I neologismi e l’inglese nell’Unione europea

Abstract

This article points out some aspects of the fundamental role that neologisms play in the process of enrichement, updating and transformation of a language. Every word, like any human being, has its own life cycle (by borning, dying, uniting or dividing). It is the necessary condition enabling a language to go on living in a changing society. The European languages, because of their coexistence in an extensive territory, are the idioms that are being enriched the most. In particular the English language has influenced in the last few years the other European languages. Through the analysis of Italian-on-line dictionaries it appears that about the half of new words are of English origin. These new words remain unchanged, “raw”, and enter directly into the Italian vocabulary with no rule of spelling and pronunciation. Moreover this article also aims at opening a debate on the future of English within the framework of the European multilinguisme after the Brexit.