
7+(:25)2507,212)6/17(50621
(1/,6+19,(710(6(62&,/0(,,1
7DQ7KL7K3KRQ
1HQDLRQ
Email:phuongttt@yersin.edu.vn
Received:05/08/2024
Revised:17/02/2025
Accepted:26/02/2025
DOI:10.59266/houjs.2025.532
EVWDFWKHVWGGHHGLQWRWKHRPDWLRQRVDQWHPVRQ(QLVKDQG9LHWQDPHVH
social media in 2023, utilizing a theoretical framework that combines the works of Yule
(2010),Meyer(2009),Schmid(2015),andLe(2023).Employingaquantitativemethodto
analyze thedata,the researchersdiscoveredseveralinstancesof variouswordformation
processesinbothlanguages.InEnglish,thisstudyfound14casesofmeaningextension,5of
acronyms,5ofcoinage,4ofclipping,3ofcompounding,1ofconversion,and1ofsyllable
change.Meanwhile,Vietnamesehad13casesofmeaningextension,8ofborrowing,8of
syllablechange,7ofcompounding,6ofmultipleprocesses,and2ofcoinage.Ultimately,this
researchaimstocontributetotheeldoflinguisticsbyexpandingourknowledgeofword
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YersinUniversityofDaLat
,,QWURGFWLRQ
Word-formation research aims
to uncover, categorize, and model the
PFKDQLVPV KDQUOL KSURFLRQ
R Q DQ LVLQJ FRPSO OPV
(Schmid,2015).However,thevarietyof
waysthatawordformsisstilldebatable.
For example, Bauer (1983, p. 1), stated
that “There is, at the moment, so single
‘theory of word-formation’, nor even
DJUPQ RQ K NLQ R DD KD LV
relevant for the construction of such a
theory.”Asimilarideawasconveyedina
recentstudybySchmid(2015),whichsaid
KDKULVDJUDDORLVDJUPQ
overthespecicsofhowword-formation
processes shouldbemodeled.Therefore,
RKU UVDUFK UJDULQJ RU RUPDLRQ
isneverabundant.
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of the vocabulary and the roleof social
media in replenishing it. According to
Arnold (1973), the lexical system is
adaptable,andvocabularychangestomeet
the ever-evolving demands of culture,
human communication, and otherneeds.
Rapidtechnologicaladvancementhasled
totheexpansionofthissystem,associal
media are believed to have contributed
R FUDLQJ VRP Q RUV KLFK DU
related to word formation types, which
isstatedbyFaradisaetal.(2019).Hence,
L LV VVQLDO R UVDUFK K RUPDLRQ
of slang terms coined on social media.
Becauseofthis,wechosetoconductthe
study “The Word Formation of Slang
7UPVRQ(QJOLVKDQ9LQDPV6RFLDO
Mediain2023”.
The study focuses on achieving
thesetwoaims:toinvestigateandcompare
RURUPDLRQSURFVVVLQKFUDLRQ
RVODQJUPVRQ(QJOLVKDQ9LQDPV
VRFLDO PLD LQ  DQ R DPLQ
VUDQJ LQVDQFV URP KLFK Q
KRULV FDQ E SURSRV LQ (QJOLVK DQ
Vietnamesesocialmediaword-formation.
Based on the study’s objectives,
R UVDUFK TVLRQV U PD DV
follows:(1)Whataretheword-formation
SURFVVV RQ LQ FUDLQJ VODQJ UPV
RQ(QJOLVKDQ9LQDPVVRFLDOPLD
in 2023, and how do these processes
dieracrossthetwolanguages?(2)Are
thereanystrangeinstances?If so,what
newtheoriescanbedevelopedtoexplain
thesephenomena?
,,/LWHUDWUH5HYLH
ODQWHPV
According to Haspo and Rosa
(2018),slangisaformoflanguageused
ERQJSRSOLKLQDSDULFODUJURS
withasharedinterest.Le(2023)arguesthat
PDQVODQJSKUDVVVERQJSRSO
DU JUDDOO SDQLQJ LQ PDQLQJ DQ
EFRPLQJPRULQJUDLQLQKODQJDJ
patterns of users, potentially becoming
universal language components. The
prevalenceofsocialmediahascontributed
tothedevelopmentofslanglanguage,as
Prastikawatietal.(2021)noted.However,
some slang terms are popular briey
beforebecomingoutdated(Le,2023).
:RIRPDWLRQ
Kirtman (2005) provided a brief
description, stating that word formation
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vocabulary. To be more precise, Yule
(2010) denes word formation as the
processbywhichnewwordsarecreated,
LKUQLUOQRUVRUEFKDQJLQJ
oldones, and then become a partof the
language.Schmid(2015)putoutthesame
concept,whichincludedthegoalofword
RUPDLRQFUDLQJUOVDQRKUNLQV
ofgeneralizations.
2.3.Word-formationClassication
Yule (2010) divided word-
RUPDLRQ SURFVVV LQR PDQ JURSV
coinage, borrowing, compounding,
blending, clipping, backformation,
conversion, acronym, derivation, and
multiple processes. Other researchers
proposedsimilarprocesses,includingtwo
PRU FDJRULDLRQ PKRV PDQLQJ
extension(Meyer,2009)andreduplication
(Schmid, 2015). With Vietnamese slang,
Le (2023) additionally proposed these
RURUPDLRQ SURFVVV VOODEO
change, homonyms, spoonerism, and
addingnewelements.
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toMeyer(2009),meaningextensionisa
commonprocessinEnglishthatinvolves
extendingthemeaningofexistingwords.
7KLVSURFVVRQRFFUVKURJKKV
of metaphors,where new words take on
themeaningofexistingones.Examplesof
thisphenomenon include“heart” in“the
heartofthecity”and“head”in“thehead
of a university “. Just about any word,
ifitisaroundlongenough,willhaveits
PDQLQJQDVRPLPULQJLV
life,” Meyer also underlined in his book
(2009,p.178
5HGSOLFDWLRQFFRULQJR6FKPLV
(2015) proposition, the phenomenon of
reduplication can be perceived as a
word-formation process that involves
the repetition of a given word, word-
like element, or a segment of the word
in its original form (hush-hush), often
accompanied by a modied vowel (hip-
hop) or an alternate consonant (boogie-
woogie).

&RLQDJHAccordingtoYule(2010),
FRLQDJ LV K FUDLRQ R QLUO Q
UPLQRORJK PRV FRPPRQ DPSO
LVKQDPRDFRPPUFLDOSURFKD
becomesagenericphrase.Meyer(2009)
referred to the process with a dierent
name, “root creation,” and considered
“echoic”wordssuchas“cuckoo”or“zap”
toalsobetheproductsofthiscreation.
%RUURLQJAs per Yule’s (2010)
explanation,borrowingreferstoincorporating
RUV DQ KLU UDQVODLRQV URP RKU
languages.Unlikesomelanguagesthatare
hesitant to adopt vocabulary from foreign
languages, English has a history of being
receptivetosuchlinguistictransfers(Meyer,
2009). On theother hand, loan translation
RU FDOT LV D LVLQF S R ERUURLQJ
wheretheindividualcomponentsofaword
DU UDQVOD LUFO LQR K ERUURLQJ
language(Yule,2010).Itisbelievedthatthe
Englishword“superman”isanexampleof
loan translation derived from the German
word“Übermensch.”
&RPSRQGLQJ FFRULQJ R O
(2010),compoundingisthemergingoftwo
distinct words to create a single form. In
English,compoundingisthemostecient
methodforcreatingnewwords(Plag,2003).
AccordingtoMeyer(2009),compoundscan
takeonvariousforms,suchastwoseparate
words(e.g.“policeocer”),asingleword
(e.g. “policeman”), or a hyphenated word
(e.g.“word-formation”).
%OHQGLQJ FFRULQJ R O
(2010), blending is fusing two distinct
forms to create a new term, which is
SLFDOO DFFRPSOLVK E DNLQJ RQV
EJLQQLQJ DQ DDFKLQJ L R K Q R
anotherword.Occasionally,wemayalso
blend the rst syllables of both words,
VFKDVLKLQRUPDLRQFKQRORJUPV
likemodem(modulator/demodulator)and
telex(teleprinter/exchange)(Yule,2010).
&OLSSLQJAccordingtoYule(2010),
clippingisshorteningawordbyremoving
oneormoresyllables,whichistypically
done in informal speech. Additionally,
Yule (2010) highlights another type of
reduction known as hypocorisms, where
alongerwordsuchas“movingpictures”
FDQ E UF R D VLQJO VOODEO DQ
thenappendedwith-yor-i.e.,resultingin
thecommonlyusedterm“movie.”
%DFNIRUPDWLRQFFRULQJR6FKPL
(2015), backformation is the removal of
D ERQ PRUSKP RU PRUSKPOLN
element.
&RQYHUVLRQ Yule (2010) stated
thatconversionisthetermforashiftina
word’sfunction,suchaswhenanounstarts
to be employed as a verb (without any
reduction). Meyer (2009) referred to this
processasa“functionalshift.”Yule(2010)
noted that Modern English conversion is
highlyproductive,resultinginnewusesof
wordsbeingcreatedonaregularbasis.
FURQPV FFRULQJ R O
(2010),anacronymisanewwordcreated
from the rst letters of a group of other
words, which can be pronounced as a
wordorsequencesofletters.Additionally,
Meyer (2009) proposes that acronyms
QFRPSDVV R LVLQF SURFVVV KRV
KD FDQ E VSRNQ DV D VLQJO RU
(acronyms) and those that require letter-
by-letterenunciation(abbreviations).
HULYDWLRQAsdenedbySchmid
(2015),derivationisaxinganewterm
toanexistingone.Wordsmaybeformed
by adding components like “nhà, giả,
sĩ,...”toexistingones,asstatedbyTac&
Huy(2016).
6OODEOH&DQJH Le (2023) listed
DSDULDOFKDQJLQVOODEORUPDVRQR
thewaystocreateslang.
+RPRQPV Le (2023) mentioned
KDRQFKQLTRRUPVODQJLVRV
thephenomenaofhomonyms,whichare
RUV LK LQLFDO SURQQFLDLRQV E
dierentmeanings.

6SRRQHULVP6SRRQULVP DV
regardedbyLe(2023)asoneoftheways
tocreateslang.
GGLQJ1H(OHPHQWVLe(2023)
OLVDLQJQOPQVDVRQDR
createslang.
0OWLSOH 3URFHVV FFRULQJ R
Yule (2010), it is feasible to track the
collaborationofmanyprocessesinvolved
informingagivenword.
3HLRVWLHV
Sari (2018) concentrated on
DPLQLQJ K PFKDQLVPV E KLFK
RUV DU RUP RQ VRFLDO PLD
platforms like Instagram and Twitter.
In the end, inection emerged as the
PRV FRPPRQ RUP R RU FUDLRQ
process, followed by compounding and
acronyms. In order to shed light on the
word generation processes discovered
on Instagram, Faradisa et al. performed
astudyin2019.Thethreemostcommon
procedures were discovered to be
acronyms, borrowing, andabbreviations.
Sihombing(2021)conductedresearchon
RUFUDLRQLQDUSRUUODVEK
WorldEconomicForuminJanuary2021.
,,,0HWRGRORJ
EMHFWV
7KVRFVVRQKUTQO
V VODQJ UPV RQ (QJOLVK DQ
9LQDPVVRFLDOPLDULQJKDU
2023. The scope of these terms spans
ERK QO FRLQ RUV DQ KRV KD
had been previously created but were
USRSODUL ULQJ K FRUV R K
research year. These terms correspond
to a wide range of topics, including but
QR OLPL R SRSODU RR QDPV DQ
personalmoodindicators.Itisimportantto
QRKDSKUDVVRUVQQFVKDJDLQ
popularity in 2023 have been excluded
fromthestudy,astheydonotfallunder
thepurviewofwordformationtheories.
DWDROOHFWLRQ,QVWPHQWV
7KUVDUFKQULVFVVLRQU
upon a diverse array of contemporary
socialmediacharts,ablog-basedsurvey,
DQ USDEO QVSDSU DULFOV DV
primary data sources. Regarding social
mediacharts,theresearchreliedonYounet
Media,CoccocYearinSearch2023,and
WechoiceZ-slang.Asurveyconductedby
preply.comwasemployedtocollectdata
oncontemporary slang.Additionally,the
studydrewonanumberofothersources,
including dantri.vn, voh.com.vn,ef.com,
andstudyusa.com.
DWDROOHFWLRQ0HWKRV
RegardingmodernEnglishslang,a
surveycarriedoutbypreply.comin2023
servesasthemainreference.Thesurvey
JDKUUVSRQVVURPSDUQVKR
havechildrenaged12to18andcovered
DUDQJRTVLRQVRLQLKPRV
commonly used slang terms in 2023.
Additionally,sourcessuchasef.comand
studyusa.comwereconsulted.
DWDQDOVLV3RFHH
Thepaperemploysthequantitative
method. After identifying the word
RUPDLRQ SURFVV EKLQ DFK VODQJ
term using the theoretical framework,
K QPEU R LQVDQFV RU DFK RU
RUPDLRQ SURFVV DV V DV VDLVLFV
for analysis and comparison. To provide
abetterillustrationofthestatistics,charts
wereutilizedfordataanalysis,followedby
acomprehensiveanalysisofthendings.
,9)LQGLQJVDQGLVFVVLRQ
:R)RPDWLRQ 3RFHVVHV LQ
7KHHDWLRQRIODQ7HPVRQ(QOLVK
DQ9LHWQDPHVHRFLDO0HLDLQ
4.1.1.Word-FormationProcessesin
KH &HDWLRQ R DQ HPV RQ (QLVK
RLD0HGLDLQ
In 2023, 33 English social media
slang terms were identied through 7
distinct word formation processes. The

appendixanalyzestheseinstances,anditis
discoveredthatmeaningextensionwasthe
mostfrequentlyusedmethod,accounting
for 14 outof the33 terms(42.4%).The
terms“Era”and“Extra”aretwoexamples
ofthisword-formationtechnique,whereby
KLURULJLQDOPDQLQJVUSDQR
describenewconceptsandexperiences.
Figure1.Word-formationprocessesin
WKHHDWLRQRVDQWHPVRQ(QLVK
VRLDPHGLDLQ
FURQPV DQ FRLQDJ U K
second most commonly used methods,
appearing in 5 out of 44 cases (15.2%
total).Acronymssuchas“Iykyk”(Ifyou
know,youknow)and“DTB”(don’ttrust
boys or don’t trust b**) were prevalent,
as were coinages such as “Sheesh” and
“Oof,” which convey admiration and
unease,respectively.
Clipping and compounding were
popular word formation methods,
accounting for 12.1% and 9.1% of
instances,respectively.Clippingexamples
include “Sus” (suspicious) and “Rizz”
(charisma)whilecompoundingexamples
include “Finna” (xing + to) and
“Situationship”(situation+relationship).
Lastly, conversion and syllable
FKDQJ U K ODV UTQO V
wordformationmethods,eachaccounting
for 3% of the total instances. The term
“Slay” was changed from a verb to an
adjective, meaning ‘awesome, lovely,
or cool,’while “Turnt” isanexampleof
syllablechange(turned/turn),meaning‘to
becomeenthusiasticaboutsomething.’
4.1.2. Word-Formation Processes
LQ KH &HDWLRQ R DQ HPV RQ
9LHWQDPHVHRLD0HGLDLQ
ItisnoteworthythatinVietnam,as
oftheyear2023,thereare44socialmedia
slang terms, which are believed to have
been created using six identied word
formation processes. These processes
are specied in the appendix, witheach
instance being clearly outlined. From
amongthetermsstudied,itwasobserved
KDRUVUFUDVLQJPDQLQJ
extension, makingit themost frequently
used word formation method, with a
frequency of 29.5%. Examples of such
extensions include “Cà nhính” and “Xịt
keo,” which originally meant ‘to eat
little by little’ and ‘spraying a cosmetic
used tostyle hair’ respectively, buthave
now come to mean ‘expressing interest
and excitement’ and‘expressingsurprise
RU PEDUUDVVPQ R K SRLQ R ELQJ
unabletospeak’.
Figure2.Word-formationprocessesin
WKHHDWLRQRVDQWHPVRQ9LHWQDPHVH
VRLDPHGLDLQ
Borrowing and syllable change
U RQ R E K VFRQ PRV V
wordformationmethods,with8outof44