From 'postureo' to 'cringe': How new words are born and survive

PalmYou said never'cringe'? AND 'boomr', 'random' or 'posturing''If the answer is yes, perhaps without realizing it you've participated in the process of lexical renewal in Catalan. If the answer is no, you've probably heard them anyway—on the internet, on TV, or in conversation—and perhaps they've made you wonder whether they're "good" or "bad" words. This hesitation, seemingly anecdotal, shows that the language is constantly adapting to reality and the expressive needs of its speakers. In fact, neologisms are one of the clearest symptoms of a language's vitality.

From a linguistic point of view, a neologism is a lexical unit that has been recently created or incorporated, either because it designates a new reality or because it adopts a new form to express an existing idea. However, the criterion of novelty is relative: a word may seem new to one group of speakers and, at the same time, be fully established for another. Consider, for example, 'empower' and 'sustainability.' These terms have been around for decades in specialized texts, but for many people they still sound like novelties. This perception depends on the frequency of use, the channel of dissemination, and, above all, factors such as age, social environment, or exposure to other languages.

Generating neologisms

Languages generate neologisms in a variety of ways. The most obvious is internal creation, that is, forming new words with one's own resources. This is the case with 'posturing', derived from 'posture', or 'bottled', from ''bottle'. There is also semantic neology, which consists of giving a new meaning to an existing word. A clear example is 'surf': previously it only meant 'to move through water', but with the internet it acquired a new, digital and metaphorical meaning. Other mechanisms for forming new words are acronyms and abbreviations, which we find in words like 'dana' ('isolated depression at high levels') or 'covid-19' ('coronavirus disease 2019'). Finally, there is neology by loan, which is perhaps the most common mechanism today. In a globalized and hyperconnected world, languages constantly incorporate forms from other languages. In Catalan, a good portion of recent borrowings come from English, but there are also borrowings from Spanish, Italian, French, Arabic, Japanese, and many other languages.

However, the fact that a word appears does not mean it will stay. Neology studies such as those conducted by the Neology Observatory at Pompeu Fabra University show that many creations are ephemeral and disappear as quickly as they arose. For a neologism to take root, it must respond to a real need and fit within the linguistic system. Many new words emerge in restricted contexts (technical, media, or youth environments) and only later, if they cross these borders, do they become established. When a word spreads among different groups of speakers, it stops sounding 'new' and gains stability. It is then that it can make the leap to the standard dictionary, such as the Dictionary of the Catalan language from the Institute of Catalan Studies. But the order is clear: first it is used, then it is accepted, and finally, it is incorporated. It is not the dictionary that creates the words, but the community of speakers.

This is where the debate about the relationship between use and standard comes in. To what extent is it necessary to adapt or translate neologisms? The current criteria of the IEC and Termcat tend to recommend adaptation when feasible ('squat', 'estríming'), to preferring their own forms when there are natural alternatives ('patrocinador' for 'sponsor', 'selfie' for 'selfie'), and to keep the original loan when the translation would sound artificial ('hooligan, 'web', 'amateur'). The goal is to find a balance between fidelity in the linguistic system and naturalness of use.

In any case, we should avoid the idea that a word does not 'exist' because it is not in the dictionary (how many peaks have heard this?). In reality, it is just the other way around: a word enters the dictionary because it already exists. The dictionary does not create its use, it recognizes it. When words like 'chat', 'blog' either 'gentrification' were incorporated, they had already been circulating among speakers and the media for some time. The IEC, therefore, does not make a bet on the future, but rather an observation of the present. Words do not wait for permission from regulatory authorities to be born: they simply begin to circulate.

If there is a space where neologisms proliferate unchecked, it is that of social media. Digital communication has accelerated lexical creation like never before and reduced settlement times. A word can begin circulating today on TikTok or Instagram and tomorrow be in common use among adolescents across the entire linguistic domain. This immediacy makes the processes of lexical change visible in real time and accentuates geographical and generational variation. Young people can become authentic laboratories of linguistic innovation: you just have to listen to them speak ('cringe', ''sed', 'random', 'crush', 'cancel someone') to see how new words circulate and how these words, over time, can enter the general colloquial register.

Cultural Change

Each neologism says something about the historical moment in which it appears, because it is linked to a cultural change or some kind of innovation. 'Empower' reflects new social struggles; 'sustainability', a new ecological awareness;streamer' or 'podcast,' a transformation in the way we communicate. Neologisms are, therefore, indicators of social change and, at the same time, guarantees of linguistic vitality. A language without new words is a language that doesn't renew itself, that doesn't know how to express the present. And yes, some words disappear as quickly as they arrive (no one goes to the internet café or talks about internet users), but others take root and end up seeming 'old-fashioned.' After all, when a language has the capacity to absorb and adapt to change, it shows that it's alive.