How new words enter our language: A linguistics expert explains

From "yeet" to "social distancing," new words and phrases constantly emerge and evolve in American English. But how do these neologisms—newly coined terms—gain acceptance and become part of mainstream dialect?

We interviewed Christopher Green, associate professor of linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences, to better understand the fascinating process behind language evolution.

The birth of new words

Most neologisms aren't totally new creations, according to Green. "It is fairly rare for entirely new terms to emerge," he says. Instead, most new words contain repurposed pieces of existing terms or represent nuanced changes where existing meanings expand or contract.

However, completely new terms do occasionally surface. Take "yeet," most commonly meaning to throw something away. This recent addition to American slang emerged among younger social media users and spread rapidly through digital platforms, illustrating how modern technology accelerates language evolution.

"A term must have a community of use whereby some string of sounds and an associated meaning come to be accepted and used by that community and eventually more broadly," Green says. "Social media and global news cycles now help spread new terms far more quickly than in times past."

The question of 'official' recognition

When does a word "officially" become part of the language? Green suggests this concept is more fluid than many realize. While some track when dictionaries add new words to their collections, and the American Dialect Society holds yearly meetings where linguists vote on a "word (or phrase) of the year," these represent informal recognition rather than official status.

Patterns of acceptance and rejection

Many neologisms follow cyclical patterns, appearing, disappearing and sometimes reemerging based on changing circumstances. "Who knew what 'social distancing' was before 2020?" Green asks. The term rapidly gained widespread use during the pandemic, then largely fell out of everyday conversation—though it remains in our collective memory, ready to resurface if needed.

Generational language patterns also repeat over time. "Every generation has its term to express their liking of something," Green says, citing examples like "rad, cool, fly, hip, neato, fire, lit and savage." These terms often function as markers of in-group versus out-group identity, with people borrowing language from specific communities to signal desired membership.

Cultural drivers of language change

Cultural shifts significantly influence neologism creation, though Green emphasizes that the process depends heavily on community adoption. He points to terms popularized in LGBTQ ballroom culture during the 1980s that have survived and expanded in use, often without users realizing their origins. Terms like "work," "yes queen," "serve" and "slay" exemplify how marginalized communities often drive mainstream language innovation.

Green says it can be humorous to observe contemporary reactions to Gen Alpha terminology. Adults sometimes express bewilderment at terms like "cap, sus, rizz, bet, ate, cheugy and low-key," often forgetting their own generational slang. "Some adults of my generation and above act like we didn't have our own terms that our parents and grandparents didn't understand," he says, recalling 1990s expressions like "booyah, jiggy and as if!"

The key difference today is the speed and scale of dissemination. While past generations relied on music and television to spread new language, social media now enables instant global communication, dramatically accelerating how neologisms travel through speech communities.

As American English continues to evolve, understanding neologism patterns helps us appreciate language as a living, breathing entity shaped by community use, cultural identity and technological advancement. Whether a new word survives depends ultimately on whether communities find it useful enough to adopt and maintain over time—a process as unpredictable as human creativity itself.