The Contribution Of The Jargon Dictionary In The Construction Of A New English Lexis

The article addresses the issue of lexical neology in nowadays use in computer networks and which affects English. It describes and analyzes the Jargon Dictionary, a type of English lexis used by hackers to create novel meanings in the virtual environment of computer networks. Tournier’s 1985 theory of lexicogenesis is used to analyze a randomly selected corpus from the Jargon Dictionary. The analysis is meant to unveil the motivations behind the creation of some recent coinages in English, and bring to light the lexicogenic devices used by hackers, highlighting along the way the particular trend taken by English today.