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Blended Words
A word blend is formed by combining two
separate words with different meanings to form a new one. These words are often
created to describe a new invention or phenomenon that combines the definitions
or traits of two existing things.
Word Blends and Their Parts
Word blends are also known as portmanteau (pronunciation
port-MAN-toe), a French word meaning "trunk" or "suitcase."
Author Lewis Carroll is credited with coining this term in "Through the
Looking-Glass," published in 1871. In that book, Humpty Dumpty tells Alice
about making up new words from parts of existing ones:
"You see it's like a
portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word."
There are different ways of creating word
blends. One way is to combine portions of two other words to make a new one.
These word fragments are called morphemes,
the smallest units of meaning in a language. The word "camcorder,"
for example," combines parts of "camera" and
"recorder." Word blends can also be created by joining a full word
with a portion of another word (called a splinter). For example, the word
"motorcade" combines "motor" plus a portion of
"cavalcade."
Word blends can also be formed by overlapping
or combining phonemes, which are parts of two words that sound alike. One
example of an overlapping word blend is "Spanglish," which is an
informal mix of spoken English and Spanish. Blends can also be formed through
the omission of phonemes. Geographers sometimes refer to "Eurasia,"
the landmass that combines Europe and Asia. This blend is formed by taking the
first syllable of "Europe" and adding it to the word
"Asia."
The Blend Trend
English is a dynamic language that is
constantly evolving. Many of the words in the English language are derived from
ancient Latin and Greek or from other European languages such as German or
French. But starting in the 20th century, blended words began to emerge to
describe new technologies or cultural phenomena. For instance, as dining out
became more popular, many restaurants began serving a new weekend meal in the
late morning. It was too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, so someone
decided to make a new word that described a meal that was a little bit of both.
Thus, "brunch" was born.
As new inventions changed the way people lived
and worked, the practice of combining parts of words to make new ones became
popular. In the 1920s, as traveling by car became more common, a new kind of
hotel that catered to drivers emerged. These "motor hotels" quickly
proliferated and became known as "motels." In 1994, when a rail
tunnel beneath the English Channel opened, connecting France and Great Britain,
it quickly became known as the "Chunnel," a word blend of
"Channel" and "tunnel."
New word blends are being created all the time
as cultural and technological trends emerge. In 2018, Merriam-Webster added the
word "mansplaining" to their dictionary. This blended word, which
combines "man" and "explaining," was coined to describe the
habit that some men have of explaining things in a condescending manner.
Examples:
|
BLENDED WORD |
ROOT WORD 1 |
ROOT WORD 2 |
|
agitprop |
agitation |
propaganda |
|
bash |
bat |
mash |
|
biopic |
biography |
picture |
|
Breathalyzer |
breath |
analyzer |
|
clash |
clap |
crash |
|
docudrama |
documentary |
drama |
|
electrocute |
electricity |
execute |
|
emoticon |
emotion |
icon |
|
Fanzine |
fan |
magazine |
|
Frenemy |
friend |
enemy |
|
Globish |
global |
English |
|
infotainment |
information |
entertainment |
|
Moped |
motor |
pedal |
|
Pulsar |
pulse |
quasar |
|
Sitcom |
situation |
comedy |
|
sportscast |
sports |
broadcast |
|
staycation |
stay |
vacation |
|
telegenic |
television |
photogenic |
|
workaholic |
work |
alcoholic |
Using Definition Strategy to Get the
Meaning of Blended Words
Sometimes a text directly states the definition or a restatement of the
unknown word. The brief definition or restatement is signaled by a word or a
punctuation mark. Consider the following example:
He encourages family members to use
alphanumeric, or combination of letters and numbers, passwords with at least
eight characters.
In this sentence, the word alphanumeric is
defined by the phrase that follows the signal word or, which is combination of
letters and numbers.
In other instances, the text may restate the
meaning of the word in a different way, by using punctuation as a signal. Look
at the following example:
It chops,
blends, dices and purees, making dips, drinks and dinners in a spot that
dominates the late-night infomercial- informative commercial.
Although informative commercial not a formal
definition of the word infomercial, it does serve to define it.
These two examples use signals- the word or and the punctuation dashes- to indicate the meaning of the unfamiliar word. Other signals to look for are the words is, as, means, known as, and refers to.
Sources:
Retrieved at https://www.thoughtco.com/blend-words-1689171
Retrieved at https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_writing-for-success/s08-06-using-context-clues.html
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