| Neologisms refer to the words coined to represent new things that turn up in society. They are used frequently and accepted by most people. The continuous appearance of neologisms is an important social phenomenon. They play a role of mirror in the development of society and they are sensitive to the changes of society. In the new century featured by rapid development in science and technology, new things emerge and corresponding new words are coined by the public. In modern society, English and Chinese have become the most influential languages in the world. Therefore, more and more linguists and foreign language teachers have begun to pay more attention to the comparative study of English and Chinese neologisms.Neologisms selected for analysis in this thesis come from a few sources: The renowned journal American Speech, famous dictionaries, such as A Dictionary of 21st Century English New Words, A Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese New Words, some online magazines and dictionaries about new words. As neologisms appear at a fast speed and in great numbers, this thesis focuses on three types of neologisms: neologisms related to science and technology, neologisms related to news report, and neologisms related to the Internet. Many linguists studying neologisms emphasize the classifications of neologisms. However, in this thesis, the author puts emphasis on the comparison between English and Chinese neologisms in the 21st century in terms of word formation, semantic meaning and social characteristics.The main objective of the study is to provide an intensive analysis of neologisms and to offer some help to those who are interested in this subject. It is hoped that a thesis like this would well acquaint its readers not only with English and Chinese neologisms in the 21st century, but also with Eastern and Western cultures and social development. It is also hoped that information provided in this thesis will greatly benefit language learners, language teachers, as well as translators and interpreters. |
