233)
Sometimes, as Fromkin says, "abbreviations of longer words or phrases also may become lexicalized, that is, words in their own right." (Fromkin 97) "Clipped forms are also used in compounds, as in op art ( Clippings are frequent in informal, especially spoken English. "Most of them preserve a colloquial flavor and are limited to the special vocabularies of occupational groups." (Francis 157) "English speakers also like to clip each other's names, as in Al, Ed, Liz, Mike,..." (Yule 66) Examples: fan (from fanatic ), flu (from influenza ), sci fi (from science fiction ), ... 2.3.8 Backformation Backformation is a very specialized and productive type of reduction process. The process is the opposite of derivation. "Typically, a word of one type (usually a noun) is reduced to form another word of a different type (usually a verb)." (Yule 67) "The great majority of back formations in English are verbs." (Bauer 230) "One very regular source of backformed verbs in English is based on the pattern: worker – work ." (Yule 67) 2.3.9 Abbreviating and Acronyming Some neologisms are formed from the initial letters of a set of other words. Now they can remain 'alphabetisms', which are read as a sequence of letters ( CD ) – those are abbreviations. Or they can be pronounced as a single word ( NATO , UNESCO ) and we call them acronyms. Acronyms are frequetly found in computer jargon. "Some new acronyms come into general use so quickly that many speakers do not think of their component meanings." (Yule 68) Yule uses ATM (automatic teller machine) and PIN (personal identification number) as examples. There is freedom in deciding which initial letters of a phrase are going to be included in the abbreviation or acronym. This concerns particularly prepositions – for example of can, but need not be included in the neologism. Moreover, often more than one letter from one word is used to form a neologism. Both these cases happen most often when somebody deliberately wants to form acronym. For example, "names for organizations are often designed to have their acronym represent an appropriate term ..." (Yule 68) As time passes by, "many acronyms lose their capitals to become everyday terms such as laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), radar (radio detecting and ranging)" (Yule 68) 2.3.10 Eponyms Words from Names This category is stated as a single category in Fromkin's list of types of word formation processes. "Eponyms are words derived from proper names" (Fromkin 98), for example cashmere from Kashmir . Francis also has this category in his book The English Language: An Introduction: Background for Writing (Francis 1965: 159) 2.3.11 Imitation Francis (161) lists one more special category of word formation – imitation. "A relatively small number of words in English apparently owe their origin to attempts to imitate natural sounds." (Francis 161) Frequently, the words describe noises made by animals. The result is an onomatopoeic word. Examples: moo , meow . 2.3.12 Word Manufacture Bauer mentions one more category of word formation – word manufacture, which occurs "when a word is created ex nihilo, with no morphological, phonological or orthographic motivation whatsoever." (Bauer 239) This process is rare, except for brand names ( Kodak ). As an example, Bauer chose picloram , which was created from am inotrichlor opic olinic acid , "where the groups of letters borrowed from the base have been reversed in the final word." (Bauer 239) 2.3.13 Multiple Processes or Mixed Formations Yule (70) and Bauer (239) mention this category. Words created in this way are a mixture of two or more processes which were already described. Bauer adds an example: poromeric = porosity + polymer + the suffix –ic (Bauer 240) 2.3.14 Changes of Meaning or Semantic Changes Vocabulary can grow also by "giving a new, additional meaning to the existing lexical forms." (Peprník 39) "The older meaning can be replaced completely or partly ..., or, which is the most frequent case, the old and the new meaning coexist side by side, so that the word becomes polysemic." (Peprník 39) Peprník (39) distinguishes these varieties of changes of meaning: from the aspect of logics: widening, narrowing, branching (a word becomes polysemous) and transfer (metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche). Transfer occurs when there is a degree of similarity between the two denotations. from the aspect of motivation: change in the denotation, change in the language system, change in the interpretation of the meaning and the need for more or for less expressivity. Fromkin lists only three types of semantic change: broadening, narrowing and meaning shifts. In her point of view, "the meaning or semantic representation of words may change, by becoming broaded or narrower, or by shifting." (Fromkin 515) 2.4 Various Styles of Writing and Speaking in English Everyone uses various styles or registers. Which one you choose depends on a particular situation you are in. A change of register or style is connected with a particular change in usage of words. For instance, contractions are used more frequently in an informal style. Also, when you speak to your boss you usually choose other words than those you choose when you speak with your friends. "Informal talk is not anarchy, but the rules are more liberal with regard to deletion, contraction, word choice, and so on, than the grammar rules of the formal language." (Fromkin 473) 2.4.1 Slang Slang occurs in an informal style frequently. "The use of slang, or colloquial language, introduces many new words into the language by recombining old words into new meanings." (Fromkin 473) Examples are spaced out , hang up and so on. Words like these ones are often invented to keep on with new facts, ideas and customs or to "represent 'in' attitudes better than the more conservative items of the vocabulary." (Fromkin 474) "Slang also introduces entirely new words such as barf , flub and pooped ." (Fromkin 473) "Finally, slang often consists of ascribing entirely new meanings to old words" (Fromkin 473) And as Fromkin finally says, "it is not always easy to know where to draw the line between slang words and regular words." (Fromkin 474) 2.5 Corpus Linguistics A corpus is a large collection of various texts. It is a base for linguistic analysis. Corpus or corpora can be used for empirical investigations in many areas of linguistics. Corpus based analysis has some characteristics, as it is stated in Corpus Lingustics (Biber 4). The most important is the fact that "it is empirical, analyzing the actual patterns of use in natural texts" (Biber 4) In this way we can investigate "how a lexical item ... is distributed differentially across 1. varieties defined by situation (registers), 2. varieties defined by social group (dialects), or 3. periods of time." In my thesis I pay attention to the first and to the third aspect. It was necessary to use a corpus for my research. I needed one which would be freely available and balanced. I wanted not only to determine frequencies of various neologisms in the COCA corpus. I also wanted to find out whether they occur in other forms (verbs in passive or gerund, nouns in plural and so on). Then usage of corpus was again very useful, because it allowed me to benefit from another feature of corpus linguistics, for me a very important one. It is a possibility to type the query as lemma . The term lemma means "the base form of a word, disregarding grammatical changes such as tense or plurality." (Biber 29) This function enabled me to study more forms of one word collectively and investigate their frequency as a group. Biber says in Corpus Linguistics that "to study the meaning and use of words, we need a very large corpus" (Biber 30) and that "a 1 million word corpus will not provide sufficient data for many words to allow for meaningful generalizations" (Biber 30) The truthiness of this fact appears even more important when we study words which are not frequent even in general. Which is my case – without using adequately wide and updated corpus it would not be possible to find many neologisms at all. Furthermore, "with a very large corpora containing many different texts ... a wider range of topics should be represented, so that the frequencies of are less influenced by individual texts." (Biber 30) Finally, I decided to use the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). It is updated approximately every six months, so by the time of doing my research I could make use of corpus which includes data even from the year 2008. The COCA is composed from various registers. The negative aspect of usage of this corpus is that it is focused on American English. I decided not to use the TIME Magazine Corpus, which consists only from journalistic texts and therefore is not balanced. The second reason why not is that it includes only 100 million words. I do not use the British National Corpus (BNC), because it is not updated. The newest data are as old as from 1993. However, corpus linguistics need not be based only on corpora. We can use the whole internet as a giant corpus. "The enormous amount of data on the web can be a valuable resource for research concerning lexical innovations, morphological productivity, or other topics ..." (Hundt 2007: 246) "The web has also given rise to new text types like email and weblogs which are not represented in traditional corpora. Moreover, the web is subject to continuous change, while traditional corpora are static and quickly out of date. Web language ... may have an influence on language change. These phenomena can be investigated by using the web for corpus linguistics." (Hundt 246) The disadvantages of using Google for linguistics research are these: the search engine does not differ for example between various types of compounds like mouthbreather , mouth breather and mouth breather , which is possible in corpus. "Absolute and especially relative frequencies are dramatically different since the SE does not discriminate properly between forms with and without 's ..." (Hundt 248) However, finally it is considered that the SE (search engine) is "linguistically less accurate and reported frequencies are not reliable, but nevertheless documents authentic, unedited language." (Hundt 248) Sometimes also the frequency is not relevant – this holds true especially for the neologisms which were created by a change of meaning (for example an adjective Stepford from Stepford Wives) – because in the result there are included also the previous meanings of the word. Disbalance can occur also when a recently created word becomes for example a title of a song, so it gains popularity and therefore the result is, at least in Google, influenced by this fact and the number of frequency is increased a lot in comparison to normal usage. Finally, I decided to include research of frequency of various neologisms in Google. It shows the way English is actually spoken or written nowadays – and this argument is stronger than the negative aspect of Google I described. 3. The Practical Part What follows is processing of the whole list of neologisms. Each entry looks like this sample: neologism (word class, specification) other forms of neologism (word class, specification) type of word formation meaning frequency in COCA with illustrative sentences or/and frequency in Google with illustrative sentences abibliophobia (noun, U) also: abibliophobe (noun, C), abibliophobic (adjective) derivation by prefix a from bibliophobia "fear of runing out of things to read" (Maxwell 2006: 7) frequency in Google: abibliophobia (880) "In response to the request for a name for the fear of a lack of reading matter, a friend in Paris suggests: "abibliophobia". " abibliophobe (145) "It's true, and I admit it: I am an abibliophobe." "My friend Mark calls us abibliophobic, afraid to be caught without a book ." afterparty/after party/after party (noun, C) compounding a party after the main party ended frequency in COCA: 74 afterparty (15) "I went to an afterparty for his group, and we just totally hit it off. " (Cosmopolitan, 2005 (Oct), Vol. 239, Iss. 4; pg. 212, 4 pgs) after party (35) "What about the after party, we hear these things are a pretty hot, happening deal ." (NBC_Today, 2004, Molly Sims and Carson Daly discuss the 2004 Annual Radio Music Awards held in Las Vegas) after party (24) "The after party should be enjoyable ." (Houston Chronicle, 2007, Hall ceremonies offer poignant moments) frequency in Google: 9 030 000 al desko (adverb, adjective) coinage (inspired by alfresco ) eating "whilst sitting at your desk" (Maxwell 9) frequency in Google: 3 070 "One in five Australians regularly dines al desko, eating lunch while at their desk ." alcolock (noun, C) blending , from alcohol interlock an electronic device installed in a car to test whether the driver is safe to drive frequency in Google: 4 230 "However, Volvo is a strong advocate of the introduction of the alcolock in every commercial vehicle ." ambush marketing (noun, U) compound it is a "strategy used by companies to promote their brands at events without paying any sponsorship fees" frequency in COCA: 5 "Program changes, made to appease Olympic sponsors worried about ambush marketing, caused the huge drop ." (Atlanta Journal Constitution, 1996) frequency in Google: 43 900 ASBO (noun, U) acronyming from anti social behaviour order "a civil order intended to deal with those individuals who persistently make life unpleasant for others" (Maxwell 12) frequency in COCA: 23, however, all of them were an abbreviation or acronym of some organization frequency in Google: 598 000 "ASBOs aim to protect the public from further anti social behaviour from an individual rather than punish the person." awareness bracelet/band (noun, C) compound a silicone rubber wristband showing that its owner donated some money to some organization which helps to the ill frequency in Google: awareness bracelet (101 000) "We have brought together a silicone awareness bracelet with a flash memory drive ." awareness band (8 120) "Now, you can have your own awareness band for your favorite cause ." < www.rubber bracelets.com> babyccino/babycino (noun, C) blending from capuccino and baby a hot drink for babies similar to cappuccino, but coffee free frequency in Google: babyccino (18 800) "My daughter has known the meaning of a good babyccino since she was able to hold a spoon." babycino (15 700) "I later learned that the child in question was not drinking coffee but was, in fact, sipping a babycino ." baby hunger (noun, U) compounding "strong desire to have a baby" frequency in Google: 6 310 "Baby Hunger urges women to act logically and take control of their lives. " babymoon (noun, C) blending from baby and honeymoon the last holiday for a couple before their first child arrives frequency in COCA: 4 "U. S. Virgin Islands offers singular settings to tie the knot, honeymoon or "babymoon". " (Ebony, May 2008, Honeymoon Hideaways, Vol. 63, Iss. 7; pg. 120, 3 pgs) frequency in Google: 89 700 baguette (noun, C) change of meaning "a slim wide handbag with a short strap" (Maxwell 17) frequency in COCA: 498; baguette (357), baguettes (141) "Fendi's success a few years back with the baguette bag, which was seen on everything from the HBO hit "Sex and the City" to the arms of a slew of Hollywood starlets , ..." (Denver Post, 2005, THE PURSE A WOMAN CARRIES IS MORE THAN AN ACCESSORY) frequency in Google: 3 230 000 note: also other meanings of baguette(s) are included in the numbers of frequency in corpus. Compound baguette bag was found twice. barbecue stopper (noun, C) compounding a controversial topic for conversation frequency in Google: 2 090 "The national debate over paid maternity leave was described as a ‘barbecue stopper’…" barista (noun, C) also: baristas (noun, C) borrowing from Italian a person behind a bar mixing various kinds of coffee frequency in COCA: 68 barista (51) "Customers loved to hang out with the funny and gregarious barista ." (Washington Post, 2004, The Episode Of a Lifetime) baristas (17) "National Honor Society students are the baristas, making 300 cups of Starbucks each day, to be doled out for free before and after school ." (The Journal, August 2007, Vol. 34 Issue 8, p22 26, 5p) frequency in Google: barista (2 290 000), baristas (459 000) big up (phrasal verb, T) compounding to exaggerate frequency in COCA: 20, but no result had this meaning frequency in Google: 1 870 000 "It's not the first time that IBM has 'bigged up' the idea of self healing computing, indeed its whole Autonomic Computing initiative speaks to that goal." bird flu (noun, U) compounding "highly contagious infection caused by avian flu viruses" "The arrival of the deadly H5N1 bird flu is going to change things ." (Futurist, Sept/Oct 2006, Vol. 40, Iss. 5; pg. 52, 7 pgs) frequency in Google: 5 240 000 BlackBerry thumb/Blackberry thumb (noun, U) compounding a strain injury caused by the frequent use of your thumb to press buttons on your mobile or other devices frequency in COCA: 5 " Let's talk about BlackBerry thumb and how we kind of get around that ." (CBS_SatEarly; 2007; HealthWatch) frequency in Google: 24 000 blamestorming (noun, U) compounding sitting around in a group and discussing who is responsible for some failure frequency in Google: 29 200 "New “blamestorming” has started in Georgia, which appears natural given that the country still has more or less active opposition ." bling (adjective) also: bling bling (noun, U), blingy (adjective), bling up (verb) coinage sparkling, flashy, often expensive jewelry frequency in COCA: 213 bling (170) "Dixon takes on materialism and the bling culture to which, he says, many younger black Americans fall victim ." (Houston Chronicle, 2007) bling bling (39) "Give your legs, arms, and back a little bling bling." (Cosmopolitan, Jun 2007, Vol. 242, Iss. 6; pg. 234) bling up (2) "Limit yourself to two colors, plus black, and bling up your wardrobe with costume jewels; they take up little room ." (Bazaar, Oct 2004, Iss. 3515; pg. 137, 3 pg ) blingy (2) "Her latest effort is Smythson's Nancy Bag collection, luscious quilted styles with a retro leather slide clasp that are light on blingy hardware and heavy on effortless chic." (Harpers Bazaar, Sep 2007, Iss. 3550; pg. 397) frequency in Google: bling (18 800 000), bling bling (3 880 000), bling up (94 900), blingy (180 000) blog (noun, C; verb) also: blogs (verb, noun), blogging (verb, noun), blogged (verb), blogger (noun, C) clipping from weblog a type of website where you write your regular posts frequency in COCA: 3222 blog (1659) "Ross, who pasted the posts into her blog, refused. " (ABA Journal, Jan 2008, Vol. 94 Issue 1, p34 39, 6p) " I was a newspaper journalist in the Islamic Republic, but censorship forced me to blog." (Middle East Quarterly, Fall2008, Vol. 15 Issue 4, p49 52) blogs (930) "By night, she blogs for an hour or two on Tina Popo (tinapopo.typepad.com) ." (San Francisco Chronicle, 2006) blogged (39) "Others have ventured out on the Passaic and blogged about it ." (New York Times, 2008, Section NJ; Column 0; New Jersey Weekly Desk; Pg. 1) blogger (310) "She's even the voice of the mischievous faceless blogger on the CW's Gossip Girl ." (Cosmopolitan, May 2008, Vol. 244, Iss. 5; pg. 46) blogging (284) "Everything changed, though, when blogging software became available ." (Redbook, Aug 2008, Vol. 211, Iss. 2; pg. 74) frequency in Google: blog (2 690 000 000), blogs (707 000 000), blogged (20 300 000), blogger (168 000 000), blogging (77 000 000) blook (noun, C) blending from blog and book a printed blog frequency in COCA: 1, but it is typing error ( blook pressure ) frequency in Google: 150 000 "This blook is about South Africa a constructive look at our present, our future and the opportunities that we have." bluejacking (noun, U) coinage using your mobile phone with Bluetooth "to discretely send anonymous text messages to the people around you" (Maxwell 27) frequency in COCA: 1 "What are the differences between bluejacking and bluesnarfing? " (CNN LiveToday, 2005) frequency in Google: 62 500 body lift (noun, C) compounding a procedure giving the buttocks, abdomen and thighs an improved appearance frequency in COCA: 10 "After bankruptcy and buyouts a few years ago, Abercrombie decided on a major face and body lift ." (CBS_Sixty, 2003) frequency in Google: 733 000 BOGOF/bogof (noun, C/U; adjective) acronym from buy one get one free sales promotion, a strategy of shops how to sell more goods frequency in Google: 410 000 " No, I agree with the person who wrote the comment about BOGOF on vegetables being useless for one person households ." bookcrosser (noun, C) also: bookcrossing (noun, verb) mixed: compound from book and cross , derivation by suffix er someone who leaves his own book somewhere for someone else frequency in COCA: bookcrossing (2) "She chose the BookcrossingMeetup, at which people are encouraged to' release their favorite books into the wild. " (Denver Post, 2004) frequency in Google: bookcrossing (2 680 000) bookcrosser (71 000) "I was a completely crap bookcrosser last year ." bouncebackability (noun, U) compounding an ability to bounce back frequency in Google: bouncebackability (29 200) "What we need is to develop our bouncebackability !" < www.blisstree.com> bouncebackibility (16) "It just shows that our boys really know the meaning of bouncebackibility ." change of meaning "a string of words which represent the path of pages a person has visited" (Maxwell 32) on the Web frequency in COCA: 312 "A log of location based electronic breadcrumbs recorded by your GPS ." (Backpacker, Jun 2008, Vol. 36, Iss. 5; pg. 66, 2 pgs) freqeuncy in Google: 3 820 000 note: also another meanings of breadcrumbs are included in results numbers bromance (noun, C) blending from brother and romance "a good friendship" (Maxwell 33) frequency in COCA: 3 "In Pineapple Express, like some of your past films, your character has a "bromance" with another male (James Franco) ." (People, Aug 18, 2008, Vol. 70, Iss. 7; pg. 21) frequency in Google: 903 000 budgie smugglers (noun, plural) compound "tight fitting swimming briefs" (Maxwell 34) frequency in Google: 23 000 "I probably need swimming lessons, but at least I am comfortable in budgie smugglers ." blending from bus and substitution substitution of a bus for a train frequency in COCA: 1 "...some people believed that bus substitution (which they called "bustitution") could never be defensible ." (American Heritage, May/Jun 1998, Vol. 49 Issue 3, p95) frequency in Google: 5 370 cage diving (noun, U) compounding diving in a cage, usually among sharks frequency in COCA: 5 "For those blase about bungee jumping, cage diving is the new adrenalin rush ." (ABC WorldNews, 1996) frequency in Google: 151 000 chad (noun, C/U) also: chads, chadless coinage perforated material on a paper or a card permitting mechanical reading of the pattern of perforation; used in elections frequency in COCA: 3082 chad (2845, however these results had another meaning) chads (237) "Voter purges, hanging chads and butterfly ballots in Florida cast doubt on the 2000 presidential race." (Ms; Arlington, Winter 2008, Vol. 18, Iss. 1; pg. 48, 4 pgs) chadless (1) "This election year, a lot of people will go chadless ." (CNN_Next, 2004) frequency in Google: chads (485 000), chadless (11 900) chad (90 000 000) "Only one of the machines has 2N or 3N of chad beneath a voting position ." note: the result numbers for chad are not relevant for this meaning, because it also has other meanings chav (noun, C) change of meaning (earlier it was a pejorative word) a person wearing thick gold chains, short skirts, designer sportswear and baseball cap frequency in Google: 2 720 000 "You are not a chav if you do not drink buckfast tonic wine ." Chelsea tractor (noun, C) mixed: eponym and compound "a large, four wheel drive vehicle … driven in towns and cities for ordinary domestic purposes" frequency in Google: 12 000 "I need a Chelsea tractor to take my kids to school ." chocotherapy (noun, U) blending from chocolate and therapy a spa treatment using chocolate frequency in Google: 2 660 "A ChocoTherapy massage begins with a fine coffee bean exfoliation to smooth your skin and to stimulate blood flow to the skin’s surface ." chugger (noun, C) also: chuggers blending from charity and mugger people who "want you to sign up for regular donations to charity" (Maxwell 41) frequency in COCA: 14; chugger (9), chuggers (5); however, all results for chugger(s) in the COCA corpus had other meaning frequency in Google: chugger (72 400) "This is the technique of the cheery chugger, whose job is to get you to sign a direct debit and donate regularly to a charity ." chuggers (45 800) "High street fundraisers, known as chuggers, may be breaking the law and should be boycotted, a charity watchdog has said ." citizen journalist (noun, C) also: citizen journalists, citizen journalism compounding a person using "digital technology and web based media to share what they witness with the worldwide audience" (Maxwell 42) frequency in COCA: 25 citizen journalist (12) "If you're a citizen journalist by the way in the middle of it all, you could send us your pictures or your videos right here to THE SITUATION ROOM at cnn.com, we'll be anxious to get your eyewitness accounts ." (CNN_Situation, 2006) citizen journalists (8) "Citizen journalists and bloggers pursue their own stories and disseminate them for free on the Internet, bypassing the mainstream media altogether ." (San Francisco Chronicle, 2006) citizen journalism (5) "… helping to attract a new generation to radio and paralleling such trends as citizen journalism, reality shows and memoirs ." (San Francisco Chronicle, 2007) frequency in Google: citizen journalist (566 000), citizen journalists (431 000), citizen journalism (3 160 000) contrasexual (noun, C; adjective) derivation from heterosexual a confident woman who "wants to have fun, and stay single" (Maxwell 43) frequency in COCA: 8; however all the results in COCA had other meaning frequency in Google: 4 800 "New breed of 'contrasexual' women snub family life for the good life ." crackberry/CrackBerry (noun, C) also: crackberries (noun, C) coinage another name for BlackBerry, referring to the danger or developing addiction frequency in COCA: 8 crackberry (7) "It also converts into a stylus for you CrackBerry addicts ." (Chicago Sun Times, 2007) crackberries (1) "BlackBerry users are known for becoming addicted to their devices, to the point that the little hand helds have earned the nickname "crackberries" ." (Houston Chronicle, 2007) frequency in Google: crackberry (842 000), crackberries (21 600) cuddle party (noun, C) also: cuddle parties (noun, C) compounding a gathering of people who need the feeling of non sexual intimacy frequency in COCA: 3 cuddle party (1) "Later that night, Victoria and LaVasseur have signed up to be facilitators at a cuddle party a nonsexual outlet for people of all ages to spoon, tickle, pat and snuggle each other ." (Washington Post, 2008, STYLE; Pg. C01) cuddle parties (2) "The latest rage in New York City is "cuddle parties" at which men and women just cuddle ." (Mens Health, Oct 2005, Vol. 20 Issue 8, p108 112) frequency in Google: cuddle party (36 800), cuddle parties (10 900) Cyber Monday (noun, C/U) compounding the Monday after Thanksgiving, when people excessively buy online frequency in COCA: 2 "Consumers will find amazing discounts on electronics in the stores and online this cyber Monday ." (ABC_GMA 2007) frequency in Google: 798 000 cyberchondriac (noun, C) blending from cyber and hypochondriac "a hypochondriac who imagines that he or she has a particular disease based on medical information gleaned from the Internet" frequency in Google: 10 800 "I am not a cyberchondriac but I diagnose my friends ailments all the time using the internet ." cyberslacking/cyberloafing (noun, U) compounding from cyber and slacking /loafing a person avoiding work while surfing the Web frequency in Google: cyberslacking (27 100) "Some estimate cyberslacking costs employers $1 billion a year in computer resources ." cyberloafing (5 820) "All three stressors were significant predictors of cyberloafing ." Delia effect/Delia power (noun, U) mixed: eponym + compounding occurs after a celebrity shows us something on the TV and everybody rushes out to buy it frequency in Google: Delia effect (788) "Both suppliers and retailers believe the Delia effect is here to stay ." Delia power (987) "Delia power has also worked for lemon zesters and liquid glucose ." dental spa (noun, C) compounding spa offering dental services frequency in Google: 190 000 "The Dental Spa is your source for general dentistry in North Oakland county ." denture venturer (noun, C) compounding "someone aged fifty or over who temporarily gives up their job in order to travel around the world" frequency in Google: 139 "If you've had a long working life and those last few years before retirement seem a depressing prospect, then why not join the ranks of the denture venturers? " deshopper (noun, C) derivation from shopper by prefix de a person who "will purchase things with the deliberate intention of using and returning them ... for a full refund" (Maxwell 52) frequency in Google: 396 "The staff feeling of being undermined in this situation is highlighted and this affects their reluctance to confront a deshopper in the future ." digerati/digirati (noun, plural) blending from digital and literati "technical experts who form the cyber elite" (Maxwell 53) frequency in COCA: 24 digerati (22) "So in a heretical gesture against the digerati, they torched a laptop ." (America, Jun 2001, Vol. 184, Iss. 20; pg. 12) digirati (2) "All the closings and depressing stock numbers have muted the Valley's famous hype machine and unleashed something truly novel among the digirati: humility ." (Newsweek, 2000, Dec 25, Vol. 136/137 Issue 26/1, p66) frequency in Google: digerati (709 000), digirati (16 900) dirty bomb (noun, C) also: dirty bombs (noun, C) compounding "a device which uses conventional dynamite to disperse unconventional radioactive materials into the atmosphere" (Maxwell, 54) frequency in COCA: 214 dirty bomb (167) "But there is no mention of a dirty bomb plot anywhere in the case ." (Christian Science Monitor, 2007) dirty bombs (47) "But the Miami charges include no mention of dirty bombs or apartment building plots." (Christian Science Monitor, 2005) frequency in Google: dirty bomb (542 000), dirty bombs (150 000) dog whistle politics (noun, U) compounding "expressing political ideas in such a way that only a specific group of voters properly understand what is being said" frequency in Google: 111 "As to immigration, he also denies he has been playing “dog whistle” politics ." dooce (verb, T, usually passive) coinage to sack an employee because he blogged about your company frequency in COCA: dooced (2) "What we remember her for: dishing on her life and getting fired for blogging about her job, a situation now referred to as "getting dooced" ." (Psychology Today, Jan/Feb 2006, Vol. 39, Iss. 1; pg. 58) frequency in Google: dooced (22 300) dotbam/dot bam/dot bam (noun, C) mixed: derivation from dot by a suffix –bam ( abbreviation from bricks and mortar ) "a high street retailer who offers online shopping" (Maxwell 57) frequency in Google: dotbam (439) "Perhaps its best move would be to team up with a real world retailer or a dotbam and become its online partner ." dot bam (634) "Britain's biggest online bike shop, which also exists as a dot BAM in Bridgewater, Somerset ." dot bam (633) "Bam and dot bam retailers are those that have an online presence and offline physical stores ." dumb up (phrasal verb, T) compounding to make something look more impressive frequency in Google: 6 770 "How we learnt to dumb up and chill out ." DWY (abbreviation) abbreviation from driving while yakking driving while using your mobile phone frequency in Google: 271 000 "Officers have their hands full already, and unless the legislature makes the fine higher than the $ 25 proposed in these bills, cops might reasonably conclude that the lawmakers don't think DWY is that big a deal ." note: also another meanings of DWY can be included in the number of occurence Dyson (verb, I/T; noun, C) also: Dysons eponym to vacuum clean frequency in COCA: 674; Dyson (673), Dysons (1). However, the results did not have the intended meaning (they were usually names) frequency in Google: Dyson (8 040 000)´ "The house is dysoned regularly( including furniture) but I cant get rid of them ." Dysons (59 900) "Where to get the cheapest Dysons delivered to Ireland ." earworm (noun, C) also: earworms (noun, C) compounding "a catchy tune " (Maxwell 61) frequency in COCA: 46; earworm (39), earworms (7); however, all the results had other meaning frequency in Google: earworm (464 000) "This site is devoted to the earworm phenomenon – getting a catchy, annoying little song, tune, or jingle stuck in one's head ." earworms (87 100) "Earworms can attack almost anyone at almost any time ." note: the frequencies of the words can be influenced by another meanings of those words edutain (verb, T) also: edutaining (noun, verb), edutainment (noun) blending from education and entertainment education which should also entertain frequency in COCA: 44 edutaining (1) "The "Edutaining" Muse The decades old battle over museum education vs. entertainment "edutainment" will ultimately become a matter of simple pragmatism, decided in the same marketplace that determines which soups, car models, and television shows prosper ." (Futurist, Nov/Dec 2001, Vol. 35, Iss. 6; pg. 46) edutainment (43) "By hooking kids with games, graphics and interactivity, edutainment activities make learning fun ." (Consumers Research Magazine, Nov 2003, Vol. 86 Issue 11, p19 22) frequency in Google: edutaining (14 200), edutainment (1 500 000) edutain (12 900) "Brian is the founder and director of Zvishamiso Arts, a dance, music and theatre outfit with a mandate to 'edutain' its audiences ." ego surfing/egosurfing (noun, U) compounding "looking for occurences of your name on the World Wide Web" (Maxwell 63) frequency in Google: ego surfing (22 800) "It's called Ego Surfing, or Googling yourself, it's the act of typing your name in Google Search and seeing what appears on the webpage ." egosurfing (14 100) "Egosurfing has only been possible since the advent of internet search engines, but it has much older roots. " elderweds (noun, plural) mixed: blending of elders and wedding + clipping of wedding marriages or re marriages of old people frequency in Google: 209 "Where earlier the word was newlyweds, today it is elderweds, to refer to all those people who get married later in life ." embed (noun, C; verb) also: embedded (verb), embeds (noun, C), embedding (verb) conversion professional journalist "put in military units to provide news coverage throughout a war" (Maxwell 65) frequency in COCA: 3557 embed (235) "We even explored whether we could embed our reporters with Iraqi troops there ." (Harpers Magazine, Sep 2006, Vol. 313, Iss. 1876; pg. 51) embeds (70) "For the U.S. military's perspective on the war, we join embeds, becoming part of a unit for a day, a week, or more ." (MSNBC_Olbermann, 2003) embedding (98) "Chronicle reporter John Koopman and photographer Brant Ward are "embedding" with the San Francisco Police Department ." (San Francisco Chronicle, 2007) embedded (3154); however, the results did not have the intended meaning frequency in Google: embed (253 000 000), embeds (1 670 000), embedding (12 000 000), embedded (66 200 000) "The withdrawal would be partially offset by an influx of advisers , trainers and embedded troops is not pulling out at all ." eVest/e Vest/Scott eVest (noun, C) derivation from vest "a waterproof jacket designed specifically to store ... gadgets you can not manage without" (Maxwell 66) frequency in COCA: 2 evest (1) "eVest Jacket with zip off sleeves has pockets to hold and protect PDA, cell phone, MP3 player, etc ." (Washington Post, 2003) SCOTTeVEST (1) "The solar panels on the SCOTTeVEST connect up to your cell phone, music player or whatever, and recharges it as you walk along, weather permitting ." (CBS_Morning, 2005) frequency in Google: evest (19 000), SCOTTeVEST (110 000) extended financial family (noun, C) compounding "a group of three generations of the same family" (Maxwell 67) frequency in Google: "The concept of the `extended financial family' has been developed by Skipton Building Society ." extreme ironing (noun, C) compounding frequency in COCA: 12 "At the far end of the silly spectrum, an "extremeironing" website hails the sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity you iron, say, on a mountain pinnacle with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt." (Christian Science Monitor, 2003) frequency in Google: 108 000 fanfic/fan fiction (noun, U) compounding "fans write their ows stories using the characters and settings from a series of books, films or TV programmes that they are mad about" (Maxwell, 69) frequency in COCA: 14 fanfic (4) "There is a large online community who spend hours scanning channels; sending out alarms and false alarms; fans swap theories, tapes, files; write fanfic ." (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Sep 2006, Vol. 109, Iss. 3; pg. 46) fan fiction (10) "There are hundreds of sites devoted to fan fiction ." (NPR_ATCW, 2002) frequency in Google: fanfic (3 820 000), fan fiction (5 790 000) fat finger syndrome (noun, U) compounding "entering the wrong details into a computer" (Maxwell 70) frequency in Google: 3 000 "Great phone if you have fat finger syndrome !" fat tax (noun, U/C) compounding a tax on sweet and delicious food frequency in COCA: 22 "I was astonished that someone would consider imposing a fat tax. " (Esquire, Jun 2006, Vol. 145, Iss. 6; pg. 18) frequency in Google: 140 000 flash mob (noun, C) also: flash mobs compounding "a large group of people who, just for the fun of it, suddenly get together in a public place, do something for a short time, and go away" (Maxwell, 72) frequency in COCA: 12 flash mob (4) "On Monday, two Ottawa teenagers were arrested and charged with "mischief and disturbing the peace" at a shopping mall after they used their Facebook pages to advertise their flash mob. " (San Francisco Chronicle, 2007) flash mobs (8) "Harper's Magazine Senior Editor Bill Wasik, who claims to be the architect of flash mobs, started a quasi covert e mail group, telling people where and when to show up and even how to behave ." (San Francisco Chronicle, 2007) frequency in Google: flash mob (660 000), flash mobs (69 300) flexitarian (noun, C) blending from flexible and vegetarian "a person who consumes mainly vegetarian food but occasionally eats meat or fish" frequency in COCA: 1 "Become a flexitarian Swap out one meat dish a week for a veggie plate ." (Good Housekeeping, Jul 2006, Vol. 243, Iss. 1; pg. 80) frequenc in Google: 57 300 flirtberrying (noun, C) mixed: blend from flirting and BlackBerry + derivation by ing "sending of flirtatious messages via a BlackBerry" frequency in Google: 96 "No, we now also have crackberries, … and even flirtberrying, the art of sending flirtatious messages via a BlackBerry !" flyboarding/fly boarding (noun, U) compounding when "estate agents put 'For Sale' or 'Sold' signs outside properties which are not for sale as a cheeky way of drumming up publicity" (Maxwell 75) frequency in Google: flyboarding (884) "Investigation into illegal flyboarding prompts board clearance ." fly boarding (3 810 000) "In a ground breaking case for Hackney, a local estate agent has been prosecuted for fly boarding ." folksonomy (noun, C/U) blending from folk(s) and taxonomy "an online classification scheme generated by us 'folk'" (Maxwell 76) frequency in Google: 1 150 000 "An important aspect of a folksonomy is that is comprised of terms in a flat namespace: that is, there is no hierarchy, and no directly specified parent child or sibling relationships between these terms ." free running (noun, U) compounding "an extreme sport in which runners use gymnastic skills to move at speed across buildings and other fixed obstacles in an urban environment" frequency in COCA: 6 "But the promise of a free trip to Los Angeles, free running shoes, gear and physical education credit piqued some interest ." (San Francisco Chronicle, 2006) frequency in Google: 1 460 000 freegan (noun, C) blending from free and vegan "a person who consumes food that has been thrown away, especially someone who wants to protect the environment by reducing waste" frequency in Google: 82 300 "She was a freegan, meaning she didn't pay for anything unless absolutely necessary ." furkid/fur kid/fur kid (noun, C) also: furkids compounding "a pet which is a substitute child" frequency in COCA: furkids (1) "Furkids, a no kill cat shelter in Gwinnett County, is holding a fund raiser Saturday at Regency Fine Arts in Norcross. " (Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2007) frequency in Google: furkids (178 000) furkid (27 600) "My furkid is a living terror !" "That is why I came up with the Fur Kid Creations concept ." fur kid (14 100) "Thank you for your fur kid prayers !" galactico (noun, C) also: galacticos (noun, C) borrowing from Spanish a player "strategically purchased to improve the performance of a team" frequency in COCA: 6 galactico (1) "Speculation now centers on which galactico comes next, and while there have been reports linking Manchester United's David Beckham to Real, the club has denied interest ." (New York Times, 2003) galacticos (5) "Perez's successor, Fernando Martin Alvarez, and new manager Juan Ramon Lopez Caro may be departing from the Galacticos' strategy." (Washington Post, 2006) frequency in Google: galactico (103 000), galacticos (97 300) garbology (noun, U) also: garbologist derivation from garbage by a suffix ology "people who study other people's trash" (Maxwell 81) frequency in COCA: garbologist (4) "But, at the same time, you have been called a garbologist ." (MSNBC_Scarborough, 2004) frequency in Google: garbologist (7 860) garbology (17 400) "This event uses the study of trash (”garbology”) to measure how well students are doing when it comes to recycling ." geolocation (noun, U) also: geolocated (adjective) blending from geographical and location "the technological process of determining the real geographical location of an Internet user" frequency in COCA: 2 geolocation (1) "It's one of the five geolocation games, as they're called, on these Garman devices ." (CNN_Next, 2004) geolocated (1) "To add a maplet, click one of the content items listed below your personal maps, such as GasBuddy. corn's database of local gas prices, or Panoramio's collection of geolocated photos ." (PC World, Oct 2007, Vol. 25, Iss. 10; pg. 132) frequency in Google: geolocation (1 180 000), geolocated (85 600) globesity (noun, U) blending from global and obesity a widespread problem of people becoming overweight frequency in COCA: 2 "The World Health Organization (WHO) is credited with coining the term globesity in answer to its own statistics, which show the number of obese adults worldwide jumped from 200 million to 300 million between 1995 and 2000 ." (Futurist, May/Jun 2004, Vol. 38, Iss. 3; pg. 51) frequency in Google: 48 800 Google/google (verb, I/T; noun) also: googled coinage searching the Web via Google frequency in COCA: 2499 Google (2444) "The idea is that people won't even bother going to Google ." (Forbes, 2006, Nov 27, Vol. 178 Issue 11, p44 46) googled (55) "But not long ago, the 16 year old discovered it on her own when she Googled her name ." (Newsweek, 2008, Jun 30, Vol. 151, Iss. 26) frequency in Google: Google (1 550 000 000), googled (2 960 000) Googlewhacking (noun, U) coinage "the practice of trying to find combinations of two or more words that will produce exactly one single result when submitted as a query to the Google™ search engine" frequency in Google: 10 800 "Googlewhacking is more difficult than it looks ." googolplex (number, verb I/T) coinage "an inconceivably large, but not infinite number" (Maxwell 86) frequency in COCA: 6 "Such a box would be roughly a googolplex light years across ." (Natural History, Jul/Aug2006, Vol. 115 Issue 6, p42 47) frequency in Google: 76 100 grafedia (noun, U) blending from graffiti and multimedia "underlined bits of text written, chalked and spray painted in public places" (Maxwell 87) frequency in Google: 3 870 "Grafedia presents an opportunity for brands to present themselves both on the street and the web ." greenwash (verb, T) also: greenwashed (adjective), greenwashing (noun, verb) compounding "to try to convince people that you are doing something which is good for the environment by being involved in small, environmentally friendly initiatives, especially as a way of hiding your involvement in activities which are damaging to the environment" frequency in COCA: 33 greenwash (5) "In none of these cases is this charity or an attempt to "greenwash" the company through some do gooder window dressing ." (Futurist, Jul/Aug, 2004, Vol. 38, Iss. 4; pg. 28) greenwashed (2) "Another point could be "avoid being greenwashed", since the industry will try mightily to prove it can police itself ." (E: the Environmental Magazine, Sep/Oct 2007, Vol. 18, Iss. 5; pg. 54) greenwashing (26) "It may be greenwashing, but at least these firms care about their image ." (Mother Jones, May/Jun 2008, Vol. 33, Iss. 3; pg. 38) frequency in Google: greenwash (278 000), greenwashed (35 400), greenwashing (425 000) grief tourist (noun, C) compounding "a person who travels specifically to visit the scene of a tragedy or disaster" "Is he a grief tourist ?" gripesite (noun, C) also: gripe sites (noun, C) blending from gripe and website "a website aimed at making consumers more aware of deficient goods and services" frequency in COCA: gripe sites (2) "… and while the company says it is committed to maintaining service to some 200,000 customers, a growing number of unhappy subscribers are posting complaints on gripe sites ." (PC World, Sep 2007, Vol. 25, Iss. 9; pg. 125) frequency in Google: gripe sites (15 800) gripesite (880) "Welcome to the gripesite tag page at Technorati ." guerrilla gardener (noun, C) compounding a person enhancing the urban landscape during the night frequency in Google: 9 380 "What I'm looking for are a few still images of the almost stereotype of the guerrilla gardener young, urban and possibly at night ." half birthday/half birthday (noun, C) compounding "the day that falls exactly six calendar months either before or after your real date of birth" (Maxwell 92) frequency in COCA: 3 "'Today is my half birthday,' she said, pulling a key out of her shirt ." (Read, Aug 2006, Vol. 56, Iss. 1; pg. 18) frequency in Google: half birthday (78 900) half birthday (81 000) "So happy half birthday !" hand me up (noun, C; adjective) compounding "something that a younger person gives to an older person because they no longer use it or they have something better to replace it" frequency in Google: 19 900 "… he maintains contact with the 'outside' world via an old, 'hand me up' Nokia mobile phone left behind by his son, and the occasional news buzz on the Iraqi crisis crackling through his radio ." healthspan (noun, C) compounding "the period of our lives when we are free from serious illness" (Maxwell 94) frequency in COCA: 1 "Through the independent California Healthspan Institute in Encinitas, he treats about 120 patients with growth hormone, one third of them physicians ." (San Francisco Chronicle, 2003) frequency in Google: 48 500 Hinglish (noun, U; adjective) blending from Hindi and English a mix of English and Hindi frequency in COCA: 9 "It's a newfangled Hinglish movie that interweaves English and Hindi, with moderate use of subtitles ." (Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2002) frequency in Google: 143 000 homeshoring (noun, U) coinage "a cost effective way of providing an improved level of service from local rather than overseas employees" (Maxwell 96) frequency in COCA: 1 "This countertrend, called homeshoring or inshoring, is increasing the demand for home agents ." (Christian Science Monitor, 2007) frequency in Google: 28 800 houseblinging (noun, U) mixed: blending from bling bling and house + derivation by suffix ing "decorating the exterior of a house with a large amount of Christmas lights" frequency in Google: 409 "Whatever, houseblinging is a phenomenon that cannot be ignored, and is celebrated on this website ." hyperdating (noun, U) derivation from dating by prefix hyper "dating lots of different people over a short period of time" (Maxwell 98) frequency in Google: 385 "Among many other examples, I've seen hyperdating (dating many different people in a short period of time, usually by meeting them online) ." hypnosurgery (noun, U) blending from hypnosis and surgery a surgery "where hypnosis is used as an alternative to conventional anaesthesia" (Maxwell 99) frequency in Google: 1 710 "Hypnosurgery live is a serious scientific investigation into the possibilities of using hypnosis to reduce anaesthetic in surgery ." < www.zigzag.uk.com> ice baby (noun, C) compounding "a baby born from a frozen human egg" (Maxwell 100) frequency in COCA: 8; however, all the results were the name the song by Vanilla Ice "Ice Ice Baby" frequency in Google: 1 000 000 "Nine months later, she hopes, she will give birth to her "ice baby"." note: also another meanings of ice baby can be included in the number of occurence ICE number (noun, C) mixed (acronym from in case of emergency +compound) an emergency number in your mobile phone frequency in Google: 13 900 "Storing an ICE number makes it easier for everyone if you're involved in an accident ." < www.cnhw.co.uk > infomania (noun, U) also: infomaniac , infomaniacs blending from information and mania "the constant urge to read and reply to electronic messages" (Maxwell 102) frequency in COCA: 4; infomania (2), infomaniac (1), infomaniacs (1); however, the results did not have the intended meaning frequency in Google: infomania (238 000) "A recent British study found that "infomania" … produces a 10 point drop in IQ ." infomaniac (53 000) "Are you an infomaniac ?" infomaniacs (16 000) "But couldn't some introverted people become “infomaniacs” too? " Ingerland (noun, U) imitation "literal spelling of the pronunciation of [England]" frequency in Google: 14 100 "In his new book Ingerland: Travels with a Football Nation Mark Perryman takes the pulse of England's travelling fans ." iPad (noun, C) coinage "a very small, one bedroomed apartment" frequency in COCA: 1; however, the result had another meaning frequency in Google: 233 000 "These innovative iPad apartments are created especially for professionals ." irritainment (noun, U) blending from irritate and entertainment "annoying entertainment and media spectacles you're unable to stop watching" frequency in Google: 8 610 "The concept is sometimes called “irritainment”, defined as: “Entertainment and media spectacles that are both annoying and compulsively watchable ”." jump the couch (idiom) compounding to behave in a frenetic way frequency in Google: 25 400 "Holmes sixteen years his junior spawning the term "to jump the couch", the defining moment when you know someone has gone nuts." kidult (noun, C; adjective) blending from kid and adult "not kids, not adults, but people who want the best of both worlds" (Maxwell 107) frequency in Google: 82 400 "Female kidults are rare, because to be a girl kidult you really can’t have children yourself or even desperately want them ." latte factor (noun, U) compounding "the amount of money we waste each day on quick drinks and snacks" (Maxwell 108) frequency in COCA: 2 "It starts, he says, with finding your "latte factor" something that he feels determines whether a person will be rich ." (Todays Parent, Apr 2005, Vol. 22, Iss. 3; pg. 102) frequency in Google: 19 600 leisure sickness (noun, U) compounding illness which occur when we have lots of free time frequency in COCA: 2 "Leisure sickness is a growing threat in fast paced economies. " (Futurist, Nov/Dec 2003, Vol. 37, Iss. 6; pg. O1) frequency in Google: 1 630 living apart together (noun, C) compounding when couples "maintain an intimate relationship but live in separate homes" (Maxwell 110) frequency in Google: 12 600 "Living Apart Together relationships (LATs) happen when two people are in a committed relationship but live apart ." living bandage (noun, C) compounding "a bandage made from skin cells grown from a sample of the patient’s skin" frequency in Google: 935 "A common sporting knee injury could be healed by a 'living bandage' developed from a patient's own stem cells ." man date (noun, C) also: man dates , man dating compounding meeting of men as friends frequency in COCA: 2 "It's been called man date, or the gro man. " (CNN_Showbiz, 2007) frequency in Google: 147 000 marmalade dropper/muffin choker (noun, C) mixed: compounding and derivation from drop/choke by suffix er "a piece of information, especially a newspaper article or headline, that is very shocking or exciting" frequency in Google: marmalade dropper (384) "The big marmalade dropper yesterday was: Margaret Beckett's new hairdo ." muffin choker (39) "A scoop sometimes falls under the category of muffin choker, a bizarre or unbelievable news story. " marriage lite (noun, C/U) compounding "a relationship or civil status which is similar to marriage but does not have the same legal implications" frequency in COCA: 1 "Call it Gay Marriage Lite ." (National Review, May 22, 2000, Vol. 52 Issue 9, p8 12) frequency in Google: 4 950 me time (noun, U) compounding "time to relax and do exactly what you enjoy" (Maxwell 115) frequency in COCA: 10 "Don't feel guilty about craving a little me time ." (Cosmopolitan, Jul 2004, Vol. 237, Iss. 1; pg. 116) frequency in Google: 5 750 000; but this number represents includes also other meanings of this word metrosexual (noun, C; adjective) also: metrosexuals derivation from heterosexual by prefix metro (from metropolis ) "a heterosexual male with a strong interest in fashion, appearance and other lifestyle characteristics traditionally associated with women" frequency in COCA: 39 metrosexual (30) "So what is the motivation behind this metrosexual trend? " (Washington Post, 2003) metrosexuals (9) "It's' in' for today's male athletes to be metrosexuals ." (USA Today, 2004) frequency in Google: metrosexual (1 060 000), metrosexuals (111 000) microscission (noun, U) derivation from scission by prefix micro a new technique of giving an injection frequency in Google: 580 "Transdermal microconduits by microscission for drug delivery and sample acquisition ." middle youth (noun, U/C; adjective) compounding a combination of "responsibilities of adulthood with youthful attitudes and interests" (Maxwell 118) frequency in Google: 7 340 "I cheerfully admit that I am well into my middle youth ." miswant (verb, I/T) derivation from want by prefix mis a mistaken belief "that getting a particular thing is the route to future happiness" (Maxwell 119) frequency in COCA: 1 "In reality, note Gilbert and his colleague Timothy Wilson, Ph.D., of the University of Virginia, we often miswant ." (Psychology Today, Nov/Dec 2003, Vol. 35, Iss. 6; pg. 4) frequency in Google: 833 mobisode (noun, C) also: mobisodes (noun, C) blending from mobile and episode "a short episode of a popular television series designed to be watched on a third generation mobile phone" frequency in COCA: mobisodes (4) "Creator, Donick Cary, started the show by making six episodes or mobisodes for mobile phones ." (ABC_GMA, 2007) frequency in Google: mobisodes (51 800) mobisode (39 100) "What is going to compel them to download tomorrow's mobisode ?" mockumentary (noun, C) also: mockumentaries (noun, C) blending from mock and documentary "a film or television programme made in the form of a documentary but containing fictional subject material" frequency in COCA: 21 mockumentary (18) "It's a mockumentary that depicts what life would be like in California if the Hispanic population disappeared ." (CNN_SunMorn, 2004) mockumentaries (3) "Some have called them mockumentaries, but Guest doesn't ." (CBS_Morning, 2003) f requency in Google: mockumentary (1 060 000), mockumentaries (98 200) mouth breather/mouth breather (noun, C) compounding a stupid person, offensive frequency in COCA: 6 mouth breather (4) "It's a rush, too, when some mouth breather pulls in front of us and our driver has to slam on the brakes but I've never seen anyone thrown out of their seat ." (Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2005) mouth breather (2) "Ditto her boyfriend, Boris Pelkowski, violin virtuoso and mouth breather ." (Project princess, Meg Cabot, New York, N.Y. : HarperTrophy, Edition: 1st Harper Trophy ed., 2003) frequency in Google: mouth breather (76 500) movieoke (noun, U; adjective) blending from movie and karaoke "a form of entertainment in which a person acts out scenes from a film by reading lines from a monitor whilst the film scenes are playing silently in the background" frequency in COCA: 14 "To master Movieoke you read subtitles off a monitor in front of you ." (CNN_Next, 2004) frequency in Google: 5 020 muffin top (noun, C) also: muffin tops (noun, C) compounding "overhanging flesh when it spills over the waistline of pants or skirt" frequency in COCA: 12 muffin top (10) "A surefire way to flatter the figure and eliminate the dreaded muffin top is to wear jeans with a higher rise ." (Harpers Bazaar, May 2008, Iss. 3558; pg. 132) muffin tops (2) "The love handles are gone, and so are the muffin tops the new bakery euphemism for that extra roll of flesh that hangs over the elastic band of your briefs ." (The men I didn't marry. Kaplan, Janice. Schnurnberger, Lynn Edelman. New York :; Ballantine Books, Edition: 1st ed. 2006) frequency in Google: muffin top (303 000), muffin tops (109 000) muggle/Muggle (noun, C; adjective) also: muggles /Muggles (noun, adjective) coinage "a person who lacks a particular skill or skills" frequency in COCA: 56 muggle (28) "Once upon a time in Muggle land, there were wizardly folk much like those who inhabit Hogwarts ." (Houston Chronicle, 2001) muggles (28) "Harry thinks the magical world will be better than the world he comes from with the Muggles ." (Chicago Sun Times, 2005) frequency in Google: muggle (781 000), muggles (414 000) mystery worshipper (noun, C) compounding a person who visits sermons and reports what it was like frequency in Google: 12 700 "In June 2005 one of our services was reviewed by a 'mystery worshipper ' from the Ship of Fools ." nicotini (noun, C) blending from nicotine and martini an alcoholic drink containing nicotine frequency in COCA: 2 "Now a Florida bar, which is called the 'Cathode Ray Club' has created the Nicotini ." (CNN_LiveDaybreak, 2003) frequency in Google: 3 480 nouse (noun, C) blending from nose and mouse "a device which has the same pointing function as a computer mouse but is controlled by movements of nose" (Maxwell 128) frequency in COCA: 1. However, it was a misspeling of house . frequency in Google: nouse (151 000) "The inventor expects the nose steered mouse, or nouse, will make using a computer easier for people with disabilities…" obesogenic (adjective) derivation from obese by suffix genic supporting obesity frequency in COCA: 3 "Over the past few decades, the entire American environment has become much more obesogenic, or obesity supporting ." ([Time; New York(PMID: 28294)], Jun 23, 2008, Vol. 171, Iss. 25; pg. 70) frequency in Google: 22 700 orthorexia (noun, U) also: orthorexics (noun) derivation from anorexia by a prefix ortho "an extreme obsession with healthy food" frequency in COCA: 5 orthorexia (3) "Orthorexia is not an official eating disorder (there haven't been any studies yet), but Sonja Gray, M.D., Ph.D., a psychiatrist in La Palma, CA, sees how it could become a major issue for some people ." (Bazaar, Mar 2001, Iss. 3472; pg. 310) orthorexics (2) "Ordering in a restaurant can be tricky for orthorexics ." (Bazaar, Mar 2001, Iss. 3472; pg. 310) frequency in Google: orthorexia (32 500), orthorexics (1 530) pescetarian/pescetarian (noun, C; adjective) also: pescatarians (noun) mixed: blending from vegetarian and pesce (fish) – borrowing from Latin vegetarians eating also fish frequency in Google: pescetarian (91 000) "I am thinking of becoming a Pescetarian (AKA fishitarian or aquatarian) ." pescatarian (42 000) "The invented terms pesco vegetarian and pescatarian are increasingly common, and clearer in meaning ." pescatarians (4 740) "Are there any pescatarians here (or used to be pescatarians) who can give advice on how being one has changed your eating patterns ?" phat (adjective) derivation from Black English Vernacular as a deliberate misspelling of fat an informal way of expressing approval frequency in COCA: 167 "'That French is phat,' I say. " (Emporium: stories. Johnson, Adam. New York: Viking, 2003) frequency in Google: 19 300 000 phish (noun, C; verb, T) also: phishing (noun, verb), phished (adjective) derivation from deliberate misspelling of fish in its verbal sense of trying to obtain information a mail asking you to click on a link to a web page and confirm personal information frequency in COCA: 183; phish (109), phished (3), phishing (71); however, a lot of results for phish were about a music group Phish phish (109) "50 OpenDNS Phish Tank (security site, free) PhishTank is an information clearinghouse where you can report or find data on phishers, spammers, and anybody else who's trying to rip off nice people on the Internet ." (PC World, Jul 2008, Vol. 26, Iss. 7; pg. 90) phished (3) "Both notify you about known forged, or "phished", Web sites ." (Consumer Reports, Sep 2007, Vol. 72, Iss. 9; pg. 28) phishing (71) "For example, a phishing site with a domain name that's a misspelled version of a bank's name could publish its mail server information, and Sender ID would authenticate mail from the malicious site ." (PC WORLD, Mar 2007, Vol. 25, Iss. 3; pg. 37) frequency in Google: phish (3 750 000), phished (123 000), phishing (10 100 000) plagiarhythm (noun, U) blending from rhythm and plagiarize "stealing tunes or lyrics by downloading them from the Internet and incorporating them into new pieces of music" frequency in Google: 3 430 "Unlike the UK, Houston resists the urge to commit plagiarhythm ." pluot (noun, C) also: pluots (noun, C) blending from plum and apricot fruit, an apricot plum hybrid frequency in COCA: 21 pluot (9) "Pluot harvest lasts about four weeks ." (Sunset, Feb 1998, Vol. 200, Iss. 2; pg. 62) pluots (12) "Pluots, a sweet tart plum apricot hybrid, with their beautiful purple green skin and crimson interior, are perfect, but you can also combine apricots and peaches or whatever fruit appeals to you ." (San Francisco Chronicle, 2005) f requency in Google: pluot (34 700), pluots (91 700) podcast (noun, C; verb I/T) also: podcasts , podcasting , podcaster , podcasted blending from iPod and broadcast an Internet based audio programme which can be automatically downloaded from the Internet onto a device such as an iPod or MP3 player frequency in COCA: 423 podcast (149) "For example, to record a podcast, you just loq in and click the Audio tab, and then Record New Audio Post ." (PC World, Jul 2005, Vol. 23, Iss. 7; pg. 74) podcasts (191) "Such as his hilarious podcasts, which are available at iTunes and audible.com ." (Entertainment Weekly, Sep 26, 2008, Iss. 1013; pg. 40) podcasting (77) "From poetry readings to language learning, there are endless possibilities for audio blogging and Podcasting in learning ." (Teacher Librarian, Feb 2007, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p54 57) podcaster (3) "Anybody can be a podcaster ." (NPR_ATC, 2005) podcasted (3) "One class, for example, is producing the New Colony News, a podcasted news show written as if it were being created during the country's dawning days ." (THE Journal, Aug 2007, Vol. 34 Issue 8, p38 42) frequency in Google: podcast (117 000 000), podcasts (83 900 000), podcasting (15 000 000), podcaster (1 350 000), podcasted (76 700) polyamorist (noun, C) also: polyamorists (noun), polyamorous (adjective) derivation from amorist by prefix poly a person "who has a serious emotional commitment to two or more other people with the full knowledge and consent of all partners involved" (Maxwell 137) frequency in COCA: 51 polyamorist (2) "Polyamorist Braided Commitment Band: a band that is braided annually on a day set aside to celebrate the poly union ." (Denver Post, 2005) polyamorists (18) "Polyamorists don't just have sex with others they fall in love with them ." (Denver Post, 2005) polyamorous (31) "But being polyamorous means that we can also express the fullness of our love and affection for our friends and lovers without restriction ." (Redbook, Jun 2008, Vol. 210, Iss. 6; pg. 154) frequency in Google: polyamorist (9 060), polyamorists (12 900), polyamorous (243 000) polypill (noun, C) derivation from pill by a prefix poly a pill containing a cocktail of medicines, helps reduce the death rates frequency in Google: 510 000 "The researchers say the polypill could theoretically reduce heart attacks and strokes in apparently healthy people by 50 or 60 per cent ." potscaping (noun, U) blending from pot and landscaping arranging shrubs and flowers planted in pots and other containers frequency in Google: 341 "I've been reading about potscaping and have a general idea about what I want to do ." pre heritance/preheritance (noun, U/C) derivation from heritance the capital released to your children before you die frequency in Google: pre heritance (158) "Parents prefer 'pre heritance' pay outs ." preheritance (161) "We believe the trend towards preheritance will become increasingly common ." prepone (verb, T) derivation from postpone "to arrange something for an earlier time" (Maxwell 141) frequency in COCA: 1 "In India, people created the word "prepone" as the obvious opposite of postpone ." (Christian Science Monitor, 1995) frequency in Google: 17 300 protire (verb, I) derivation from retire to leave your current job so that you can pursue work or hobbies that you are more interested in frequency in COCA: 1. However, protire was there as a surname. frequency in Google: 1 210 "According to the report by Fish Can Sing,… , one in 15 people aged 30 or over has already decided to "protire"…" quirkyalone (noun, C) also: quirkyalones (noun, C) compounding a person who "wants the right person to come along at the right time even if that means waiting" (Maxwell 143) frequency in COCA: quirkyalone (2) "Cagen is the author of the forthcoming Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics, a book that celebrates the state of being unattached as a healthy, positive lifestyle choice." (USA Today, 2003) frequency in Google: quirkyalone (44 100) quirkyalones (2 800) "Although not anti dating, quirkyalones don't date just to have company on a Saturday night ." QWERTY phenomenon/qwerty phenomenon (noun, U/C) coinage the tendency to continue using the first available system or product despite the fact that new ideas or new technology could provide better alternatives frequency in Google: 364 "The educational system could be considered as a victim of this qwerty phenomenon ." rate tart (noun, C) compounding "someone who tries to keep all debts at 0% by continually switching card deals" frequency in Google: 7 300 "Switching credit cards used to be commonplace and being a rate tart was seen as a sign of being savvy with your cash ." rawism (noun, U) also: raw foodism (noun) derivation from raw or food consuming only uncooked food in a fresh, natural state frequency in COCA: raw foodism (1) "He distanced himself from the political aspects of raw foodism, which is somewhat left of veganism and holds that humans were meant to eat a diet of uncooked food ." (Denver Post, 2002) frequency in Google: raw foodism (19 900) rawism (1 550) "You might be surprised to find that many of the "facts" of rawism are incorrect !" regifting (noun, U; verb, adjective) also: regift (verb) , regifted (adjective) derivation from gift by prefix re and suffix ing giving unwanted presents to someone else frequency in COCA: 11 regifting (3) "Now regifting doesn't have a particularly good reputation ." (NPR_Daybreak, 2003) regift (5) "If the present clearly comes from a particular store, regift it within three months of having received it ." (Redbook, Nov 2004, Vol. 203, Iss. 5; pg. 104) regifted (4) "53% of readers admit they've regifted, while 36% know that someone regifted them ." (Cosmopolitan, Jun 2007, Vol. 242, Iss. 6; pg. 208) f requency in Google: regifting (70 300), regift (114 000), regifted (20 800) remanufacture (noun, T; verb) also: remanufacturing (noun, verb), remanufactured (adjective) derivation from manufacture "making new products from the stuff we discard" (Maxwell 148) frequency in COCA: 88 remanufacture (8) "We also remanufacture your cryogenic, rotary vane, dry, rotary piston, and diffusion pumps in house to meet or exceed all manufacturers performance specifications ." () remanufactured (37) "Remanufactured or upgraded vacuum deposition systems for evaporation and sputtering, including PLC automation ." (Physics Today, Oct 2004, Vol. 57 Issue 10, p65 71) remanufacturing (33) "When the machines had served their duty, Electrolux took them back for remanufacturing ." (Environment, Jun 2006, Vol. 48 Issue 5, p22 36) frequency in Google: remanufacture (319 000), remanufactured (4 070 000), remanufacturing (538 000) rendition (noun, U) also: renditions (noun), renditioning (noun, verb) change of meaning "the process of capture and extradition of suspected terrorists" (Maxwell 149) frequency in COCA: 1281 rendition (988) "On her European tour this month, Secretary of State Rice acknowledged rendition is a weapon in the war on terror, but she added this ." (CBS_Sixty, 2005) renditions (292) "Reports of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, " waterboarding", and CIA renditions and "black sites" have been even more devastating to the United States' image in Europe. " (Foreign Affairs, Jul/Aug2008, Vol. 87 Issue 4, p99 110) renditioning (1) "Mr. President, under the law, how would you justify the practice of renditioning, where U.S. agents who bust terror suspects abroad, taking them to a third country for interrogation?" (CNN_Event, 2005) frequency in Google: rendition (9 280 000), renditions (1 910 000), renditioning (8 870) note: because the word rendition and its forms was created by a change of meaning, the results are not relevat, because they include other meanings of the word retrosexual (noun, C; adjective) blend from retro and heterosexual "a man with an undeveloped aesthetic sense who spends as little time and money as possible on his appearance and lifestyle" frequency in COCA: 1 "…, where three security guards are on hand to monitor the glistening piles of jewelry that these days Gwen's retrosexual looks seem to demand ." (Bazaar, Mar 2005, ss. 3520; pg. 322) frequency in Google: 42 600 RIF (verb, T) also: rifed/RIFed (verb) acronym from reduction in (work) force synonym for sack(ed) frequency in COCA: 41 RIF (39) "Ellen Mendelsohn, a 51 year old woman with a strong performance record and 16 years of seniority, was terminated from her Overland Park, Kan., job by telecom giant Sprint as part of a company wide "reduction in force" (RIF)." ([Ms; Arlington(PMID: 20465)], Spring 2008, Vol. 18, Iss. 2; pg. 57) rifed (2) "I purchase materials in an attempt to keep school expenses down so teachers aren't RIFed ." (Education, Winter95, Vol. 116 Issue 2, p315) frequency in Google: RIF (4 350 000), rifed (9 100) note: the result number of the acronym is influenced by another meanings of the acronym Rumint/RUMINT (noun, U) blend from rumour intelligence "intelligence information based on rumours, rather than facts" (Maxwell 152) frequency in Google: 16 900 /(5 650 for RUMINT) "The RUMINT (rumor intelligence) on you is that you like “corporate speak” and prefer large, impersonal gatherings to one on one encounters ." salad dodger (noun, C) compounding a very fat person who is avoiding to eat healthy food frequency in Google: 117 000 "On the other end of the spectrum from orthorexia nervosa is the salad dodger, slang for an overweight person ." SARS/Sars/sars/severe acute respiratory syndrome (noun, U) acronyming from severe acute respiratory syndrome contagious disease caused by a virus, it has no cure frequency in COCA: 706 SARS (652) "But bookings actually look good compared to last year, when you had war, SARS, the bad economy ." (Washington Post, 2004) severe acute respiratory syndrome (54) "In Southeast Asia, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pressed on with a four nation tour Tuesday despite strong last minute pressure not to go because of outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome in parts of that region ." (Associated Press, 2003) frequency in Google: SARS (5 950 000), severe acute respiratory syndrome (852 000) saviour sibling (noun, C) compounding a child born only to save the life of his brother or sister frequency in Google: 3 470 "Saviour sibling case causes controversy in Switzerland ." seachanger (noun, C) compounding a professional who opts "for a change in lifestyle by moving to the seaside or country" (Maxwell 156) frequency in Google: 22 800 "Two young family seachangers were interviewed ." security mom (noun, C) also: security moms compounding "an American mother who is particularly concerned about terrorism and security issues" (Maxwell 157) frequency in COCA: security moms (14) "This election cycle, the so called security moms were telling pollsters they are sick of war ." (Mother Jones, Nov/Dec 2006, Vol. 31 Issue 6, p30 33) frequency in Google: security moms (18 000) security mom (10 300) "I am what this year's election pollsters call a security mom ." self build (noun, C/U; verb, I/T, adjective) blend from yourself and build if you self build, you build your house yourself frequency in Google: 582 000 "Offering self build information and features, practical advice, case studies and useful links ." senior moment (noun, C) also: senior moments (noun, C) compounding a phrase for forgetting something frequency in COCA: 20 senior moment (11) "There was another example of McCain senior moment ." (THE BELTWAY BOYS 6:00 PM EST, 2008) senior moments (9) "It was one of them senior moments ." (High five, Evanovich, Janet. New York : St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2000) frequency in Google: senior moment (310 000), senior moments (176 000) set jetter (noun, C) derivation from a noun jet set "a person who visits a particular place because it was featured in a book or film that they enjoyed" frequency in Google: 239 "This year's set jetter destination is predicted to be Italy's Amalfi coast, which features in A Good Woman starring Scarlett Johansson ." sex up (phrasal verb, T) also: sexed up (verb) , sexing up (verb) compounding making something more interesting by adding some shocking facts, which might not be true frequency in COCA: 35 sex up (10) "How to steal the style: You can sex up this short look in under seven minutes ." (Cosmopolitan, Apr 2000, Vol. 228, Iss. 4; pg. 228) sexed up (21) "…, when it claims that a high level intelligence official told the BBC that the government sexed up claims about Iraq's weapons to justify going to war ." (CNN_LiveSun, 2003) sexing up (4) "A lot of young women have been shedding their clothes... or sexing up the clothes they do wear ." (Cosmopolitan, Feb 2007, Vol. 242, Iss. 2; pg. 172) frequency in Google: sex up (384 000), sexed up (414 000), sexing up (1 01 000) sheeple (noun, plural) blending from sheep and people "people who are easily persuaded and tend to follow what others do" (Maxwell 162) frequency in Google: 593 000 "The sheeple are determined to ignore the ethnic cleansing against WASP Americans in our own nation ." shock and awe (noun, U; adjective) also: shocked and awed compounding psychological dominance used to overwhelme and defeat the enemy frequency in COCA: 93 shock and awe (90) "Relying on "shock and awe" to win respect will alienate far more than it will persuade ." (Foreign Affairs, Sep/Oct 2003, Vol. 82 Issue 5, p81 94) shocked and awed (3) "Radicals would be shocked and awed by U.S. military prowess, the argument ran, while mainstream Arab publics would be impressed by the gratitude of the Iraqi people for their newfound freedom ." (Foreign Affairs, Sep/Oct 2003, Vol. 82 Issue 5, p81 94) frequency in Google: shock and awe (1 740 000), shock and awed (1 470) shopgrifting (noun, U) compounding buying an item, using it and then returning it to the retailer and taking your money back frequency in Google: 710 "His shopgrifting is totally shameless ." silver goal (noun, C) compounding a method used in football to decide the result of games which end in a draw frequency in Google: 9 450 "The Greeks kicked a Silver goal a few hours ago to win 1 0 and now make it to the Euro final ." SKI er/ski er (noun, C) mixed, acronym+derivation from spend the kids' inheritance plus suffix er a person who enjoys retirement by spending his/her money instead of leaving it all to his/her children frequency in Google: SKI er (3 660) "And of course, if you're going to be a SKI'er, you might as well glory in it ." spend the kid's inheritance (2 010) "Determined to spend the kids’ inheritance before you check into the nursing home ?" slow city (noun, C) also: slow cities (noun,C) compounding a small town trying "to maintain a high quality living environment" (Maxwell 167) frequency in COCA: slow cities (1) "The Slow Food movement begun in the 1980s has evolved into a Slow Cities movement in Italy, where 32 communities have committed to slowing down the hectic pace of life ." (Futurist, Nov/Dec 2001, Vol. 35, Iss. 6; pg. O1) frequency in Google: slow cities (6 500) slow city (16 600) "When a town wishes to join, Slow City inspectors ensure that it deserves the Cittaslow snail logo ." slow food (noun, U/C) also: slow foodies (noun, C) compounding slow cooking locally grown food and eating it slowly for enjoyment frequency in COCA: 80; slow food (79) "I wrote a book on Slow Food, the international movement dedicated to saving farm raised food and preserving the environment ." (Technology Review, Feb 2007, Vol. 110, Iss. 1; pg. 62) slow foodies (1) "Slow Foodies from across the country and even a few from across the Atlantic are pulling up to the table today in Baltimore for a feast of the local specialty blue crabs and beer ." (NPR_ATCW, 2002) frequency in Google: slow food (1 710 000), slow foodies (3 480) smart clothing (noun, U) compounding "clothes with some kind of ... electronic feature in their fabric" (Maxwell 169) frequency in COCA: 1 "Smart Clothing and Accessories GEAR Quality camo is a must ." (Outdoor Life, Dec 2006, Vol. 214, Iss. 1; pg. 72) frequency in Google: 47 300 smirting (noun, U) blending from smoking and flirting social pastime, smoking and flirting with a fellow smoker frequency in Google: 4 700 "Forget speed dating, blind dates and the web – smirting is the new way to bag a partner ." snowrafting (noun, U) compounding winter extreme sport similar to rafting on water frequency in Google: 4 960 "Snowrafting is whole different thing than white water rafting but no less thrilling ." sonic branding (noun, U) compounding "the association of a particular tune with a particular product" (Maxwell 172) frequency in Google: 16 700 "Sonic branding provides you with another weapon in your promotional arsenal ." speed dating (noun, U) also: speed dating, speed dater, speed daters compounding a session where people meet to have a five minutes long chat with their potential partners frequency in COCA: 43 speed dating (10) "But it's really speed dating 3 to 10 minutes of flirtatious interrogation between strangers that has tugged the national heartstrings ." (USA Today, 2002) speed dating (30) "It's this logic that's luring those looking for love to speed dating, the latest offshoot of a run catch kiss culture ." (USA Today, 2002) speed dater (1) "ANA NACVALOVAITE, NATURAL SELECTION SPEED DATER: I have no trouble meeting men ." (Fox_Zahn, 2007) speed daters (2) "Few of these elite speed daters wanted their faces shown ." (Fox_Zahn, 2007) frequency in Google: speed dating (3 220 000), speed dating (3 660 000), speed dater (13 000), speed daters (10 700) spim/spIM (noun, U) acronym from spam and instant messaging spam attacking users through instant messaging (IM) services frequency in COCA: 52 "Though people receive far more spam than spim, spim can be even more annoying ." (TIME, 2004) frequency in Google: 286 000 spinach cinema (noun, U) compounding "educational, but not always enjoyable" (Maxwell 175) movies frequency in Google: 231 "But by all means watch it, if only because it is spinach cinema." spoiler (noun, C) also: spoilers derivation from spoil it spoils your enjoyment of something (usually a film) frequency in COCA: 331 spoiler (264) "Skip the next paragraph to avoid a spoiler ." (Chicago Sun Times, 2007) spoilers (67) "Don't read on if you don't want to know a few spoilers about upcoming episodes : …" (Chicago Sun Times, 2007) frequency in Google: spoiler (33 500 000), spoilers (16 600 000) stage phoning/stage phoning (noun, U) compounding taking loudly into telephone in public, attempting to impress other people frequency in Google: stage phoning (338) "With this technology, we may also see the end of stage phoning and butt calls (which are completely different from booty calls) ." also: stealth taxes compounding a hidden and unexpected way of making people pay more money to the government as the result of a new tax or an increase in a particular tax frequency in COCA: 6 stealth tax (3) "Dole said today in his speech that the budget deficit is a stealth tax on the American public ." (ABC_Nightline, 1996) stealth taxes (3) "Two stealth taxes will start at higher income levels ." (Associated Press, BUSINESS NEWS, 2008) frequency in Google: stealth tax (83 300), stealth taxes (43 100) Stepford (adjective) change of meaning a synonym for perfect frequency in COCA: 91 "I'm not a Stepford wife; I still feel the exultation and sadness that any person feels, I'm just not required to feel them 10 times as long or as intensively as I used to ." (Psychology Today, Jul/Aug 2002, Vol. 35, Iss. 4; pg. 66) frequency in Google: 765 000 note: the results are influenced by another meanings of the word Stepford stress puppy (noun, C) compounding a person who thrives on living busy life but moaning how much under pressure he is frequency in Google: 12 200 "Steve’s our office stress puppy ." blending from student and modification "the social and environmental changes caused by a large influx of students into a particular area of a town or city" (Maxwell 181) frequency in Google: 5 130 "On Friday 17 October students, established residents and council officials debated the issue of studentification in Brighton ." Sudoku/sudoku/Su Doku (noun, C) borrowing from Japanese a popular numeric game training your mind frequency in COCA: 34 "But if crosswords aren't your thing, try Sudoku, the new number puzzle (found at sudoku.com and in many newspapers) ." (Good Housekeeping, Jul 2006, Vol. 243, Iss. 1; pg. 68) frequency in Google: sudoku (35 900 000) supersize (adjective, verb) also: supersized (adjective), supersizing (noun) compounding to "excessively enlarge" (Maxwell 183) frequency in COCA: 218 supersize (119) "Portion control is key to weight control, and supersize beef doesn't help ." (Prevention, Feb 2006, Vol. 57 Issue 2, p166 209) supersized (81) "She often would drive through a fast food restaurant and get a supersized combo meal ." (USA Today, 2008) supersizing (18) "Otherwise, supersizing can lead to waste and overeating ." (Essence, Jonell Nash. Aug 2008, Vol. 39, Iss. 4; pg. 138) frequency in Google: supersize (5 080 000), supersized (1 790 000), supersizing (91 000) tankini (noun, C) also: tankinis (noun, C) blending from tank and bikini a swimsuit combining a tank top with a bikini bottom frequency in COCA: 39 tankini (36) "Combining the cover and support of a one piece with the flexibility of a two, the tankini is a great option for expanding bellies and breasts ." (Todays Parent, Spring 2005, Vol. 5, Iss. 1; pg. 17) tankinis (3) "Stock up on bikinis, tankinis and camikinis as you gear up for swimsuit season, but don't forget the most versatile swimwear option of all: the maillot ." (Shape, Laura Gilbert. Apr 2001, Vol. 20, Iss. 8; pg. 36) frequency in Google: tankini (1 110 000), tankinis (419 000) tap up (phrasal verb, T) change of meaning to recruit a player even when he is bound by contract to anouther team frequency in COCA: 1. The result did not have the intended meaning. frequency in Google: 73 500 "Am sure nearly every team has tap up a player at some stage ." technology butler (noun, C) compounding a person who advises other people how to use technology frequency in COCA: 2 "Next to the ticket desk sits Speedy, our 'technology butler' ." (Virginia Quarterly Review. Fraser, Russell. CHINA BOY. Spring2001, Vol. 77 Issue 2, p189) frequency in Google: 6 650 textual harassment (noun, U) compounding "to harass someone through text messages" frequency in Google: 8 260 "Textual harassment isn’t the only form of cyberbullying ." third of a pint (noun, C) compounding new measure for beer frequency in COCA: 1 "On top of that, he was more than slightly drunk, with a good third of a pint of Boone County bourbon spread throughout his system,…" (Hunter, Stephen. Hot springs. New York : Pocket Books, 2001) frequency in Google: 42 600 thumb generation (noun, C) compounding a generation of people spending their leisure time with activities which need pressing keypads with thumb (texting, playing games) frequency in COCA: 1 "The growing "thumb generation" posed the greatest new challenge to traditional media, with cell phone text messages conveying news, rumors and gossip …" (Associated Press, 2004) frequency in Google: 4 170 tofurkey (noun, C/U) also: tofurkeys (noun, C) blending from tofu and turkey imitation of meat product (turkey) made from tofu frequency in COCA: 12 tofurkey (11) "Processed soy is found in milk, cheese, tofurkey and formula milk ." (E: the Environmental Magazine, Mar/Apr 2008, Vol. 19, Iss. 2; pg. 40) tofurkeys (1) "Tofurkeys have four legs ." (Fox_HC, 2002) frequency in Google: tofurkey (91 600), tofurkeys (1 630) togethering (noun, U) derivation by suffix – ing from together spending holiday with people you know (family, friends, colleagues) frequency in COCA: 1 "... a national research and strategic marketing company, indicate that Americans' No. 1 one intended vacation activity is spending quality time with family and friends often in multihousehold gatherings, a phenomenon YPB &R; calls' togethering .'" (Denver Post, 2004) frequency in Google: 9 140 trolleyology (noun, U) derivation from trolley by suffix ology "making judgments about people from their shopping" frequency in Google: 626 "It started as an idea to explore trolleyology ." trout pout (noun, C) compounding "lips with collagen injected to make them plumper, particularly when it goes wrong and they look like a fish" frequency in COCA: 1 "Her suddenly plush and protruding lips (she's mum on the matter, but collagen injections or implants are speculated), rather mean spiritedly dubbed a 'trout pout' by local and British papers during the Toronto Film Festival ." (USA Today, 2003) frequency in Google: 40 400 truthiness (noun, U) derivation from truth it is something that you wish so much were true that you act as if it were true frequency in COCA: 21 "Stephen Colbert's "truthiness" gets us, well, not every time, but pretty regularly ." (Entertainment Weekly, Mar 2006, Iss. 870; pg. 25) frequency in Google: 449 000 tsunami (noun, C) also: tsunamis (noun, C) borrowing from Japanese: tsu (harbour) and nami (wave) series of waves of huge volume of seawater coming to a shore frequency in COCA: 1860 tsunami (1617) "There are so many major events: the Iraq war, Katrina, the tsunami ." (Houston Chronicle, 2006) tsunamis (245) "Others are overtaken by lahars (fast flows of mud) or tsunamis ." (Popular Science, Mar 2007, Vol. 270, Iss. 3; pg. 62) frequency in Google: tsunami (21 100 000), tsunamis (2 860 000) twixter (noun, C) also: twixters (noun, C) coinage children over twenty who still live at home with the safety net of mum and dad frequency in COCA: 5 twixter (1) "As somewhat of a twixter myself, I assure you that our situation is hardly grave ." (TIME, 2005) twixters (4) "Instead of making it seem as if we twixters are spoiled, why not praise us as a generation that refuses to fall into the same archaic conventions that have led to so many dysfunctional families ?" (TIME, 2005) frequency in Google: twixter (10 300), twixters (8 750) ubersexual (noun, C; adjective) also: ubersexuals (noun, C) derivation from heterosexual by prefix uber "a man rugged in appearance but confident and passionate about his beliefs" frequency in COCA: ubersexuals (1) "You know, yesterway yesterday we heard that metrosexuals are out, ubersexuals are in ." (NBC_Today, 2005) frequency in Google: ubersexuals (3 070) ubersexual (6 920) "To be ubersexual, its no longer just looking good, in fact, any man can be ubersexual ." underload syndrome (noun, U) compounding any kind of illness "caused by lack of stimulation or challenges" frequency in Google: 4 070 "Underload Syndrome is what, on some days, makes retirement seem attractive ." unschooling (noun, U) derivation by prefix un from schooling unconventional education of children, not following the usual curriculum frequency in COCA: 20 "The family's homeschool approach, sometimes called 'unschooling', looks to everyday life and the child's natural interests to steer his learning ." (Associated Press, 2007) frequency in Google: 397 000 vanity sizing (noun, U) compounding placing a smaller size label on a larger size garment in order to please the buyer frequency in COCA: 5 "As Americans got fatter, garment makers discovered the marketing wonders of vanity sizing ." (Atlantic Monthly, Dec 2007, Vol. 300, Iss. 5; pg. 125) frequency in Google: 13 100 virtual Friday (noun, C/U) compounding the last day before extended weekend frequency in Google: 14 500 "Yeah, I know it's only Wednesday but for me it's virtual Friday, since I'm off work the next two days and will be offline for the most part ." vlog (noun, C; verb, I/T) also: vlogger (noun, C) blending from video and blog a blog with videos frequency in COCA: vlogger (1) "… unlike previous Internet stars like Wonkette's Ana Marie Cox, for example, she was an 'on air' personality a vlogger, as video bloggers are known ." (Associated Press, 2006) frequency in Google: vlogger (167 000) vlog (8 960 000) "A step on from blogger, a person who maintains an online text diary, is one who uses video instead, a 'vlogger'." vodcast (noun, C; verb, I/T) also: vodcasts (noun) blending from video and podcast downloadable video programme frequency in COCA: 4 vodcast (1) "VIDEO PODCASTS Vodcast Playlist MOST VODCASTS ARE N'T worth your time ." (PC World, Sep 2006, Vol. 24, Iss. 9; pg. 105) vodcasts (3) "With increasing bandwidth, the availability of easy to use video editing tools, and the introduction of the video iPod, many Podcasters are now offering video Podcasts, also known as vodcasts ." (Teacher Librarian, Feb 2007, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p54 57) frequency in Google: vodcast (1 240 000), vodcasts (365 000) voice lift (noun, C) compounding cosmetic surgery on vocal chords frequency in COCA: 2, but both results had another meaning frequency in Google: 10 600 "A new kind of operation is now available, its a Voice Lift so you'll sound younger ." voluntourism (noun, U) blending from volunteer and tourism travelling that includes volunteer work frequency in COCA: 1 "It's a wonderful trend called Voluntourism ." (ABC_GMA, 2007) frequency in Google: 102 000 VoIP/voip/Voip (verb, I/T; adjective) acronyming from voice over internet protocol "making telephone calls over the Internet" (Maxwell 206) frequency in COCA: 181 "Many Wi Fi equipped phones, including a large number of Nokia models, can already make VoIP calls over Wi Fi ." (PC World, Mar 2008, Vol. 26, Iss. 3; pg. 18) frequency in Google: 67 500 000 WAG/Wag/wag (noun, C; verb; adjective) also: wags , WAGs , Wags acronyming from wife and girlfriend "female partners of famous professional footballers" (Maxwell 207) frequency in COCA: 568 WAG (344) "The most obvious example is the emergence of the WAG wives and girlfriends culture ." (Sports Illustrated, Dec 2007, Vol. 107, Iss. 22; pg. Z.6) WAGS (206) "The WAGS reportedly spent part of Monday at boutiques and spent close to $10,000 on some sunglasses, shoes and clothes ." (Chicago Sun Times, 2006) frequency in Google: WAG (11 200 000), WAGS (2 050 000) note: also other meanings of wag(s) are included in those numbers walking bus (noun, C) compounding "a group of kids who walk to and from school supervised by two or more adults" (Maxwell 208) frequency in Google: 135 000 "Walking Bus is a concept designed to encourage children to walk to school ." warchalking (noun, U) coinage , inspired by wardriving indicating where people can go online with wireless connection for free frequency in COCA: 1 "In fact, exploring other people's access points has become known as 'wardriving' and leaving a trail of graffiti to mark those points as 'warchalking' ." (Christian Science Monitor, 2005) frequency in Google: 25 700 wardrobe malfunction (noun, C) also: wardrobe malfunctions (noun, C) compound a situation when somebody "accidentally exposes a part of their body because of some kind of problem with what they are wearing" (Maxwell 210) frequency in COCA: 51 wardrobe malfunction (40) "Janet Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction' during last January's SuperBowl on CBS made a national audience more aware of cross ownership within the media ." (Christian Science Monitor, 2004) wardrobe malfunctions (11) "We'll keep our cameras peeled for any possible wardrobe malfunctions. " (Chicago Sun Times, 2007) frequency in Google: wardrobe malfunction (5 790 000), wardrobe malfunctions (206 000) WiFi/Wi Fi/Wifi/Wi fi/wifi (noun, U) blending from wireless fidelity "a networking system which provides wireless connection to the Web" (Maxwell 211) frequency in COCA: 606 Wi Fi (569) "In fact, on some machines, both the Wi Fi card and the RAM are located under the same panel ." (PC World, Sep 2008, Vol. 26, Iss. 9; pg. 82) WiFi (37) "WiMax is similar to the WiFi service in coffee shops and many homes but can cover larger areas and supposedly download faster ." (Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2008) frequency in Google: 66 100 000 wiki/Wiki (noun, C) also: wikis (noun, C) borrowing from Hawaiian, means quick or fast means that a collaborative team can quickly construct a web site frequency in COCA: 335 wiki (181) "Anyone can add anything to a wiki at anytime ." (Teacher Librarian, Jun2007, Vol. 34 Issue 5, p57 59) wikis (154) "Wikis are also finding their way into corporate settings ." (THE Journal, Mar 2007, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p40 48) frequency in Google: wiki (342 000 000), wikis (7 820 000) Winterval (noun, C/U) blending from winter and festival a term for the festive season around Christmas embracing all religions frequency in Google: 14 300 "We're all in various states of recovery from the nasty stinking colds that hit the populous every Winterval ." xenotransplantation (noun, U/C) derivation from transplantation by prefix xeno "surgical transfer of cells, tissues, or whole organs from one species to another" (Maxwell, 214) frequency in COCA: 43 "But despite these problems, Rao does not believe xenotransplantation is impossible ." (Houston Chronicle, 1997) frequency in Google: 268 000 yottabyte (noun, C) derivation from byte by prefix yotta "10 24 bytes" (Maxwell 215), YB frequency in Google: 18 300 "Here is a listing of byte sizes up to the yottabyte." also: yummy mummies (noun, C) compounding "a young, sexually attractive mother" frequency in COCA: 5 yummy mummy (4) "Moynahan never imagined that she'd wind up a yummy mummy without a hubby ." (Harpers Bazaar, Jul 2008, Iss. 3560; pg. 138) yummy mummies (1) "Yes, there are pockets of yummy mummies who possess that patina of polished maternal perfection ." (Harpers Bazaar, Apr 2008, Iss. 3557; pg. 183) frequency in Google: yummy mummy (450 000), yummy mummies (86 700) zombie (noun, C) change of meaning ; the word originated in the West Africa, meaning a dead person brought back to life a zombie computer "afftected by a virus ... continually sending out large amounts of spam" (Maxwell, 217) frequency in COCA: 832, however only a few results had the intended meaning "And three bot herders arrested in the Netherlands last fall are thought to have controlled a staggering 1.5 million zombie PCs ." (PC World, Aug 2006, Vol. 24, Iss. 8; pg. 76) frequency in Google: zombie (59 900 000), zombie computer (19 000) note: results for zombie are influenced by other meanings of this word zorbing (noun, U) coinage adrenaline outdoor extreme sport, you are rolling downhill in a plastic sphere frequency in Google: 244 000 "Ok, who wants to help bring Zorbing to the USA? " 4. Conclusion I was dealing with 213 neologisms taken from the book by Kerry Maxwell and their various forms. 127 neologisms, that means more than a half of them, were found in some form in the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). That means that they were recognized as lexicalized and established by lexicographers. I looked up the neologisms in two dictionaries – in Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners – International Student Edition (2007) and in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (2005). In all, I found there 45 neologisms from the list. 40 neologisms were found in Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners and 34 neologisms were found in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English . I found ASBO , barista , bird flu , bling/bling bling , blog , chav , digerati , dirty bomb , edutainment , embed , Google , kidult , metrosexual , phat , phish(ing) , prepone , SARS , self build , senior moment , speed dating , spoiler , stealth tax , supersize and tsunami in both. Apart from them, I found also hand me up , tankini , warchalking and zorbing in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English and bogof/BOGOF , Chelsea tractor , chugger , citizen journalism , fanfic , greenwash , podcast , seachanger , spim , sudoku , vlog , voIP and yummy mummy in Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners – International Student Edition . These words which appeared in the dictionaries are fully lexicalized. The most frequent neologisms in the Corpus of American English are blog , google , tsunami , with their frequencies over one or two thousands of hits in the corpus. Words rendition , chad , to embed and WAG had also similar frequency of hits in the corpus, but these results were influenced by the fact, that they are polysemous. For example Chad is also a country or WAG is an abbreviation or acronym standing for other groups of words than wife and girlfriend . In general, the numbers standing for frequencies of words created by a change of meaning are not relevant. The reason why is obvious – because the results include also the words with other meaning. It is similar with abbreviations – they can stand for another string of words than I intended to find. The most frequent neologisms in Google are blog (and other forms of this word), google , podcast (and other forms ot his word) and wiki . It is interesting that all of these words are connected with computers or information science. Again, words which were created by a change of meaning, conversion or abbreviating are very frequent ( embed , zombie , chad ), but the frequencies are not relevant. Compounding turned out to be the most productive method of word formation. Compounding was used to create a neologism 86 times. The second most frequent type of word formation is blending, which was used 45 times. The next productive types of word formation are derivation (used 30 times), coinage (used 16 times) and mixed processes (used 11 times). Change of meaning occurred 7 times, as many times as acronyming. Five words were created by borrowing from other languages ( barista from Italian, galactico from Spanish, Sudoku and tsunami from Japanese and wiki from Hawaiian). Conversion, clipping, abbreviation, eponyming and imitation were used each once. I did not find any examples of backformation or word manufacture. The results of my analysis showed that compounding and blending are the most productive methods of word formation. Joining words together seems to be the trend. Therefore Lehrer's statement (that frequent forms of neologisms tend to be shorter) seems to be not valid nowadays. As far as styles of English are concerned, I expected that most neologisms will appear in newspapers. My research proved that neologisms really appear most frequently in journalistic texts. They are most frequent in magazines, where approximately one quarter of all occurences of neologisms (26%) was found and they are only a little bit less frequent in newspapers (25%). That means that one half of all occurences of investigated neologisms appear only in these two categories. Spoken English is the third category, in which new words occur most (23%). Only 16% of occurences of neologisms in the corpus was in academic texts and 10% in fictional texts. The results are not surprising for me, since neologisms are really often created first by innovative journalists or ordinary people and then they find their way to fiction or even academic texts. Moreover, newspapers and magazines are very influential nowadays. In case there appears some new phenomenon, somebody names it and the new word spreads quickly. Spoken language is able to adopt to these changes very quickly. In addition to that, ordinary people are also creative and devise new words, especially when they speak informally. On the other hand, in fiction and academic texts prevails formality. 5. Bibliography Adams, Valerie. 1973. An Introduction to Modern English Word Formation . London: Longmann. Bauer, Laurie. 1983. English Word Formation . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Biber, Douglas and Susan Conrad and Randi Reppen. 1998. Corpus Linguistics: Investigating Language Structure and Use . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2007. Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Francis, W. Nelson. 1965. The English Language: An Introduction: Background for Writing. 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