LANGUAGE IN THE HUMAN-TECHNOLOGY ERA. NEW TERMINOLOGY ON THE SEX (ROBOT) MARKET – “DIGISEXUALITY”, “TECHNOSEXUALITY” AND “ROBOSEXUALITY” – A MULTILINGUAL ANALYSIS AND SURVEY AMONG STUDENTS

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore and analyze neologisms in English, German, French, Spanish and Polish that arise in the context of technological advancements, especially in the field of emerging sexual technologies; and to check their codification in dictionaries.Moroever, the research aims to verify whether students know the terms "digisexuality", "technosexuality" and "robosexuality"and understand the differences between them.Design/methodology/approach: This article comprises two main sections: the first section conducts a linguistic analysis of three neologisms related to sex robotics in multiple languages to explore their structure, spelling variations, and codification.The second section presents the results of a survey conducted among 134 students aged 20-24, aiming to assess their awareness and opinions on emerging sexual technologies and their ability to distinguish between similar terms.Findings: The article examines three blend neologisms, digisexuality, technosexuality, and robosexuality, in five languages, formed by combining prefixes with "sexuality".While these terms lack codification in dictionaries, their adjective forms are defined in English due to frequent usage.The survey of 134 students aged 20-24 revealed their unfamiliarity with these concepts and difficulty in distinguishing them, along with gender-related disparities in comfort levels when discussing sex robots.Practical implications: These findings emphasize the need for educational initiatives and awareness campaigns to familiarize individuals, particularly young adults, with these evolving concepts. Social implications:The evolving nature of these neologisms and their potential impact on human experiences and relationships highlight the need for continued research in the fields of communication, technology, and human sexuality.Originality/value: The terms "digisexuality", "technosexuality" and "robosexuality" were not analysed and compared in five languages including their codification.Moreover, the study depicts the students' awareness and understanding of those concepts and differences between them.