汉语新词构词特征及其语义呈现方式研究 = A Study of the Word-Formation Characteristics of Chinese Neologisms and Their Semantic Presentation Patterns

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study investigates 116 Chinese neologisms (57 nouns, 48 verbs, and 11 adjectives) whose first recorded appearances date from 2016 to 2020, drawing on Hanyu Xinciyu as the primary corpus. These items are systematically examined from two complementary perspectives: word-formation patterns and modes of semantic realization.
From a morphological perspective, neologisms from this period are predominantly formed through established structural relations, including coordination, modification, subject–predicate, verb–object, verb–complement constructions, and derivation. By contrast, non-structural strategies such as abbreviation, blending, and playful coinage function mainly as external formation strategies rather than internal word-formation mechanisms. This distribution indicates that the creation of contemporary Chinese neologisms remains strongly grounded in existing grammatical resources, with innovation largely achieved through the reorganization and compression of conventional structures rather than through radical departures from the grammatical system.
From a semantic perspective, the meanings of these neologisms are realized through four major types of semantic presentation: (1) contextual reinterpretation of existing lexical meanings, (2) semantic specialization in network-mediated discourse, (3) the vernacularization of technical and professional terminology, and (4) identity marking through quasi-affixal formations. Rather than reflecting autonomous semantic mechanisms, these types capture recurrent ways in which lexical meanings are actualized under specific contextual and morphological conditions. In these processes, meanings are projected across categories, reconfigured within social contexts, and stabilized through context-dependent reinterpretation.
Overall, the semantic development of Chinese neologisms between 2016 and 2020 cannot be reduced to simple semantic extension. Instead, it proceeds through a chained process of inter-category projection, functional reconfiguration, and contextualized reinterpretation. This pattern highlights how lexical innovation in contemporary Chinese emerges from the dynamic interaction between linguistic structure, digital media environments, and evolving social experience.