The Journal of Studies in Language ISSN:1225-4770(Print) 2671-6151(Online) 언어연구

The current study aims to explore the effect of neologism usage on interpersonal communication, especially between students and instructors. A survey was conducted with 154 university students. The results show that the majority of students use neologisms very often, especially in text communication. The respondents feel intimacy when professors use newly coined words for communication. However, the professors’ use of neologisms does not affect interest and satisfaction of the class. Many respondents think the use of neologism is for the younger generation, therefore, when a professor communicates with a student using neologisms used by the student, it does not affect the formation of a positive relationship between the student and the professor. Many students expressed that if the instructor used the new word in an appropriate situation, it would positively affect communication with students and class time. This means that the use of neologisms should be used according to the utterance situation and the utterance context.