| Title |
Neosemanticisms of English origin in modern Lithuanian and Latvian |
| Authors |
Mikelionienė, Jurgita ; Veisbergs, Andrejs |
| DOI |
10.22364/BJELLC.16.2026.07 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
Baltic journal of English language, literature and culture.. Riga : University of Latvia. 2026, vol. 16, p. 119-131.. ISSN 1691-9971. eISSN 2501-0395 |
| Keywords [eng] |
semantic change ; neosemanticism ; borrowing ; English ; Lithuanian ; Latvian |
| Abstract [eng] |
The influence of English as a global language on Latvian and Lithuanian (two related Baltic languages) has increased significantly over the past three decades. This phenomenon is not limited to direct loanwords but also encompasses semantic changes in existing native and previously borrowed words. The contrastive study is based on a set of borrowed words of English origin that have undergone semantic change in Lithuanian and Latvian in the last two decades. The paper views semantic change as reflected in neosemanticisms – words developing new meanings due to English influence and pattern takeover. Metaphorisation is the dominant type of meaning change. The set of words under discussion is derived from the Database of Lithuanian Neologisms and then compared with the Latvian counterparts. The process of English-induced meaning change in Latvian and Lithuanian is similar but not identical. Some changes may appear unnecessary, but they exist and warrant thorough documentation and analysis to understand the evolving linguistic landscapes of Latvian and Lithuanian. |
| Published |
Riga : University of Latvia |
| Type |
Journal article |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2026 |
| CC license |
|
