B) Jargonisms

A) Slang

E) literary coinages

Every period in the development of a language produces an enormous number of new words or new meanings of established words. Most of them do not live long. They are coined for use at the moment of speech, and therefore possess a peculiar property – that of temporariness. The given word or meaning holds only in the given context and is meant only to “serve the occasion”. However, a word or a meaning once fixed in writing may become part and parcel of the general vocabulary irrespective of the quality of the word.

The coining of new words generally arises with the need to designate new concepts and also with the need to express nuances of meaning called forth by a deeper understanding of the nature of the phenomenon in question. There are 2 types of newly coined words: 1) those which designate new-born concepts, may be named terminological coinages or terminological neologisms; 2) words coined because their creators seek expressive utterance may be named stylistic coinages or stylistic neologism.

Neologisms are mainly coined according to the productive models for word-building in the given languages. Most of the literary coinages are built by means of affixation and word compounding.

Special colloquial vocabulary

The term slang is ambiguous and obscure. The “New Oxford English Dictionary” defines slang as follows: 1) the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type…; 2) the cant or jargon of a certain class or period; 3) language of highly colloquial type considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or current words employed in some special sense.

In England and USA slang is regarded as the quintessence of colloquial speech and therefore stands above all the laws of grammar.

Jargon is a recognized term for a group of words that exist in almost every language and whose aim is to preserve secrecy within one or another social group. Jargonisms are generally old words with entirely new meanings imposed on them. Most of the jargonisms of any language are absolutely incomprehensible to those outside the social group which has invented them. They may be defined as a code within a code. Jargonisms are social in character. In England and in the USA almost any social group of people has its own jargon. There is a common jargon and special professional jargons. Jargonisms do not always remain on the outskirts of the literary language. Many words entered the standard vocabulary.

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