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Description
Documenting the surge of new lexical items during the COVID-19 pandemic presented a challenge worldwide (Klosa-Kückelhaus & Kernermann, 2024). German Neologisms emerging between 2020 and 2023 were collected (Klosa-Kückelhaus, 2021) and incorporated into a dedicated section of the Neologismenwörterbuch (2006ff.), initially as a simple word list. Each entry includes a brief paraphrase and illustrative usage examples, often drawn from online sources, as validated corpus data were not yet available at the time of compilation. This section now comprises about 2,500 lemmas (Neuer Wortschatz rund um die Coronapandemie, 2020ff.). Taken together, these document the rise of a neo-discourse marked by an influx of new words, structural complexity, lexical competition as well as shifting narrative and topical emphases (Storjohann & Cimander, 2022, Mattfeld et al., 2025).
Consequently, the need arose to enhance user access to these entries. This initially involved assigning ontological categories through a triple-blind procedure, thereby establishing domains and semantic groupings for the lexical items. These were taken from the existing domain classes of the Neologismenwörterbuch (2006ff.) used for grouping headwords between 1990 and 2020. The aim was to create the kind of semantic and thematic connectivity that is crucial for online dictionaries (Dornseiff, 2020). In addition to general domains such as ECONOMY, EDUCATION, HEALTH/MEDICINE, POLITICS (cf. Ilić, 2021), a domain specific to Covid discourse was identified: MEASURES encompasses terms that refer to regulatory interventions and restrictions during the pandemic.
A representation of Covid-related vocabulary is currently being integrated into the new platform IDS Neo2020+, as it offers a range of entry types, e.g. single entries, discourse entries and discourse-morphological entries (Storjohann, in prep.). These enable the documentation of neologisms in single headword entries, in clusters, by concept, by domain and across temporal stages. This structure allows users to explore individual lexical items, their diachronic development, functions in the respective neo-discourse and semantic relations, especially among synonyms. Consequently, users may consult either individual COVID-related lexical items or, alternatively, a discourse entry that aggregates COVID-19 neologisms according to various criteria and presents them in relation to temporal, thematic, or structural dimensions.
While implementing new formats, a series of experiments will assess the extent to which AI can support or complement lexicographic work. These include AI-based categorisation of terms compared to manual classification, the identification of synonyms and the determination of first attestations (Storjohann & Cimander, 2022). AI may also facilitate the migration of the concise entries into the revised and more complex architecture of new headword entries. This step is necessary to construct a comprehensive discourse entry, “COVID,” by incorporating and elaborating upon details that are integral to individual COVID-related terms. Given the large number of items, enrichment through AI-assisted methods appears promising, e.g. by adding reliable citations, encyclopaedic or historical context, information on word-formation productivity, collocation profiles. It will also be examined whether such information can not only be identified by AI but also automatically assigned to designated elements at specific positions within larger XML-based entries. Positive outcomes could substantially influence the scope and depth of the documentation of Covid neologisms and, more broadly, the modelling of this neo-discourse within the new dictionary.