Language change is a complex process because it occurs both synchronically and diachronically and is influenced not only by linguistic, but also by extra-linguistic factors, such as creativity, topicality, and fashion. The present article focuses on different types of language change, the most productive type of change in the contemporary English language, considering new lexical items within their social and historical context. Lexical innovations are studied analyzing three aspects: productivity, acceptability, and lexicalisation. Analysing lexical innovations encountered in popular scientific texts, the authors investigate the most productive word-formation patterns and the mechanism how new words enter the general vocabulary. Popular scientific texts (magazines, broadcasts, web sites) have been chosen as the medium for analysis because they are the main source through which innovative lexical units enter the everyday language and either become accepted by the users and registered in the dictionaries (contributing to the language change), or are rejected and remain occasionalisms.