Abstract:
Our society is not the same as it was 100 years ago. A group of speakers is constantly changing, and therefore a lexicon likewise changes. The lexicon of each language appears like a mirror that reflects various changes. The changes in society and in people's minds affect the inventory of vocabulary, which is being enriched every day by new words. New words appear as lexical representatives of various phenomena from everyday life. Old terms can often disappear, being replaced by newly created words. These new words that name phenomena, objects or situations are called neologisms. The purpose of the present study is to determine the number and character of neologisms in Der Spiegel magazine from the years 2008, 2011, and 2012. In my study, I examine the quantitative as well as qualitative development of neologisms found in three issues of Der Spiegel from 2008, 2011, and 2012, respectively. In these issues, I look for such neologisms that have not yet been registered in German dictionaries of neologisms by Herberg, Kinne & Steffens (2004) and by Quasthoff (2007). Furthermore, I analyze the meaning, word formation types, and thematic categories of corpus neologisms by comparing them with the neologisms registered in Neuer Wortschatz. Neologismen der 90er Jahre im Deutschen by Herberg, Kinne & Steffens, and those neologisms registered in the Deutsches Neologismenwörterbuch by Quasthoff.
