FEATURED NEOLOGISM:

özçekim

My favourite neologism is the Turkish word özçekim, created as an equivalent of the English word selfie. It is formed by combining öz (“self”) and çekim (“photographing” or “taking a picture”). Proposed by the Turkish Language Association, it demonstrates how Turkish can create native alternatives to internationally widespread digital terms while preserving transparency and morphological productivity. I find it particularly interesting because it reflects the interaction between technological innovation and language planning.

I am Yusuf Karakahraman, a PhD candidate at Yıldız Technical University, Türkiye, and a lecturer at the Yunus Emre Institute in Baghdad, Iraq, where I teach Turkish as a foreign language. My research focuses on language education, lexical development, vocabulary acquisition, digital language learning, artificial intelligence in education, and technology-enhanced language teaching. I am particularly interested in how emerging lexical items and digital tools can support language learning, multilingual communication, and teacher education. My recent studies examine AI-supported language instruction, learners’ dictionary consultation behaviour, and innovative approaches to vocabulary and grammar teaching in Turkish as a foreign language. Through international collaboration, I aim to contribute to research on lexical innovation, digital resources for language education, multilingual perspectives, and evidence-based teaching practices that align with ENEOLI’s objectives.
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