Beyond Hashtags: A Morphosyntactic Inquiry into English Neologisms Across Social Media Platforms

Abstract

This study examines the morphosyntactic patterns, communicative functions, and identity-related roles of English neologisms used by Generation Z across TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook. Employing a qualitative-descriptive research design, the study analyzed a manually collected corpus of 150 publicly accessible social media posts produced by apparent Gen Z users over a three-month period. Qualitative linguistic analysis was conducted using Aronoff's Word-Formation Theory, Jakobson’s Communicative Functions of Language, and the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE) to code neologisms by formation process, grammatical and semantic shifts, communicative functions, and identity signaling. Findings reveal that systematic morphosyntactic processes, including clipping, Taglish mixing, affixation of non-Filipino bases, acronymy, and orthographic stylization, shape Gen Z neologisms. The results further show that neologisms frequently undergo semantic and grammatical category shifts to fulfill referential, phatic, emotive, and conative functions in digital interaction. Additionally, the study demonstrates that neologisms serve as powerful resources for constructing generational identity, in-group solidarity, and platform-specific self-presentation. The study concludes that Gen Z neologisms are not random or fleeting slang but socially meaningful linguistic innovations shaped by platform affordances and digital culture. It is recommended that future research adopt longitudinal and quantitative approaches to track neologism diffusion and conventionalization. This study is relevant to linguistics, digital discourse studies, and sociolinguistics by documenting real-time language change across platforms. Pedagogically, this study is significant to English language teaching by encouraging the integration of contemporary digital language into instruction.