In this paper, different word formation processes used by Twitter users, specifically Taylor Swift fans, will be analyzed. Unsurprisingly, as there are millions of tweets regarding this discourse, the chosen tweets are only a small selection but they should be able to give an overview. Since a lot of the fans are very passionate about Swift-related content, it is expected to find various forms of newly shaped word formations. In addition, it is probable that especially the replies to impressive milestones and successes of the singer, as well as tweets talking about the new songs will be filled with a lot of emotional utterances in which one can find different practices of word formation processes.
Twitter is a social media platform where a lot of fans come together to talk about their favorite artist. Especially singer and songwriter Taylor Swift accumulates many fans, who frequently tweet about her and her music on the platform. They share their opinions, thoughts and excitement through the short postings. Moreover, the announcement and release of Swift’s tenth studio album Midnights are catalysts for many new tweets and therefore new word formations.
Naturally, one can find a lot of different word formation processes in these tweets as Twitter is a mostly text-based social media platform. It isn’t the pictures or videos that are the main corpus of Twitter but rather short texts that often have a humorous aspect to them. Due to the characteristics of the platform, like the 280-character tweet limit or the ability to post many different tweets within a short period of time, many shortening word formation processes like blending, acronyms and clippings can be found. But also the consistent interactions between the fans talking about different songs or theories tend to cause new word formations by creating new compounds, conversions or derivations.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Background
2.1 Basic terms of Morphology
2.2 Types of word formation processes
2.2.1 Derivational Affixation
2.2.2 Compounding
2.2.3 Conversion
2.2.4 Blends, Acronyms and Abbreviations
2.2.5 Clipping
3 Analysis
3.1 Method and Corpus
3.2 Analysis of Word Formation Processes
3.3 Discussion
4 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This paper examines how Twitter users, specifically fans of Taylor Swift, create new words and adapt language to discuss her album "Midnights". The research explores the linguistic processes behind these formations and considers how social media characteristics like brevity and fandom culture influence these creative linguistic acts.
- The role of Twitter's character limit and fast-paced communication in fostering word formation.
- Classification of linguistic processes such as derivation, compounding, conversion, blends, and clipping.
- The impact of "Swiftie" fandom jargon and inside knowledge on lexical innovation.
- Analysis of how fans utilize Taylor Swift's identity to create nicknames and community labels.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 Analysis of Word Formation Processes
The first tweet to analyze was published shortly after Midnights was released to function as a first review of the album: she let every single swiftie win with this album, let it be depressed swifties, old swifties, chart obsessed swifties, karma truthers, double album truthers, gaylors, hetlors like literally every single one. (@x) Most noticeable in this tweet is the use of the word Swiftie, which is the name given to an individual Taylor Swift fan. The word formation process used is derivation as the suffix -ie was added to the proper noun and free root Swift. More specifically, the suffix added falls under the category of personal affixes because a “people noun” was created by adding this suffix (Lieber 40). Also in the same category is the word formation truther as the personal suffix -er was added to the root truth. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a truther can be defined as “someone who believes that the truth about an important subject or event is being concealed from the public” (Merriam-Webster “Truther”). In the case of this tweet, the user is talking about a so-called karma truther. The nouns karma and truther form a new compound noun with the latter being the head of the compound as the first component further describes the second. Making the compound endocentric and right-headed. Hence, a karma truther is someone who believes a lost Taylor Swift album exists called “Karma” which was supposed to be released in 2016. To give context as to why the album is for said karma truthers, a song on Midnights is called “Karma”, an ode to the long-living lost album theory.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter introduces the research context, focusing on how the release of Taylor Swift's album "Midnights" spurred linguistic creativity among fans on Twitter.
2 Theoretical Background: This section provides the necessary linguistic framework, defining core morphological concepts such as morphemes, lexemes, and specific word formation processes.
3 Analysis: This chapter details the corpus of selected tweets and investigates specific examples of word formations, categorizing them by linguistic process and social context.
4 Conclusion: The concluding chapter summarizes the main findings, highlighting that fans create new words both for convenience and to foster a sense of community within the "Swiftie" fandom.
Keywords
Morphology, Word Formation, Twitter, Taylor Swift, Midnights, Derivation, Compounding, Conversion, Blending, Clipping, Acronym, Abbreviations, Fandom, Linguistic Innovation, Corpus Linguistics
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper covers the various ways new words are formed within the Twitter discourse surrounding Taylor Swift's album "Midnights".
Which linguistic fields are considered central to this analysis?
The central thematic fields are morphology and word formation processes as they manifest in digital, social media communication.
What is the primary objective of this study?
The goal is to provide an overview of the specific word formation techniques—such as clipping, derivation, and compounding—employed by fans to discuss the artist and her work.
What scientific methods were used in the paper?
The author conducted a corpus analysis, examining a selected set of Twitter posts and their replies published around the time of the album release.
What topics are discussed specifically in the main part of the paper?
The main part analyzes specific tweets containing terms like "Swiftie", "truther", "gaylor", and "YOYOK", investigating their etymological and morphological origins.
What keywords characterize the findings of this work?
Key terms include morphology, word formation, fandom, digital linguistics, and social media discourse.
How does the 280-character limit on Twitter specifically affect word formation?
The character limit drives the need for efficiency, leading users to prefer shortenings, acronyms, and clippings to communicate ideas quickly.
Why are "Swiftie" inside jokes and knowledge crucial to this study?
The study argues that much of the new vocabulary created is context-specific; without knowledge of fandom culture, many of these new word formations are difficult to decipher.
What distinguishes the two types of word formations identified by the author?
The author distinguishes between formations created for convenience—like acronyms for song titles—and those used to provide social identity, such as names for groups of fans.
- Quote paper
- Emily Burmeister (Author), 2022, Different word formation processes occurring on Twitter regarding the discourse of Taylor Swift’s "Midnights" album, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/1375186
