Morphological analysis of neologisms on ,,Reddit"

Abstract

This thesis investigates the morphological processes involved in the formation of neologisms on Reddit, a text-heavy and underexplored platform in linguistic research. The study aims to identify neologisms, categorise them based on word-formation processes, and compare their usage across three distinct subreddit communities: r/memes, r/news, and r/gaming. To achieve these aims, a mixed-method approach was adopted: manually collected data from Reddit comments over a two-month period served as the basis for quantitative frequency analysis and qualitative contextual interpretation. The findings reveal that clipping and acronymy are overwhelmingly the most dominant morphological processes across all communities, followed by compounding. Each subreddit displayed distinct linguistic behaviour reflective of its communicative norms: r/memes favoured informal, humorous, and tone-rich expressions; r/news demonstrated politically charged and socially evaluative word usage; r/gaming exhibited a rich use of domain-specific jargon and technical creativity. Less frequent processes like coinage, blending, affixation, and conversion, while present, showed a lower level of productivity. The study concludes that Reddit users prioritise speed, familiarity, and recognisability, with morphology serving not only as a linguistic tool but also as a marker of identity, tone, and community-specific expression.