Cultural conceptualizations of neologisms and coinages in Nigerian multicultural discussion on Nairaland Forum

1 Introduction

Nigeria remains not just the most populous nation in Africa, with a population estimate of over 200 million people, but also one of the most culturally diversified countries in the world. The country has as many as 520 living languages according to Ethnology, an online reference for making informed decisions in every language context worldwide (Ebeherd et al. 2025, https://www.ethnologue.com). With urbanization, a very prominent feature of postcolonial African nations, mega and densely occupied cities have emerged in the country. This multiethnicity and multiculturalism justifies the adoption of English as the country’s official language as is done in the countries colonized by the British. Despite this cultural and linguistic context, each ethnic group seeks opportunities to express their identities. Nigerian cities are multiethnic/multicultural and multilingual, with English, the country’s official language being the unifying language. This, coupled with the emergence of digital culture, has changed the dynamics of lexico-semantic variations that characterize English usage in the country. Communication at large gatherings is not always limited to English, most especially in informal settings. The three major languages: Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba play prominent roles during such communication.

Prior to globalization and digital age, ethnic groups always sought opportunities to express themselves in multiethnic communication through their language and cultural practices, such as in religious gatherings. Although three ethnic groups appear dominant in the country due to their population, several other ethnic minority groups always strive to be recognized. However, in the context of globalization and digital age, which have the tendency to promote uniformity of culture, many cultures seize opportunities of showcasing their uniqueness. It is, therefore, not uncommon to have cultural diversity, where groups are given equal opportunities to express themselves. Online platforms offer groups the opportunity to be seen and heard. From time to time, new expressions are generated and popularized in online discussions as multiethnic groups gather to discuss issues about the country. These expressions can be seen as being derived from ideas represented in the minds of members of cultural groups represented in the online forums and instantiated in discourse. Corroborating this, Carter (2004) is of the view that “abbreviations, coinages are also popular in online digital communication because of the quest by users for expressing social and cultural selves.” Orthographic choices in online communication have become expression of collective identities of users as social beings and construction of their identity and affiliation with particular social groups (Taiwo and Dontele 2020).

While existing studies on discussion forums have investigated discursive strategies engaged by participants from perspectives of critical discourse analysis and pragmatics (Ademilokun and Taiwo 2013; Akinsanya 2024; Chiluwa 2012; Heyd 2014; Taiwo 2010a; Taiwo et al. 2021), studies on cultural conceptualizations are still unfolding (Finzel 2025; Taiwo 2024). The present study seeks to fill this gap in research on interactions in Nigerian discussion forums by exploring the cultural conceptualizations of coinages and neologisms in online multiethnic and multicultural discussions with the goal of identifying how these forms which are instantiated and popularized in multiethnic and multicultural contexts in cyberspace discussions can be traceable to the shared cognition of Nigerians.

2 Multiculturalism and multiethnicity in Nigeria

Multiculturalism is a demographic feature in which there exists numerous distinct ethnic and cultural groups seen to be politically relevant. Multiethnicity is the existence of different ethnic groups within a particular region. These two terms are not mutually exclusive because one necessarily suggests the other. Any context with multiple ethnic groups is necessarily multicultural with each of the groups having distinct cultures. Multiculturalism and multiethnicity are features of many countries in contemporary world due to migration from poor economies to richer ones, which makes some nations to naturally become immigrant-receiving (most of the nations in the West). On the other hand, one of the features of postcolonial nations is multiculturalism, which occurs due to the merger of people from different ethnic groups for the easy administration of the colonial masters.

Nigeria is a product of the kind of experiment of the colonialists, who for political convenience merged people of different ethnic groups and culture and name them as a country. This act has led to the emergence of a multilingual nation with over 500 languages. So, Nigeria is not just a conglomeration of people of different ethnic groups, the groups also have different languages and cultures. This informs the exoglossic language policy of the country in which English, the language of the colonialist, is adopted as the official language of the country.

Multiculturalism has had its positive and negative effects on the nation. For instance, the adoption of English has opened the nation to the world in terms of its external relations with other nations of the world. On the other hand, the adoption of English has led to divisiveness among the ethnic groups and marginalization of minority groups by the major ones (Igbafe 2021; Nidiribe and Aboh 2022). At different times, the nation has faced internal crises traceable to its multiculturalism/multiethnicity (Obuene et al. 2022). In spite of Nigeria’s attainment of a century as a nation state on January 2014, it is yet to overcome the problem of national identity and crises of integration resulting from its multiethnic composition. Every now and then, different political and social issues easily spark off crises that lead to loss of lives and properties. There has been continuous agitation by various ethnic nationalities leading to formation of militant groups in the Niger Delta south region, which has transformed into oil theft, armed robbery, and organized kidnapping. These activities have spread to the southeastern and western parts of the country (Onyibor 2016). Also, various forms of religious fanaticism exist in the northeastern and northwestern axes, which recently metamorphosed into terrorism and kidnapping. The question that arises is how far has Nigeria as a nation state put itself on the path of achieving national identity and integration of its multiethnic nationalities into a united nation state?

Literature on the National Question of the Nigerian state has often taken the dimension of “value differences” for granted. Against this background, Olanrewaju et al. (2017) examines cross-cultural conflicts in Nigeria, as induced by the very tightly held and uncompromising values of multicultural, multiethnic, multireligious, and multinational entities from amalgamation to the present time. Multiculturalism and differences emanating from contradictory values have culminated in various manifestations, which include, a civil war, agitation for state creation, federal character principle, revenue allocation, ethno-religious crisis, rotational presidency, zoning, and recently, terrorism. The work shows the divisive characteristics of values, which have resulted in the disunity of Nigeria and recommends unpretentious resolution efforts in order to fully maximize the immense benefits inherent in Nigeria’s multiculturalism.

On harnessing and managing multiculturalism for the benefit of Nigeria, Ojo (2019) argues that it can be a viable means of achieving cohesion in the country. The author analyzes the historical and contemporary contexts of ethnic relations in Nigeria and proposes a multicultural framework for promoting unity and inclusivity. Also, Taiwo (2017) argues that Nigeria’s multicultural nature can be a strength rather than a weakness, but notes that the country requires a deliberate effort to promote cross-cultural understanding and inclusivity. Other scholars investigate interethnic relations in Nigeria and the role of multiculturalism in promoting harmony.

3 Multicultural discursive practices in Nigerian online communication

Nigerians joined the rest of the world as participants in online language use in the late 1990s (Taiwo 2010b) and the digital culture of communicating online has grown extensively within the several forums that have been created over the years by young people who are the drivers of digital culture. Some of the popular websites created by these young people include Nairaland, Nigerian Village Square, Linda Ikeji’s Blog, Gismania, Naijapals, Naijahotjobs, and so forth. Some of these websites were created for different reasons including serving as news portals broadcasting breaking news and discussion portals, where people exchange ideas and opinions on topics. Others are specialized forums created for people with common interests and challenges, such as unemployment and career, fertility, parenting, education, dating, and so forth.

Ideas of happenings in the real world are brought online, as can be seen in the creation of Nigerian Village Square, a virtual village square where people convene to exchange information about the country, the communities in which they currently reside and the larger world around them. This is similar to the natural offline village square setting in a typical African community where people come after a hard day’s work to relax, share ideas, gossip, make jokes, and entertain themselves (Taiwo 2010c). These websites have their peculiar nature, being gatherings of young people from diverse languages and cultures, who spice up their discussions with creativity and multicultural discursive practices of the different cultures represented. This study focuses on some expressions that emanate from the discussions, which are believed to have been derived from the participants’ cultural conceptualizations as a result of their possession of similar cultural and cognitive views.

4 Coinages and neologisms in online discourse

The term neologism – first used in 1772 (in a translation from French) is a “practice of innovation in language, the use of new words or old words in new senses.” It derives from French néologisme (18 c.), from neo- “new” + Greek logos “word” +-ism. The meaning “new word or expression” came later in English, in 1803. Neological usage “characterized by new words or phrases” is attested from 1754 (https://www.etymonline.com/word/neologism). New words are evidently and constantly entering the lexicon to describe new concepts and technologies and what they mean to us. Older words become more archaic and attract less usage as they decrease in cultural significance. Considering the influence digital technology has been having on the global language users, it is not surprising then that lexicographers have found that science and technology are by far the most prolific sources of neologisms in recent times. Neologisms are frequently generated in the media, advertising and technical domains being described as a “response to a particular need,” e.g., the need to create the (now lexicalized) neologism PC (personal computer) arose no sooner than the product-computer became available to the average consumer.

Neologisms are often directly attributable to specific individuals, publications, periods, or events and they can also be found in the sciences, technology, media, and popular culture. They are especially useful in denominating inventions, new phenomena, or old ideas that have taken on a new cultural context (Lypka and Vasylenko 2023). Neologisms present a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may undergo the process of entering everyday usage, but that has not been fully accepted into language. They appear to be strongly influenced by changes in society, especially in culture and technology, and recently by rapid advancements in internet-based communication. However, due to their significant use, they seem to be widely and quickly accepted in social networking sites around the globe (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp). These social networking sites have had a significant impact on everyone in contemporary times, as they improve and speed up communication, foster relationships, and also boost business ventures. Neologisms are creation of words that differ from already existing words through the different existing morphological processes. Peoples’ creativity to communicate faster has accelerated the transformation of language rhythm and words. Thus, neologisms keep appearing and expanding the English vocabulary and a better and clearer understanding of them guides learners to use the English language in all kinds of ways as they gain necessary information and improve communication ability (Shahlee and Mustaffa 2019: 1–2).

Taiwo and Dontele’s (2020) is a relevant study that applies Fairclough’s approach to Critical Discourse Analysis to the investigation of coinages and abbreviations in online discussion boards. With data from sections of a popular Nigerian online forum, Nairaland Forum, their findings showed that internet users have become key social actors in the creation and distributions of coinages and abbreviations, which serve as collective symbols for their interactions online. These coinages and abbreviations include lexical blends and nonce words, derived neologisms, slang, and acronyms, all of which construct the understanding of the social structure in which they operate. The study concludes that the linguistic novelty being created by the online community is a means of expressing the multicultural consciousness and multiple linguistic and social identities of these internet users.

Another related work, Taiwo (2024) explores otherness and cultural conceptualizations of gender and social class in Nigerian English, taking part of the data from online source. While this present study and Taiwo’s (2024) study have a common ground in the application of cultural linguistics, which traces usages to the expression of collective cultural understanding of language users, they clearly differ in orientation and focus. Taiwo’s study engaged alterity as the basis for understanding the conceptualizations of gender and social class in Nigerian English, while this present study focuses on linguistic creativities online and how they derive from cultural conceptualizations of Nigerian English users in Nairaland discussion forum.

Nkhata and Hambaba (2020) definer a neologism as “any word/set expression formed according to the productive word formation rules in English.” Neologisms are as a result of developments (advancements) in social life, technology, and in a few cases, culture. Similarly, Vogel (2017) discusses and analyzes new lexical items, which are coined or borrowed every year showing how some of these derived, compounded, and blended words are being added to the English dictionary. Onyedum’s (2012) study analyzes 70 neologisms on social media and focuses on the following social networking platforms; Facebook, Twitter, My space, YouTube, Yahoo Messenger, and Blackberry Messenger. The author groups 70 neologisms into five morphological processes of blending, compounding, affixation, semantic extension, and coinage.

In Nigeria, social media, neologisms, and coinages reflect the dynamic linguistic creativity of its users, drawing from local languages, Nigerian Pidgin, and English, the official language. These coinages encapsulate everyday experiences, social realities, and humor, allowing for more engaging and culturally resonant communication. This study set out to analyze these neologisms and coinages and show how they derive from the conscious collective cognitions of young Nigerian netizens to foster multicultural communication online.

5 Methodology

This study was based on ongoing field research on cultural conceptualizations in online discussions among Nigerians. Many studies have investigated the use of coinages in online discussions by Nigerians. Such studies include Alfred (2019), Ezeifeka (2018), Taiwo and Dontele (2020), Eburuaja and Udoh (2021), Maledo and Edobor (2023), and Olaniyan and Oluremi (2024). Most of these studies approached their analyses from the lexico-semantic and morphosemantic perspectives. The major stresses in existing studies border on the morphological processes through which the forms were derived.

The method adopted in this present study differs from earlier ones. It addresses how these new expressions, which are genuine identity markers, can be traced to the cognitive process of the users. The study demonstrates how Nigerian internet users conceptualize ideas using culturally symbolic forms within the multicultural context of online discussion forums. The conceptual basis for analyzing the data is Cultural Linguistics, which is based on the understanding that language users share common cognitive domain due to their cultural practices and this makes it possible for them to see and comprehend ideas and map domains of experience through their conceptualizations (Sharifian 2015).

The data were purposively sampled from discussions on Nairaland Forum, a popular Nigerian website and discussion forum between 2023 and 2024, a period that witnessed creation of lots of political neologisms and other forms due to the general elections and different social activities in the country. The study adopted virtual ethnographic method to investigate the interactions in the forum and draw out coinages and neologisms through participant-observation. Fifty (50) neologisms and coinages were elicited from the discussions.

The sampled data were analyzed using Cultural Linguistics approach, and paying attention to cultural conceptualizations – how language encodes culturally constructed ideas and experiences. Cultural Linguistics is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field of Linguistics that investigates the intersection of human language features and cultural conceptualizations, as expressed in cultural models, cultural categories, and cultural conceptual metaphors (Sharifian 2015, 2017). The approach emphasizes the role of culture in conceptualizing human experiences of different kinds. Cultural Linguistics asserts that cultural knowledge emerges from the interactions of members of a linguistic group as they construct their cognition through the organization and interpretation of information and cultural meanings (schema) (Taiwo 2024). Cultural linguistics is appropriate for this study because it accentuates the cultural grounding of language as cognitively construed in the usage of coinages and, most especially in the applied domain of multicultural communication.

6 Findings and discussion

The findings can be seen in two parts – the first part is in the amplification of self-presentation and flaunting behavior through which several neologisms have emerged to reinforce and sustain online flaunting culture. These expressions are rooted in the cultural consciousness of the users, which is a coalescence of the cognitive understanding of the varieties of cultures that converge in the context of multicultural communication presented in the online communities investigated. The second part has to do with expressions that emerged from the contemporary sociopolitical experiences in Nigeria, also derived from the collective cognition of Nigerian internet users. Tables 1 and 2 below show some of the coinages and their meanings as deployed in online discussions.

7 Data analysis and discussion

For the purpose of this study, our focus will be on coinages induced by fashion, hip hop, and urban youth culture, as well as politics, which are arguably dominant features in the Nigerian online discourse. It is also important to state here that indigenous language expressions are also derived, adapted, and popularized to create neologisms and coinages some of the coinages revolve around flaunting behavior and complimenting words. Flaunting behavior and linguistic coinages derived from them were examined and discussed from the perspectives of their derivation from collective cultural cognitions among Nigerian youths and internet users generally. The study finds that digital ego ranges from blatant bragging, show-off or flexing online to a milder form, such as humblebragging as well as complimenting expressions, and these behaviors have coinages to express them, originating from offline contexts and becoming popularized online.

One of the coinages that evolved from urban youth culture of bragging is buga, which simply means “to flaunt one’s success unapologetically. Buga, according to Urban Dictionary (https://www.urbandictionary.com/), means “to happily show off, or be proud of your achievements.” The expression became more popularized with the song by Kizz Daniel titled “Buga won” (flaunt your success unapologetically before them). It is an expression of the flaunting and bragging culture, which is becoming popular online. According to Kizz Daniel in a The Breakfast Club” morning show on Power 105.1 in New York, “buga means to flaunt your success unapologetically and just letting people know that you’ve worked so hard and you deserve to celebrate your success.” Self-praise is a feature of most Nigerian cultures and it became more popular among the youths as a defense mechanism in the face of threat to their self-esteem, especially when the country’s president while speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster on 18 April 2018 described them as “lazy.” In the speech, the president, Muhammadu Buhari claimed that “many youths in Nigeria sit down and do nothing, yet expect to get everything free because their country is an oil producing nation.” Immediately after this statement, a massive backlash on social media with the hashtag #LazyNigerianYouth started trending, recording hundreds of thousands of tweets within 1 week. Buga is probably one of the series of reactions to the president’s impression. According to Kizz Daniel, “As long as people work hard to make legitimate money, they should be proud to flaunt their wealth.” One of the prominent social media braggers, Tonto Dike once wrote on Instagram and it was discussed on Nairaland:

Another social media influencer, the popular crossdresser Bob Risky posted this on Snapchat, displaying wads of Naira notes:

Dino Melaye, an outspoken Nigerian senator also posted this on his Instagram page:

Self-praise is not out of place in popular music and it stems from the cultural understanding that self can be promoted even when others do not do it for one. From old-time songs such as won kere si number wa (they cannot match us) in 1997 by Fatai Roling Dollars to contemporary ones such as omo baba olowo (the rich man’s child) in 2012 by Davido; as e dey sweet us, e dey pain dem (as they are pained, we are enjoying) in 2024 by Timaya, bragging has become a constant theme in popular music. This culture of flaunting rests well in the context of contemporary popular music and the cyberspace discourse.

One of the meanings of the word “pepper” is “to hit (someone) repeatedly with (something)”; however, the expression, pepper dem has come to mean “to stun, impress or succeed to the point that people envy you.” Pepper dem simply indicates a kind of punishment, which in this case would be for looking down on someone.

Pepper also has another connotation in the coinage pepper don rest, meaning “to have lots of money in one’s bank account.” From these two expressions, conceptualizing pepper as “stunning” and as “money” [PEPPER IS STUNNING] and [PEPPER IS MONEY], there may be a point of convergence in which having lots of money can stun (surprise or upset) one’s adversaries to the extent that they are not able to react as they would normally do.

Another pepper-related coinage is pepper don rest, which is used when people have achieved their goals and possibly have a lot in their bank account. The conceptualization in this coinage is that STRUGGLE IS PEPPER and once it is no longer there, it has gone to rest with achievement and wealth.

There are other complimenting words are words like slay, steeze, deserve accolade, small girl big God, which portray flaunting culture. For instance, the word slay queen would ordinarily be seen as collocational clash in which slay and queen would not ordinarily be seen as collocates. However, this compound word has acquired the meaning, stylish, sexually dressed, and glamorous women who are active on social media. In its usage, the word “slay” though originally from American fashion and red carpet context has come to be associated in Nigeria with fashion, music, and artistic performance and it means “to do things exceptionally or incredibly well.” Compared to its denotative meaning of “kill violently,” the word slay now connotes “great success” and compliment for remarkable achievements or outstanding performance. The conceptual metaphor SLAY IS SUCCESS is constructed in this expression. The expression may sometimes be conceptualized as negative as seen in the comment below on Nairaland Forum:

In the excerpt above, slay queens are portrayed as exploitative like service satellite television providers. This may also point at the typical Nigerian’s perception and critic of these service providers as exploitative.

Steeze is a blend of the words stylish and easy. It describes “effortless coolness.” According to Akhimien (2024), steeze “also carried a sense of self-pride, often popularly paired with ‘composure’ in Nigerian social media lingo.” Falola (2024) also describes what steeze means to Nigerian social media user. According to him,

Steeze is a combination of style and ease. In the context of fashion, it implies that a person has a good sense of fashion and carries themselves well. You may consider a person to have a steeze if they dress stylishly and exude an aura of confidence. In short, steeze is style, confidence, and audacity. https://toyinfalolanetwork.org/steeze/

I deserve some accolades is another coinage, which means that the sayer believes that something must be said about them to show how much people admire them. The expression became a social media phenomenon where individuals share their achievements or experiences and express a desire for validation, recognition, or praise. It expresses an expectation of compliments after posting about personal accomplishments, struggles overcome, or contributions made. It could also mean that someone should be complimented for some kind of achievement they have made.

Small girl, big God is an oxymoronic blend, a catchphrase for a person who is grateful or awed by God’s goodness in his/her life. It is basically when one ascribes all to God despite his/her shortcomings. Although the concept of “big God” may not always refer to God the divine being, but someone of the same/opposite sex that is responsible for their grandiose lifestyle, the expression may signal some sort of gratitude.

The expression I am a chosen is a mimic of members of The Lord’s Chosen Church, a neo-Pentecostal Church. Members of the Church are known to give dramatic testimonies to validate their belongingness to the group and convince people that they operate in the supernatural. CHOSEN is SUPERNATURAL is the conceptual metaphor expressed here.

No gree for anybody is a slang that started to trend on the internet at the beginning 2023. It is a Nigerian Pidgin English slang popularized by young Nigerians, which literally means “don’t agree with anyone means.” It has the loose meaning, “stand up for yourself and do not allow anyone to take advantage of you.” The saying signifies self-reliance and resilience of Nigerian youths, who are the drivers of the slogan. The slogan became popularized by Nigerian netizens as their own motivational way of expressing the courage to face the numerous challenges confronting them in the country. The slogan can be seen as an ideological statement expressing Nigerian youths’ stance and how they feel they can resist the outer group’s perspective on them. It has also become a cultural phenomenon, with countless memes, videos, and social media posts centered around it. The slogan is a metaphor for resilience, self-reliance, and courage to face life’s challenges.

8 Sociopolitically induced coinages

Several coinages arise from the socio-political situation in the country. For instance, names of political actors in the country have become sources for deriving coinages. For instance, since the president Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petroleum subsidy in his inaugural address, there have been extreme hardships in the country and Nigerians started association his regime with “pain” and “hunger.” The expression “T-pain” surfaced as a way of referring to the president and everything that characterizes the regime of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) symbolized by the president. Tpain has come to represent an era, a regime as portrayed in this post on Nairaland:

Conceptualizing the regime of Tinubu as Tpain by Nigerians is a description how painful Nigerians feel under Tinubu and to tell the whole world what they are going through in Nigeria. It depicts the frustration and dissatisfaction with Tinubu’s administration, particularly the increased cost of living, high inflation, and growing unemployment. Before the association of the expression with the Nigerian president, Tpain is the nickname of an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer, who used the name to depict the kind of pain he experienced when growing up in Tallahassee in the USA.

For the supporters of the government, Tpain is positively translated by the supporters of Tinubu as “temporary pain” that will lead to a relief and better life for the nation. However, for the masses, who are feeling the pain of Tinubu’s economic reforms, the expression symbolizes their dissatisfaction with the government’s policies and reforms.

9 Conclusions

This paper investigates discursive practices in multicultural online discussion forums by Nigerian netizens from the perspective of Cultural Linguistics, which is an emerging field in the direction of the study of Nigerian English. It did this by exploring emerging coinages and traces their derivation to online self-presentation and flaunting culture, as well as contemporary social and political situations in Nigeria. The study stresses that these discursive choices derive from the collective cognition of Nigerian internet users culminating into cultural conceptualizations and metaphoric framings in online self-presentations and discussions of political actors and their followers. This study has implication for the emergence of new Englishes on the cyberspace. Popular culture has become an integral part of cyberspace communication, which has now been recognized as the space for linguistic creativity and emergence of new lexical forms. This study is one of the newer insights that are being provided on how users of English as a second language have taken ownership of English within their domains and given it their own local flavor through coinages and neologisms. This has led to the contribution of newly derived forms as entries into well-established English dictionaries, such as the Oxford English Dictionary.