Word formation varieties in French dictionaries' neologisms

Shofa Khairunnisa, Myrna Laksman-Huntley

Abstract


Le Petit Robert (LPR) and Larousse (LRS) are prominent and widely-used French dictionaries that regularly release new editions every year. This study aims to describe the word formation of society neologisms in the 2025 edition of both dictionaries and to verify each dictionary’s characteristics based on their neologisms selections. This qualitative study uses word formation theories by Delbecque (2006) and Lehmann & Martin-Berthet (1999). The result shows that society neologisms in both dictionaries are mostly formed through derivation. This indicates the productivity of the French affixation system and the effort of both dictionaries to ensure conformity of French grammar in selecting their neologisms. Additionally, this study supports previous research by Williams (2012) that LPR is more academic in nature, while LRS is an encyclopedic dictionary that is more facilitating for general users from various backgrounds.


Keywords: dictionary; French language; morphology; neologisms; word formation



Full Text:

PDF

References


Académie Française. (n.d.). Le dictionnaire: La 9e édition. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.academie-francaise.fr/le-dictionnaire/la-9e-edition

Ashrafova, I. (2024a). The Syntactic Adaptation of English Borrowings in Contemporary French. EuroGlobal Journal of Linguistics and Language Education, 1(1), 99–118.

Ashrafova, I. (2024b). Cross-Linguistic Influence: Analyzing English Loanwords in Contemporary French. American Journal of Language, Literacy, and Learning in STEM Education, 2(4).

Azzouzi, I. (2023). Analyse de la créativité lexicale dans la publicité de la presse écrite au Maroc entre 2007 et 2011. Revue Internationale Du Chercheur, 4(3), 1–17.

Bally, G., Klaunzer, P., Salamin, M., & Himbert, D. (2024). Le dictionnaire papier est-il condamné à prendre la poussière? Radio Télévision Suisse. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.rts.ch/info/2024/grand-format/le-dictionnaire-papier-est-il-condamne-a-prendre-la-poussiere-28518924.html

Barymova, N. S., & Erofeeva, A. A. (2023). French Neologisms from 2021-2022 (a dictionary review). Russian Linguistic Bulletin, 5(41).

Cholilulloh, G. G., & Purwani, N. (2022). Néologismes de la pandémie Covid-19 sur le réseau social Twitter français. Didacticofrancia: Journal Didactique Du FLE, 11(1), 35–47.

Chyrvonyi, O. (2024). The evolution of social media language: a sociolinguistic analysis of recent neologisms. Тrаnscarpathian Philological Studies, 35, 127–132.

Claessens, C. (2025). Désanonymisation forcée : comment Meta et Yandex ont exploité une faiblesse Android pour relier votre historique web à votre vraie identité. Clubic.Com. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.clubic.com/actualite-567786-desanonymisation-forcee-comment-meta-et-yandex-ont-exploite-une-faiblesse-android-pour-relier-votre-historique-web-a-votre-vraie-identite.html

Creswell, J. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage.

Delbecque, N. (2006). Linguistique cognitive: comprendre comment fonctionne le langage. De Boeck Supérieur.

Demet, A. (2024). Les tiktokeurs sont-ils la nouvelle source d’information ? “Le journalisme traditionnel évolue.” RTBF. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.rtbf.be/article/les-tiktokeurs-sont-ils-la-nouvelle-source-d-information-le-journalisme-traditionnel-evolue-11321950

Goupil, M. (2025). “Le masculinisme gagne du terrain car le féminisme est populaire et audible”, estime la sociologue Mélissa Bla. Franceinfo.Fr. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.franceinfo.fr/societe/violences-faites-aux-femmes/le-masculinisme-gagne-du-terrain-car-le-feminisme-est-populaire-et-audible-estime-la-sociologue-melissa-blais_7025672.html

Guerra, A. R. (2016). Dictionaries of neologisms: A review and proposals for its improvement. In Open Linguistics (Vol. 2, Issue 1). https://doi.org/10.1515/opli-2016-0028

Haspelmath, M., & Tadmor, U. (2009). Loanwords in the world’s languages: A comparative handbook. In Loanwords in the World’s Languages: A Comparative Handbook. De Gruyter Mouton.

Ibrahim, A. H., Edan, M. A., & Alnoori, B. S. M. (2024). Neologism in selected social media platforms: A Cross-Cultural Study. Pixel International Conferences: Innovation in Language Learning, 17.

Julisdianti, A. W., & Susanto, D. (2021). French neologisms in Larousse dictionary of 2018 and 2019. International Review of Humanities Studies, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.7454/irhs.v6i1.322

Kukiboyeva, M., & Rakhimova, N. (2024). The Peculiarities of Neologizms In Language And Speech. Emergent: Journal of Educational Discoveries and Lifelong Learning (EJEDL), 3(4).

Larousse. (n.d.). Encyclopédie Larousse En Ligne. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/divers/Larousse/128890

Lehmann, A., & Martin-Berthet, F. (1999). Introduction à la lexicologie : sémantique et morphologie. Dunod.

Lukina, M. S., & Gaynutdinova, D. Z. (2021). Neologisms in the sociopolitical discourse of modern French. EntreLinguas Journal, 7(3). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.29051/el.v7iesp.3.15713

Mariani, M. (2024). Les techniques de stalking sont-elles de pire en pire ? Radio France. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/veille-sanitaire/veille-sanitaire-du-lundi-15-janvier-2024-2863984

Moinard, G. (2022). Comment les mots entrent-ils dans le Petit Robert ? Le Robert. Retrieved March 4, 2025, from https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/dis-moi-robert/raconte-moi-robert/actualites/comment-les-mots-entrent-ils-dans-le-petit-robert.html

Murugova, E., & Evtushenko, S. (2023). Neologisms and its role in the development of modern sustainable ecosystemic society. E3S Web of Conferences, 420. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202342006028

Naja, T. S., & Laksman-Huntley, M. (2023). The use of anglicism in French and Quebec media headlines. Francisola: Revue Indonésienne de La Langue et La Littérature Françaises, 8(1), 9–21. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.17509/francisola.v8i1.60893

Niklas-Salminen, A. (2023). Les nouveaux mots dans le Petit Robert de la langue française 2021. Białostockie Archiwum Językowe, 23. https://doi.org/10.15290/baj.2023.23.12

Nogaeva, V. U. (2022). The Era of Digitalization: Anglicisms or their French Equivalents? (On the Example of Modern French). Courier of Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL)), 10. https://doi.org/10.17803/2311-5998.2021.86.10.096-103

Notre histoire. (n.d.). Le Robert. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.lerobert.com/notre-histoire.html

Picone, M. D. (1996). Anglicisms, neologisms and dynamic french. John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Polguère, A. (2003). Lexicologie et sémantique lexicale: notions fondamentales. PUM.

Pratama, M. E. S., Idris, Z., Simamora, T. H., & Tampubolon, J. S. (2020). Morphological Process Of Neologism Found In Social Networking Jargon. Vernacular: Linguistics, Literature, Communication and Culture Journal, 1(I). https://doi.org/10.35447/vernacular.v1ii.132

Ranc, A. (2022). Françoise d’Eaubonne and the Imperfect Foundation of Ecofeminist Thought. Green European Journal. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/francoise-deaubonne-and-the-imperfect-foundation-of-ecofeminist-thought/

Riggio, B. (2021). Attitudes Toward Anglicisms in Montpellier, France: A Study on Linguistic Purism and Americanization. Proceedings of GREAT Day, 2020(1), 173–206.

Ropert, F. (2009). Distance et proximité entre plusieurs discours dans l’argot journalistique de la revue Variety. ASp, 55. https://doi.org/10.4000/asp.222

Rosa, A., & Budiman, A. (2023). WORD FORMATION OF ENGLISH LOANWORDS IN MODE RUBRIC OF FRENCH VOGUE PARIS MAGAZINE. International Review of Humanities Studies, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.7454/irhs.v8i2.1120

Roubaud, M. N., & Sardier, A. (2022). Briser la glace entre lexique et syntaxe auprès d’élèves. L’étude Du Fonctionnement de La Langue Dans La Discipline Français: Quelles Articulations?, 13(271).

Sajous, F., & Martinez, C. (2022). Metalexicographical Investigations with the DiCo Database. International Journal of Lexicography, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/ijl/ecab017

Sargsyan, G., & Arakelyan, Z. (2024). The anglicism in the French language. Foreign Languages for Special Purposes, 23(1–2), 218–233. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.46991/flsp.v23i1-2.12188

Satriani, S., Said, I. K., & Asriani. (2021). Media Sosial sebagai Ruang Kreasi Neologisme. Al-MUNZIR, 14(1).

Schmid, H.-J. (2020). The Dynamics of the Linguistic System. In The Dynamics of the Linguistic System. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198814771.001.0001

Shahlee, S., & Ahmad, S. (2022). Morphological Processes of Social Media Neologisms. Development in Language Studies, 2(1).

Shi, A. (2025). An Analysis of Word-Formation Processes in Neologisms: A Case Study of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Lexikos, 35(1), 26–43. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5788/35-1-1977

Su, H. (2024). Sources and Updating of French Vocabulary. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Studies, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.32996/jhsss.2024.6.3.4

Townsend-Bell, E. (2021). ‘We entered as blacks and we left as Afro-descendants’: tracing the path to affirmative action in Uruguay. Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/17442222.2021.1877872

Wang, L., & Yuan, H. (2020). The Influence of Anglicism on French Language——Enrichment or Danger. Review of Educational Theory, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.30564/ret.v3i3.2044

Williams, G. (2012). Art for dictionaries sake: Comparing cultural outlooks through dictionaries and corpora. English Dictionaries as Cultural Mines, 171–200. https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00725345/

Würschinger, Q. (2021). Social Networks of Lexical Innovation. Investigating the Social Dynamics of Diffusion of Neologisms on Twitter. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2021.648583

Zella, G., Bolderdijk, J. W., Caselli, T., & Peels‐Matthey, S. (2025). The Role of Neologisms in the Climate Change Debate: Can New Words Help to Speed Up Social Change? Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 16(2).

Zufferey, S., & Moeschler, J. (2021). Initiation à la linguistique française. In Initiation à la linguistique française. Armand Colin. https://doi.org/10.3917/arco.ferey.2021.01




DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/francisola.v10i2.95520

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 FRANCISOLA

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

View My Stats