Sound symbolism highlights relative distinctiveness: Evidence from English vocabulary.

The subject of the study is the morphological features of sound-imitating vocabulary (onomatopoeia) in structurally different languages – Russian, English, and French. The object of the study consists of sound-imitating words selected from lexicographic sources and text corpora of the specified languages. The authors examine the history of research on this vocabulary in the works of domestic and foreign linguists, the issues of the motivation of the linguistic sign, as well as the controversial status of onomatopoeia in the language system, their relationship with interjections, and their connection to sound symbolism. Special attention is given to the determination of the part-of-speech belonging of sound imitations, the analysis of their semantic groups (linguophonations, zoophonations, anthropophonations, etc.), and classification by sound sources. The paper also investigates the ability of sound-imitating bases to serve as a foundation for the formation of new words and their integration into the grammatical system of each of the compared languages. The methodological foundation of the research comprises descriptive and comparative methods, as well as quantitative analysis. The authors use techniques of word formation and morphological analysis to identify productive models of onomatopoeia formation. The material for the analysis consists of data from electronic dictionaries (Ozhеgov, Dal, Ushakov, Oxford English Dictionary, LaRousse) and web corpora of texts (Multran, Araneum, Russicum, Anglicum, Francogallicum). The scientific novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive comparative analysis of the word-formation potential of sound-imitating vocabulary across three languages based on a unified methodological framework with the involvement of corpus data. Unlike many works that focus on the phonetic aspect, this research reveals patterns of the transition of onomatopoeia into significant parts of speech and the specificity of their further formation. The main conclusions of the conducted research are as follows: in all three languages, the core of sound-imitating vocabulary consists of interjections and the verbs and nouns derived from them, which is determined by their semantics (denoting sound, action, and process). The quantitative distribution of parts of speech differs: in the Russian language, due to its synthetic structure, verbs and nouns derived from them with rich affixation dominate; in the analytic English and French languages, nouns prevail. A significant contribution of the authors is the demonstration that the word-formation possibilities of onomatopoeia directly correlate with the grammatical structure of the language.

Abstract Between 2018 and 2025, the social media platform Twitter, and its successor X, emerged as the most important source of language evidence in updates and revisions to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). At the start of 2026, Twitter/X accounted for over 5,200 evidentiary quotations in the dictionary, including first evidence for 213 new words and senses. Based on detailed analysis of the underlying XML-encoded data of several historical iterations of the OED published between 2017 and the present, this article studies the dictionary’s recent turn towards Twitter/X as a major source of lexical evidence in updates to the OED since 2018, for words and senses both new and old, remarkable and un-. It begins with brief history of the OED’s incorporation of Twitter/X evidence over the last decade, noting ways in which that evidence differs from that of other major sources; then it discusses particularities of the Twitter/X corpus and factors affecting its suitability as evidence in historical lexicography; and finally it discusses some of the unique aspects of new and current English that Twitter/X has allowed the OED to document, before offering some concluding caveats.

ABSTRACT The editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, now in its third edition, document the diachronic development of English vocabulary from the 12th century to the present day. In so doing, they deal not only with lexical, semantic, and etymological issues but also with what may be termed cultural sensitivity. The hegemony of the British Empire, for instance, resulted in a number of borrowings from languages of indigenous peoples. In line with postcolonial theory, the borrowings need to be handled with caution, regarding, in particular, the quality of defining strategies and quotations illustrating usage. Since the sources of the quotations were produced by white colonisers, however, one might wonder whether casting off the colonial imprint is at all possible. This paper explores the lexicographical treatment of a handful of headwords for Eastern dancers. It aims to find out how the terms for concepts originating from the imperial periphery, embedded in a Victorian dictionary produced in the imperial metropole, have been reshaped for modern users and whether the treatment might be further refined.

This essay examines the gay twink as a figure that exhibits apocalyptic tendencies. The Oxford English Dictionary defines apocalypse as “a disaster resulting in drastic, irreversible damage to human society or the environment, esp. on a global scale; a cataclysm.” It also points a finger to the religious connotation of the word, “the Second Coming of Christ and ultimate destruction of the world.” To this extent, apocalypse seems to be incompatible with a dominant strand of queer theory that emphasizes José Esteban Muñoz's “world-making properties of queerness.” If the central project of queerness is to “dream and enact new and better pleasures,” as Muñoz prescribes, and to forge “other ways of being in the world, and ultimately [create] new worlds,” then the idea of apocalypse militates against such world-making and meaning-making enterprise of queerness. Placing twink beside apocalypse, this essay asks, what can queer theory learn from the figure of the twink? And, in proposing twinkpocalypse as a concept, the author asks, what is apocalyptic about twinks, and what is twinkish about apocalypse?

This study examines the historical development of the causative/inchoative alternation licensed by English verbs ending in -ate, -ize, and -(i)fy. While lexicalist theories (see, among others, Hale and Keyser 1986, Jackendoff 1990, Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995, 2005, 2011) focus on deep-structure derivation from causative to inchoative forms, this analysis emphasizes the necessity of both variants being attested in surface syntactic structure for such a derivation to occur. Drawing on diachronic evidence from the “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) and the “Early English Books Online” (EEBO) corpus, the analysis shows that the direction of emergence of the syntactic variants attested by verbs with these suffixes was not uniform. Some verbs follow the traditional causative- to-inchoative direction, others exhibit the reverse pattern, while a third group shows a simultaneous appearance of both forms. This observation raises questions about the unidirectional derivation model in deep-structure and may be interpreted as supporting more flexible, bidirectional, or non-derivational approaches, as proposed by Beavers and Koontz-Garboden (2020) and as suggested by the diachronic evidence in Lavidas (2013). It also appears consistent with the claim made by Rappaport Hovav (2014) that changes in the speakers’ perception of causation may influence the development of alternating syntactic variants. In all, the paper concludes that the causative/inchoative alternation is historically dynamic and calls for theoretical models that integrate diachronic data and account for lexical, morphosyntactic, and usage-based variation.

The present article offers an overview of the Oxford English Dictionary’s (OED) continuing efforts to improve its coverage of words originating from world varieties of English, such as those spoken in Anglophone communities in postcolonial Southeast Asia. In these new centers of English, millions of second-language speakers use a variety of linguistic mechanisms to adapt the English word store to their unique cultural and social milieu, and the OED is documenting this distinctive vocabulary by including a wider range of lexical innovations from Southeast Asian varieties of English that more accurately reflect the way that the language is being used in the region. The article places particular emphasis on the Philippine English lexicon and the implications of its inclusion in the OED to English language teaching in the Philippines, and concludes with some recommendations on how to effectively engage with the OED’s Philippine content in the local classroom.

This study examines a diachronic evolution of king-based lexical formations, focusing on their semantic and morphological productivity from Old English to the present. Using Cognitive Metaphor Theory, diachronic lexical semantics, and data from the Oxford English Dictionary, the analysis tracks over 250 formations, highlighting compounding as the primary mechanism of lexical innovation. Notably, over 95% of king-derived lexical innovations result from compounding, yielding both endocentric and exocentric constructions. Findings reveal that while king originally functioned as a marker of political authority, the lexicogenesis in which it was involved shifted the term into diverse new conceptual domains, including ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, SOCIETY, and COMMERCE. Medieval formations reinforced hierarchy, while the 16th–17th centuries saw more metaphorical coinages extending into nature, festivities, and commerce. These findings link socio-political changes, especially the decline of absolute monarchy and the rise of parliamentary governance, to the semantic evolution of the lexeme king.

Cethrenes represent a promising platform for realizingall-organicmagnetic photoswitchesprovided that three requirements aremet. The open form needs a thermally accessible triplet state to unlockmagnetic properties, its energy relative to the closed form shouldlie within an accessible range, and the energy barrier between thetwo forms must be sufficiently high to achieve bistability. However,fulfilling the first and second criteria appear to compromise thethird. Can this Catch-22 be solved? [Oxford English Dictionary defines a Catch-22 as a difficult situation or problem which cannotbe resolved because the conditions necessary for its resolution areparadoxical or conflicting, with allusion to Joseph Heller’s1961 novel of the same name.]

Sanskrit language in Europe served as a starting point for researchers in establishing several linguistic methods, including the historical method, which represents a significant phase in the history of linguistic research in the 19th century. As a result, several dictionaries emerged incorporating the mechanisms of this method, which attempts to trace language through successive time periods. Among the most notable is the Oxford English Dictionary, a landmark in the history of Western dictionaries, as it is considered the first historical dictionary compiled according to its mechanisms. Among Arabs, despite the urgent need for such dictionaries, none has yet been fully realized for various reasons. Nevertheless, Arab efforts toward compiling a historical dictionary cannot be denied. Evidence of this is the German orientalist Fischer, who was the first to think of compiling one, but circumstances delayed it. Later, the Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir appeared, though still incomplete. Returning to our heritage, we ask: Can Lisan al-Arab be considered a historical dictionary?

Some of the major questions about back-formation are considered, using data mainly from English, with many examples taken from the Oxford English Dictionary, though some are new. The discussion, therefore, is not necessarily generalizable to other languages. The evidence is not always unequivocal, and one of the most fundamental questions remains unanswered: How is normal formation possible in cases where the base has no independent existence?

This study aimed to find the underlying form of the prefixes in-, im-, il-, ir- and morphological processes occurring in the complex words containing those prefixes. The researchers focus on the negation, meaning only words with a prefix that changes the initial meaning of the root word into a negative meaning are qualified. Descriptive analysis was employed. Seventy qualified words from the Oxford English Dictionary were chosen to be analysed. The researchers formulated two research questions: (1) What is the underlying form of the prefixes in-, im-, il-, and ir-? and (2) What morphological processes occurred in the complex words containing prefixes in-, im-, il-, and ir-? The findings showed that the prefix in- is the underlying form of those prefixes seen from the lenses of morphology and phonology. Further, affixation is a morphological process that occurs in complex words containing those prefixes. This study contributes to shaping a better understanding of the prefix in- and its assimilated forms for English educators and language learners. Implications are discussed.

English is a global lingua franca, and American English (AmE) is its most widely used variety. Most aspects of 21st-century communication are shaped by AmE, making its mastery indispensable. Many learners, however, favor British English and its dictionaries, thereby studying AmE through a British lexicographical lens. This study investigated six popular British dictionaries to examine their representations of American pronunciation and the global implications. Using mixed methods framed in Chomsky’s Generative Phonology, Zgusta’s Metalexicography, and Kachru’s World Englishes, the study purposively analyzed dictionary screenshots, relevant tables, and graphical figures. Findings reveal that the Oxford Dictionary of English, which diverges most, uses vertical strokes (| |) instead of slashes (/ /) and capitalized digraphs in its respelling system; Collins Dictionary encloses phonemes in round brackets and marks stress with an underscore (_); the Cambridge Dictionary alone, which aligns most closely with General American (GA), uses GA symbols such as /t̬/ for the flapped /t/ and /ɚ/, /ɝː/ for rhoticized vowels; the Oxford English Dictionary uniquely uses the symbol /ɛ/ for the pet-vowel; and the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary represents the American goat-vowel with the British phoneme /əʊ/. Globally, these inconsistencies in transcriptional norms complicate teaching, affect communicative clarity, weaken standardization efforts, impact digital technologies, and shape sociolinguistic identities. The study recommends collaborative guidelines to harmonize conventions and urges educators to adopt reliable norms. Given the research gap, future studies may investigate how American dictionaries apply GA symbols in representing American English pronunciation and prosody.

This study investigates coloratives (color nominations) as markers of modernity and indicators of current cultural, social, and political conflicts. It explores how color vocabulary contributes to the formation of public discourse, reflecting key trends and contradictions of the 21st century. Approximately 80 significant colorative units from the “Word of the Year” rankings between 2014 and 2024 are analyzed. The sources include official “Word of the Year” lists from the Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, FundéuRAE, and Instituto Cervantes. The materials for analysis are drawn from public corpora, news archives, social media, and analytical reviews accompanying annual linguistic rankings. Contexts in English, German, and Spanish are examined. The nominations Black Lives Matter, Greenwashing, White Supremacy, and White Parties are interpreted. The study raises the issue of how coloratives are increasingly employed to construct ideological positions and mobilize audiences. It demonstrates that the dynamics of color semantics directly correlate with socio-political shifts: for instance, the rising use of coloratives denoting ‘black’ is linked to the global anti-racist movement, while ‘green’ is associated with the environmental agenda and its commercialization. The novelty of this research lies in its systematic cross-linguistic reconstruction of the evolution of coloratives as markers of modernity based on authoritative linguistic rankings.

Because of the growing need to express new ideas and feelings, new words are formed constantly. The area that is concerned with this is word formation. It is a part of morphology that deals with the processes that form new words. The processes are compounding, derivation, conversion, clipping, blending, initialism, acronym, reduplication. The study shows that the processes are not equally productive because some processes are very productive while some of them are very unproductive. The aim of this study is to find out how many new words have been added to Oxford English Dictionary from 2020 to 2024. To show the processes of word formation that formed the new entries and to find out the most productive processes during that period. This study makes use of a mixed approach as it presents the numerical data of the new entries and analyses these entries morphologically. The data is collected from Oxford English Dictionary Online for analyzing the entries of new words in English.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 'First People(s)' (also written uncapitalized) is a chiefly Canadian term: '(Usually in plural) Indigenous peoples in Canada, considered collectively; First Nations, Inuit, and M etis peoples; (also more generally) the Indigenous peoples of any country or region'.The OED further dates the earliest known use of the noun to the title of a 1973 book, The first peoples in Quebec; a reference work on the history, environment, economic and legal position of the Indians and Inuit of Quebec, by Toby Ornstein. 1 I have found no scholarly accounts which adduce an earlier usage.However, some fifteen years earlier than Ornstein's book, Laurens van der Post can be seen using the term in whatas I will demonstrate-is an identical sense.This absence of a reference to Van der Post is particularly puzzling considering his two key texts which I discuss are frequently cited in other entries. 2 Van der Post was an Afrikaner South African who established himself as a leading public intellectual and prolific author in the UK during the second half of the 20th century.His public and more learned-literary career converged on the topic of the Bushman, 3 the collective name for a number

Abstract: When, in Hyperion: A Fragment (1820), John Keats described the Titan God Hyperion as “unsecure,” he was using a word that, at least according to the Oxford English Dictionary , had been obsolete for nearly 100 years. The term “unsecured,” in contrast, was first coined in the 1780s, initially as a way of describing debt that lacked collateral. Although almost as rare as “unsecure,” the word “unsecured” surfaces in Sir Walter Scott’s novels at the start of the 1820s in reference to individuals on the margins of imprisonment. This article proposes that, although obscure, these contrasting conceptualizations of insecurity nonetheless throw some light upon the growing significance of security in nineteenth-century Britain.

This study investigates how Indonesian cultural identity has been constructed and negotiated through agreements with UNESCO and examines its influence on global awareness, cooperation, and collaboration. A descriptive-qualitative analysis was conducted on 414 pages of Indonesian–English contract texts available in UNESCO’s online repository, focusing on cultural-specific words and items classified according to Ahimsa-Putra and Rachman’s (2021) taxonomy and coded as either resistance or negotiation following Venuti and Eco. The analysis involved descriptive coding using definitions from the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia and the Oxford English Dictionary, Source–Target Relations (STR) analysis to identify shifts, thematic categorization of translation strategies, and interpretive analysis based on Derrida’s concepts of meaning shifts and différance. A conceptual framework was developed to ensure semantic alignment and control for potential confounders during validation of meaning connotation, with authoritative dictionaries used to validate the lexicon and cross-literature checks conducted to compare our dataset with established literature anchors. The findings indicate that direct equivalence translation is infrequent, with contrastive searches for equivalents often resulting in faithful representation in terms of meaning, identity, and culture, and that generative description reveals nuanced relationships between translation choices and the representation of cultural identity.Keywords: Cultural identity, Cultural references, Negotiation, Translation, UNESCO Agreements

The Oxford English dictionary’s earliest citation for the coinages Baxterianism and Baxterian to refer to the distinctive ecclesiological and theological thought of the seventeenth-century Puritan divine Richard Baxter is dated 1835, with no examples of use after 1839. This is incorrect. These, and related terms, originated in the 1650s and were in regular use during the intervening 185 years (as well as thereafter to the present day). This essay traces the changing signification and usage of these terms from the religious controversies of the seventeenth-century through the development of denominational identities and of a moderate tradition within eighteenth-century dissent that contributed to the development of Unitarianism.

Abstract How do multicultural groups communicate to reflect common cultural understanding in online discussion forums? How do they engage coinages and neologisms in discussion forums to reflect their common understanding of conceptualizations of ideas? These are the issues interrogated in this study. This study investigates the cultural conceptualizations of coinages and neologisms in Nairaland Forum . Eliciting fifty coinages and neologisms from Nairaland Forum through purposive sampling method between 2003 and 2004 and subjecting them to analysis using Cultural Linguistics, findings showed that coinages and neologisms emerge in the context of online self-presentation, as well as in contemporary social and political contexts in Nigeria. The coinages and neologisms derive from collective cognition of Nigerian internet users, which could be English, Nigerian Pidgin, and indigenous language expressions. This study concludes that the emergence of these new forms in cyberspace within the context of English as a second language is an indication of the speakers’ expression of ownership of English within their domain. It is also their own contribution to the expansion of English vocabulary, as some of these new expressions have found their ways into standard English dictionaries like the Oxford English Dictionary .