Neology perception: a quantitative analysis with emphasis on transgression

Abstract

Neological intuition, understood as the speakers’ perception that a given lexical unit is neological, is considered a defining feature of neology. Morphological, semantic, or pragmatic forms of transgression, in turn, are among the key factors leading to neological intuition. This paper explores the factors defining neological intuition by means of the quantitative analysis of 114 informants’ responses to a survey on one hundred neological units in Spanish. The analysis compares speakers’ perceptions with objective data about the units included in the survey —regarding frequency, year of first documentation, field of specialisation, register, and type of neologism—, plus the annotation as transgressive of some of the units by the research team. The study shows that speakers can discern the defining features of lexical units and that a recent incorporation in the language system, a neuter register, and a non-specialised field favour the feeling of familiarity with neological units. The results further signal the different perception of speakers’ about each type of neologism: semantic neologisms are more frequently known and are considered more recent; loanwords come across as more surprising; neoclassical compounds, as more easily understandable and as more specialised; truncated forms, as more informal. Finally, the paper shows that speakers perceive which units have been created by transgressing linguistic rules. Transgression is related to unknown, surprising forms, which are also more difficult to understand.