Neologism of the week campaign
Early in the life of the Action, the
Špela Arhar Holdt, Science Communication Coordinator for ENEOLI, explains more:
Where did the idea for the ‘Neologism of the Week’ campaign come from?
The idea for the campaign grew from our experience with previous COST Actions, where we recognized the potential of integrating interactive website elements with a carefully planned and ongoing social media presence. With ENEOLI’s focus on neology, highlighting featured neologisms (words or phrases that are new in a certain language) felt like an obvious choice and an exciting way to spark curiosity about neology and linguistic creativity.
You are featuring words in different languages; are neologisms more prevalent in some languages rather than others?
Neologisms appear in all languages, and we strive to feature neologisms from as many languages as possible. While we currently often select English – mainly because it is a language we are fluent in and allows us to find and explain new words more effectively – we are committed to showcasing a broader range of linguistic diversity. To support this effort, we have included a form on our website where people can suggest different neologisms to be featured. Moreover, we are preparing to launch a campaign where the members of the ENEOLI action will share their favourite neologisms, together with their explanations.
Did you have a specific target audience in mind for this project?
Our target audience includes anyone interested in language, culture, and societal trends. This includes linguists, educators, students, and general enthusiasts who are curious about how words shape and reflect our world. We are also keen to reach individuals who might not typically engage with linguistics but are drawn to the cultural and human stories behind neologisms. That is why we have tried to make our social media content more appealing to a larger, non-specialist, audience by creating custom-made images to illustrate each featured neologism.
What impact do you hope this campaign achieves?
We hope the campaign fosters a greater appreciation for the power of language and its ability to adapt and evolve. Our goal is to spark conversations about the origins, usage, and implications of new words and meanings. The archived neologisms from previous weeks, available on our website and on our social media platforms using the tag #tuesdayneologism, provide a rich resource of fun and engaging examples that can also be used for educational purposes. By highlighting novel language, we aim to implicitly underscore the importance of neology – the research field we are active in – and its role in understanding how societies communicate and change.
Why are public engagement and science communication projects like this important?
Public engagement initiatives like this are essential because they make academic fields more accessible and relatable. Linguistics often feels abstract to those outside the field, but campaigns like our Neologism of the Week demonstrate its relevance in everyday life. By connecting linguistic concepts to real-world phenomena, we can enhance awareness, foster curiosity, and encourage a broader understanding of the field’s significance. The role of neologisms is intuitively comprehensible to everyone, and the general press often celebrates them as a natural and necessary part of language evolution. One known example that garners significant attention and sparks debate about lexical innovation, is the Oxford Word of the Year. This demonstrates that our campaign is well-aligned with a society that values and embraces neology.
Find out more
You can see all the neologisms released so far on the ENEOLI website and even suggest your own.
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