Lexis – Journal in English Lexicology. N°29 – Lexical Strangeness – Creativity, Deviance and Innovation in Neology.
Deadline for contributions: 30 October 2026.
Issue edited by: Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3
Publication presentation
Lexis – Journal in English Lexicology – will publish its 29th issue in 2027. It will be edited by Cécile Poix (Lumière Lyon 2 University, France) and Gordana Lalić-Krstin (University of Novi Sad, Serbia) and will deal with the topic “Lexical Strangeness – Creativity, Deviance and Innovation in Neology”.
Lexical Strangeness – Creativity, Deviance and Innovation in Neology 
This issue of Lexis invites contributions that explore lexical strangeness in English – a variety of phenomena characterized by morphological creativity, deviance, and innovation that lies beyond conventional criteria of well-formedness. We welcome papers that investigate how speakers playfully subvert or extend lexicogenic norms to create novel lexical or phraseological items that demand attention, serve social functions, or push the boundaries of conventional lexical innovation.
While research on lexical creativity (Munat [2007], [2016]; Lalić-Krstin, Silaški & Renner [2025]) and extra-grammatical word-formation processes (Dressler [2000]; Mattiello [2013], [2017]) has provided frameworks for understanding non-standard word-formation, this issue of Lexis aims to open new discussions around the interface of morphological innovation and rhetorical strategies. We are particularly interested in diverse phenomena ranging from coded speech to punning, from internet innovations to anti-languages as “special forms of language generated by some kind of anti-society” (Halliday [1976]), and from playful formations to emergent morphological patterns. We welcome investigations of what Dressler [1981] has called “poetic audacity” and what, following Haspelmath [1999], Schmid [2020], and Eitelmann & Haumann [2022] describe as “linguistic extravagance”. Through their departure from expected patterns, these formations can serve as devices to seek attention (Lipka [1987]), or can result in salience, foregrounding or expressivity (Schmid [2020]).
Full CFP : https://journals.openedition.org/lexis/10458
Timeline of the publication process
- March 2026: Call for papers
- October 30 2026: Deadline for submitting abstracts to Lexis via the journal’s submission platform
- January 2027: Evaluation Committee’s decisions notified to authors
- May 30 2027: Deadline for submitting papers via the journal’s submission platform
(Guidelines for submitting articles: https://journals.openedition.org/lexis/1000 - June and July 2027: Proofreading of papers by the Evaluation committee
- August 1 to September 2027: Authors’ corrections
- September 30 2027: Deadline for sending in final versions of papers
Website address
N°29 – Lexical Strangeness – Creativity, Deviance and Innovation in Neology
Contact details
(Posted 4 March 2026)