A Morpho-Pragmatic Analysis of Culinary Neologisms from Instagram Pages

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse the new form of pseudo-language that has been proliferated due to the
burgeoning use of Instagram. The scope of this paper is limited to neologisms of culinary domain
or the nascent language of food traditions. The study is descriptive qualitative. Data comprises of
20 culinary neologisms taken from Instagram pages. The theoretical framework of the study is
based upon An Onomasiological Theory of Word-Formation in English by Pavol Štekauer (1998).
A detailed morphological and pragmatic analysis of selected items is done by keeping in view the
postulates of onomasiology. The findings of the study affirm that fluidity is in the nature of
language. Moreover, speech communities create new terms to satisfy their conversational needs.
The study is significant in a way that it can contribute new coinages to English lexicon. Studying
about neology enhances mastery over vocabulary. Furthermore, linguistic ingenuity is a vital skill
that needs to be mastered by advertisers and marketers to augment the interest of consumers.