Keelemakeeringud

Keelemakeeringud is an Estonian term describing the creation and adaptation of linguistic forms within Estonian-speaking communities. It encompasses a range of practices, from deliberate neologism formation to the integration of foreign words into Estonian morphology. In practice, keelemakeeringud include word formation through derivation and compounding, blending, back-formation, and affixation, as well as semantic shifts that give existing words new meanings. Calques and calqued phrases from other languages are also part of the phenomenon, often yielding novel expressions that feel native despite foreign origins.

In everyday use, keelemakeeringud appear in youth slang, online communication, media, advertising, and literature. They express social identity, creativity, humor, and responsiveness to new technologies and social trends. They can also pose challenges for standardization, dictionaries, language teaching, and language policy, as rapid coinages may lack official spelling or definition for a time.

Scholars in sociolinguistics, lexicography, and language planning study keelemakeeringud to understand how Estonian evolves, how communities negotiate prestige and normativity, and how vocabulary reflects cultural change. See also neologism, word formation, slang, calque, Estonian language.