SPEECH INNOVATIONS OF YOUTH: DERIVATIONAL ASPECT

Abstract

At the present stage, youth online communication has become a
space for active linguistic experimentation, resulting in the emergence of lexical
innovations that represent reality in distinctive ways. The article is devoted to
the study of occasional derivation processes that give rise to specific speech
innovations.
The aim of this study is to describe the structural characteristics
and morphological features of neonominations functioning in the speech
of participants of student thematic communities on the social network
“ВКонтакте”, as well as to identify the factors contributing to the activation of
word-formation processes.
The main research method is descriptive, based on direct observation of
speech data. To collect the research data, the method of complete sampling of
comments on a social network was applied. By means of word-formation analysis
the derivational models of neologisms created and disseminated in the speech of
representatives of the younger generation are identified.
The conducted research demonstrates that the intensification of occasional
word-formation reflects a tendency toward increased expressiveness in speech.
Among the productive derivational strategies are suffixation, compounding,
truncation, contamination, and abbreviation.
Occasional derivation based on borrowings from the English language
serves as a reflection of contemporary word-formation processes. The article
examines the features of russification in the graphic and phonetic form, as well
as the grammatical and semantic characteristics of anglicisms. It identifies
derivational chains and word-formation families that indicate the firm integration
of English lexical units into Russian-language discourse.
The primary reason for the emergence of speech innovations is identified
as the need of social media users for new lexical units that correspond to specific
communicative situations and facilitate the realization of speakers’ linguistic
creativity.
The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of
contemporary language change and advances the investigation of mechanisms
of linguistic creativity and their impact on the development of modern Russian.
The findings may be applied in teaching the course “Word-formation Studies”.