A Semi-automated Approach for Bengali Neologism

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics

Background:

• Neologisms, or newly coined words, emerge during significant events like pandemics.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a substantial number of new terms across various languages.
• Existing computational methods for neologism detection are often unsuitable for Indic languages like Bengali.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the emergence and modification of new words in Bengali during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To develop and apply a semi-automated approach for identifying Bengali neologisms.
• To establish a methodology adaptable for general neologism detection and other languages.

Main Methods:

• Compilation of a Bengali web corpus focused on COVID-19 related articles.
• Application of a semi-automated approach for identifying neologisms within the corpus.
• Analysis of newly coined terms and linguistic adaptations related to the pandemic.

Main Results:

• Identification of COVID-19 specific neologisms in the Bengali language.
• Demonstration of a viable semi-automated method for neologism extraction in Bengali.
• Insights into linguistic adaptation during a global health crisis.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Bengali vocabulary.
• The developed semi-automated method offers a practical solution for identifying neologisms in Bengali.
• The approach has potential for broader application in linguistic research and other languages.