Derivational and semantic particularities of Lithuanian writers' neologisms

For a variety of reasons, neologisms are constantly appearing in the Lithuanian language. The article deals with the derivation and semantics of the neologisms found in Lithuanian writers“ works. The analysis of 397 neologisms (199 nouns, 126 adjectives, 36 verbs, and 36 adverbs) found in 20 books of Lithuanian writers allowed to draw the following conclusions: 1. The majority (82 per cent) of neologisms are nouns and adjectives. Most of them are potential derivatives and belong to the established derivational types, although occasional structures were also found. 2. The largest groups of noun neologisms consist of suffix derivatives and compounds. Abstract lexical units are abundant (48 per cent of nouns are considered to be verb and nominal abstracts). The second component of the absolute majority of compounds is based on the noun. 3. The major part of adjective neologisms (82 per cent of suffixational adjectives) consists of the suffix -iškas derivatives; almost half of them are based on personal names, while others are derived from nouns of various semantic and morphemic structure. 4. The absolute majority of adjective compounds have the nominal component; the first component of these compounds most often is the adjective. 5. The majority of all neologisms (88 per cent) are based on cognate base words, 22 per cent of neologisms are derived from potential base words – derivatives. The greater part of adverbs is based on neologisms; their potential base words tend to be adjectives with the suffix -iškas, -a. The neologisms with the established derivational system were also found. 6. The meaning of neologisms is clear when their lexical meaning essentially coincides with the derivational meaning and when they are created by analogy with the cognate derivatives. 7. The meaning of all neologisms (used in the figurative meaning, those whose lexical meaning is more specific than the derivational meaning, and those based on potential base words) becomes clear in the context of a sentence or (rarely) in the context of all book. 8. The neologisms derived with the suffix -iškas almost always function as epithets that give new meanings to the words they modify or are equivalent to the comparative expressions. The adjectives with the suffix –I škas derived from personal names are not only informative, but also allow toexpress the idea in a shorter way. Many adverb neologisms function as metaphorical epithets