BIKINI, BURKINI, FATKINI: THE SIZE OF FASHION WORDS

Abstract Language is a crucial component of fashion since it is through language that communication of different cultural and creative elements is conveyed among individuals working in this field. This contribution will focus on the ‘anglification’ process of fashion language in the perspective of the progressively increasing ‘size’ of English in fashion communication. This ‘size’ is manifold: it is not only a technical language, confined to a restricted number of users, but it stretches to various dimensions, both in its mere linguistic aspects, as well as in a wider range of human cultural expressions. Firstly, we will consider the size of the fashion language in its morphological aspect and its extension to different fields of action through its variations, or ‘dimensions’: lexical, diachronic, diaphasic, diamesic, diatopic, diastratic. Secondly, we will try to relate these linguistic dimensions to social and cultural spheres and see how certain words, by changing their structure and ‘size’, can generate new and ‘larger’ meanings, as in bikini, burkini, and fatkini, involving different cultural fields.