Blend
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This article is about combining words to create new words. For other uses of blend, see blender.
In linguistics, a blend is a word formed from parts of two other words. These parts are sometimes, but not always, morphemes.
Blends are also known as portmanteaux; however, in linguistics, a portmanteau word strictly refers to a blending of two function words, similar to a contraction.
[edit] Formation
Most blends are formed by one of the following methods:
- The beginning of one word is added to the end of the other. For example, brunch is a blend of breakfast and lunch. This is the most common method of blending.
- The beginnings of two words are combined. For example, cyborg is a blend of cybernetic and organism.
- One complete word is combined with part of another word. For example, Wikipedia is a blend of wiki and encyclopedia.
- Two words are blended around a common sequence of sounds. For example, the word Californication, from a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is a blend of California and fornication.
- Multiple sounds from two component words are blended, while mostly preserving the sounds' order. Poet Lewis Carroll was well known for these kinds of blends. An example of this is the word slithy, a blend of lithe and slimy. This method is difficult to achieve and is considered a sign of Carroll's verbal wit.
When two words are combined in their entirety, the result is considered a compound word rather than a blend. For example, bagpipe is a compound, not a blend, of bag and pipe.
[edit] Use
Some languages, like Japanese, encourage the shortening and merging of borrowed foreign words (as in gairaigo), because they are long or difficult to pronounce in the target language. For example, karaoke, a combination of the Japanese word kara (meaning empty) and the clipped form oke of the English loanword "orchestra" (J. ōkesutora オーケストラ), is a Japanese blend that has entered the English language. (From the article gairaigo.)
Many corporate brand names, trademarks, and initiatives, as well as names of corporations and organizations themselves, are blends. For example, Wiktionary, one of Wikipedia's sister projects, is a blend of wiki and dictionary. Also, Nabisco is a blend of the initial syllables of National Biscuit Company.
In the 21st Century, tabloid writers often blend the first names of famous couples. Some examples include Bennifer (for both Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, and Affleck and Jennifer Garner) and TomKat (for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes).
