‘NON-WORDS’ – ETERNAL REJECTS

Abstract

The article deals with the question of the modern lexicography, in particular the problem of inclusion in the normative dictionary neologisms and words that are in the depository of the dictionary. Language examples from the Oxford Dictionary included in the Third edition of the OED (March 2015 – December 2020) are presented and analyzed, both neologisms and those that have been moved from the ‘non-words’ category. The methods of their formation, possible reasons for the presence of words and certain meanings of words in the ‘non-words’ list and transition from the receptive to the active vocabulary are analyzed.