Morphological Innovation in Social Media Slang: A Study on TikTok and X Posts

The rapid growth of social media has accelerated linguistic change, particularly in the emergence of slang characterized by morphological innovation. Platforms such as TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) provide dynamic spaces where users, especially Generation Z, creatively manipulate language to express identity, stance, and emotion. This study investigates morphological innovations in social media slang and examines their pragmatic functions in online interaction. Employing a qualitative research design with a pragmatic approach, the data were collected from publicly accessible TikTok and X posts published within the last twelve months. The analysis focuses on identifying types of morphological innovation and interpreting their communicative purposes in digital discourse. The findings reveal three dominant morphological processes: clipping, acronyms, and blending. These innovations function pragmatically to enhance humour, express evaluation, signal group identity, and strengthen rhetorical impact in online debates. Rather than serving merely as informal language shortcuts, morphological innovations operate as strategic linguistic resources that shape meaning-making and audience engagement. This study contributes to the field of digital linguistics by demonstrating how morphological creativity reflects both linguistic innovation and communicative intention in contemporary social media discourse.