Abstract:
This thesis sought to investigate the semantics and morphology of
Mfantse neologisms, to highlight the most common word formation process
used in their formation, the neologism type common in Mfantse and the
meanings that are attributed to these neologisms since neologisms form a
highly relevant linguistic category for such reasons as follows: they are the
elements that make a language living and dynamic rather than dead, they are
indicative of language change and they help to show productive morphology of
a language. A thematic analysis of eighty Mfantse neologisms collected from
four radio stations in the Central Region by the processes of psychology,
lexicography and interview methods of neologism identification was done to
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show the characteristics of such neologisms. Stekauer’s (2002)
onomasiological theory of word formation formed the theoretical basis for the
study. The study showed that compounds are the most common in Mfantse
neologisms. The most common word class that neologisms belong to is the
class of noun. Morphological neologisms are the neologism types common in
Mfantse. It was also revealed that native speakers face comprehension
problems. However, the context of usage of neologisms aids their
comprehension. Given the important role neologisms play in language
development, it is recommended that a further study on the acceptability of
these neologisms be conducted to assist lexicographers to in updating their
dictionaries.
