Word-Formation Processes in Contemporary English Slang

The presented study focuses on the processes involved in the formation of words in contemporary English slang. The aim of the study is to determine which patterns of word building are the most frequent, also compared to the general word stock of contemporary English, based on the analysis of a representative sample of contemporary slang expressions. In addition, the study attempts to determine if there are any phenomena that have been given little or no attention so far. The study consists of two parts. The theoretical part describes the phenomena that are relevant to the scope of the research and the study in general. The first section of the theoretical part includes a description of slang, also pointing out the differences in the treatment of slang between the English-speaking and Czech linguistic tradition. The second section contains a description of the source of the data used in the research, namely, the open Internet repository of slang expressions Urban Dictionary, which is one of the most widely used slang dictionaries on the Internet. The third section provides an overview of word- formation processes that are productive in contemporary English and relevant to the source material of slang lexemes. They include affixation, compounding, conversion, shortening, semantic change, borrowing or..