접미사 ‘-족(族)’이 결합한 신어의 단어 형성 방식과 특징

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the word formation process and characteristics of neologisms formed by combining the noun derivative suffix ‘-족(jok)’ in Korean. The suffix ‘-족(jok)’ demonstrates high productivity in word formation, and it is necessary to closely examine the various word formation patterns it exhibits. In this paper, we aim to investigate the characteristics of these neologisms by dividing them into three categories: morphosemantic neologisms, semantic neologisms, and morphological neologisms, focusing on newly coined words formed by combining ‘-족(jok)’ in the past decade. Morphosemantic neologisms refer to words where both form and meaning create a new neologism. The suffix ‘-족(jok)’ not only combines with monomorphemic roots and compound roots to produce neologisms, but also shows the characteristic of combining with hybrid words created through the process of truncation and combination, such as ‘자라니족’ (cyclist who suddenly jumps onto the road like a wild boar, a group) and ‘피캉스족’ (a person who receives medical treatment at a dermatologist's office and takes a vacation, a group). Additionally, the suffix ‘-족(jok)’ also combines with abbreviations created by selecting syllables from words, phrases, or sentences, producing new neologisms. Semantic neologisms refer to words that do not have a new form but acquire a new meaning. For example, ‘메뚜기족’ (person who moves around the library, looking for an empty seat to study) is a term used to describe such individuals and is included in the “Standard Korean Dictionary.” However, the neologism ‘메뚜기족’ coined in 2015 refers to a derivative word that designates a person or group who buys and collects cigarettes from various places before the price increases, acquiring a new meaning. Morphological neologisms refer to words that have the same meaning as existing words but are newly created by altering their form. ‘집콕족’ and ‘홈콕족’ fall into this category. Morphological neologisms compete with each other, and words with high frequency of use enter a stage of survival, while those with low frequency of use tend to disappear.