Telescoped words with the “cyber” element (based on the material of French journalism)

The development of innovative systems for processing and providing information is inseparably linked with the emergence of new vocabulary in any language. The digital environment or cyberspace has recently become the most productive area for the formation of new vocabulary. Blending is one of the most effective ways of word formation in cyberspace, and the mass media are considered as a fast channel for the penetration of this new vocabulary into language. French newspapers aimed at a wide readership served us as the material for the study. The empirical base of the study was formed by using the means of random sampling. The study of lexical units was carried out within limits of telescoped words with the “cyber” element. The etymological analysis of the “cyber” element of the new French telescoped units proved its origin from the English semantic neologism “cybernetics”, which comes from the Greek word “kybernetike”. The study of telescoped words bylexical meanings, morphological features and grammatical categories made it possible to develop six models of blend words. The first model of telescoped units is the most widespread in the language of modern French journalism. It is based on combination of two nouns. The first noun contains the element “cyber” in the initial position with the truncation of the second element of the word, and the second noun is represented by the full form. The category of the genre of newly formed blend words depends on the second component. In this case the genre depends on the noun represented in its full form. The second model includes telescoped words formed from three nouns, with the truncation of the second elements of each component. The “cyber” element occupies the middle position. The third model of telescoped units combines two nouns followed by truncation of the second element for each word. The “cyber” element is in the initial position. The fourth model is characterized by the blending of two nouns with truncated final elements. “Cyber” element is situated in the initial position of the second component. The fifth model is formed by nouns, the first part of which contains the initial element “cyber”, and the second one is represented by a word borrowed from another language. The sixth model of telescoped words was formed by combining the noun with the element “cyber” in the initial position and the past participle. The telescoped units represented by the attribute expressed by the past participle are formed as a result of the combination of these words.

cyberspace, blending, telescoped units, telescopedwords (blend words), word formation, journalism