Why should 'macha', 'podcast' or 'trap' be included in the dictionary?

PalmWhat do the nouns 'macha', 'climate crisis', 'mental health', and 'tardecer' have in common? And the adjectives 'queer' and 'gaziano'? They are all words used today in Catalan, and this year they were candidates to be chosen as the neologism of the year 2025, a campaign launched in 2014 by the Neology Observatory of Pompeu Fabra University. The aim of the initiative, which has also been joined by the Philological Section of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC), Termcat, and 3Cat-esAdir, is to bring the language closer to its speakers, as it allows them to express their opinion through a vote in which they choose the neologism they believe should be incorporated. Dictionary of the Catalan language from the IEC. The increasing participation from edition to edition demonstrates the interest of the speakers themselves in their language and, above all, in updating the dictionary. In fact, the IEC is committed to considering the winning word as a possible new entry in the normative dictionary.

Why is it important, however, that dictionaries incorporate new words or new meanings of existing terms? In the introduction to the Dictionary of the Catalan language The IEC (DIEC2) already highlights the need for constant lexical revision, given that it is the level of language most susceptible to change, both due to historical factors and contact with other languages, and which, at the same time, can best represent reality "in all its manifestations." Consequently, the capacity of any language to create new words, that is, to generate neologisms, is an indicator of its vitality.

Neologisms

In The importance of neologisms for the sustainable development of the Catalan language (2004), Cabré proposes three criteria for identifying and classifying neologisms: formation, creation, and field of use. First, regarding formation, three pathways for integrating new units into the language are identified: creation, formation from linguistic resources and patterns already internalized by speakers, and borrowing from other languages. Second, a distinction is made between spontaneous and planned neologisms, depending on who generates a neological unit and for what purpose. Finally, depending on the field of use of neologisms, according to their users and intended audience, a distinction is made between general and specialized neologisms. Thus, an example is 'vermutería' (vermuty bar), a candidate for Neologism of the Year 2019, created from a recurring pattern in Catalan (the combination of the suffix '-eria', which refers to an establishment, with a noun), spontaneous, and in general use.

When thinking about what a neologism is, it's common to immediately think of words created for specific contexts or exotic words from other languages—often English and related to technology—such as 'app', 'tweet', 'trap', and 'phishing'. However, there are also cases where words not included in the standard dictionary are in common use, transparent, and that we all use. You can try it yourself: search the online version of the DIEC2 for the words 'podcast', 'geek', 'operating room', or 'single dose'. You won't get any results. The same thing happened with 'beer', a neologism from 2022, which wasn't added to the dictionary until May of the following year. Thus, neologisms in the second group are also considered lexicographical neologisms.

Lexicographical neologisms are words documented in usage, in the media, for example, but not included in the main or most common dictionaries of a language, not necessarily the standard ones. Therefore, words known to speakers, whether old or new, can also be neologisms even if they contradict speakers' intuition about what constitutes a neologism.

One of the main applications of studying neologisms in any language is updating dictionaries. The criteria used serve to determine what is known as the 'dictionaryability' of neologisms; that is, the condition that some words possess that prioritizes their inclusion. In the case of neologisms, it is the label they receive for being common units in their field of use but absent from dictionaries.

Constant evolution

Thus, although some may oppose the inclusion of neologisms in the standard dictionary—a process that, of course, must be carried out after passing through a series of preliminary filters and applying the appropriate dictionary criteria—it is important to remember that languages must be understood not only as a socio-political reality, but also as a sociopolitical reality of evolution. Therefore, the fact that a language's lexical repertoire undergoes changes that adapt to the reality of its speakers is a sign of vitality. In a way, the processes of lexical creation and incorporation in the world's languages could be likened to Darwinian evolutionary theory, whose maxim is adapt or die. For languages to remain alive, they must serve their speakers and be capable of creating words that reflect their world. Without lexical innovation, any language is doomed to extinction.

To avoid ending this with such a strong, or at least pessimistic, statement, I want to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy 2026, full of new words and, if you have a habit of them, a year full of 'nightfalls' – a neologism coined in 2025 – or, in Mallorca, a linguistic quirk.