A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF SOME NEOLOGISMS ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Neologisms have become central to digital communication in the twenty-first century, particularly within highly interactive social media environments. While existing studies in Nigerian linguistics have examined slang, youth language, and morphological innovations, limited attention has been paid to the discursive functions of neologisms as used on major social platforms. This study investigates how Nigerian users employ neologisms on Instagram and Facebook to construct identity, negotiate social meanings, perform stance, and circulate ideologies. Drawing on Digital Discourse Theory and applying a qualitative, discourse-analytic methodology, the study examined fifteen public posts and comment threads containing neologistic items. Analysis reveals that Instagram fosters aesthetic, lifestyle-oriented, and identity-performative neologisms, while Facebook favours socio-emotional, narrative-driven, and morally loaded expressions. Across platforms, neologisms perform expressive, social, interpersonal, and ideological functions. They signal belonging, convey humor and irony, mark identity positions, and encode evolving cultural values. The study concludes that neologisms on Nigerian social platforms are not random lexical innovations but are central discourse resources that shape digital communication and contemporary sociolinguistic practices.