Abbreviations in social media communication: Accounting for neology and lexicographic treatment.

The article focuses on the analysis and lexicographic treatment of trendy abbreviations used by Portuguese youth in social media communication, emphasizing their role as a source of neologisms. It presents the development of the Dictionary of Digital Abbreviations, a freely accessible electronic resource containing 123 entries of European Portuguese abbreviations validated by a panel of young native and second-language speakers. The dictionary addresses both new word forms—abbreviations transitioning into oral speech with phonetic adaptations—and new senses—existing abbreviations acquiring novel denotations or connotations within specific social groups. Lexicographic decisions for the dictionary include detailed microstructure elements (e.g., definitions, register, phonetic transcription, usage examples, subcommunity labels) and macrostructure features (e.g., search options, dated entries), designed primarily to assist older generations in understanding contemporary digital slang while accounting for diachronic change and community validation.