WAYS OF FORMATION OF NEOLOGISMS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the investigation of euphemisms functioning in the English language. The scientific investigations of the past and present presented by Ukrainian as well as foreign researches have been thoroughly analyzed concerning the main approaches to the definition of the notion euphemism. Many approaches as to the classification of euphemisms have been singled out while conducting the scientific research. The aim of the article is to define the main word building and functional peculiarities of euphemisms. The following methods have been used while conducting the research: the method of logical analysis of the scientific research, the descriptive method, the method of definition and content analysis. The scientific novelty has been proved by presenting the determination of the speech means that serve to create euphemisms. The area of neologism functioning is vast. They are widely used by the youth and adults alike (there is even gender distinction that requires further investigation as the problem has not been revealed properly), by ordinary people and politicians alike, by the media and clergy people and others. There is still no clear definition of the notion euphemism accepted worldwide by the scientists. Due to the thorough analysis of the scientific resources the following conclusion has been made: euphemisms are classified according to 1) the level of their usage in the language system; 2) the area of their usage; 3) time usage. The classification of euphemisms is based upon the principals such as: functional-pragmatical, distributive and lexical-semantic. The main functions of euphemisms are as follows: hiding, cooperative, preventive, rhetorical, elevating, conspiracy and distortive. The basic ways of the formation of neologisms have been singled out and they take place on different language levels: lexical, semantic, phonetic, word-building and stylistic. The cognitive processes and interconnectional relations are the key elements of the formation of neologisms; with the help of the latter ones the understanding of euphemism is possible in the modern English language. Still, euphemisms as means of tolerant and mild expression of speech should be investigated in a proper way.