“You see it’s like a portmanteau – there are two meanings packed up into one word”
(Carroll 2002:186). That is what Humpty Dumpty told Alice about a poem, where
words were mixed together out of other words. But not only in Lewis Carroll’s
“Through the Looking-Glass” words like these occur. If you take a newspaper, you
will find a lot of mixtures. One of the most famous of the last years are names like
Brangelina oder Bennifer, where popular couples were shortened to one name.
These names caught the attention of readers and led to an increasing usage. Some
words are part of our language and a division into the original parts becomes difficult.
Take brunch as an example. Most people would describe it as a second breakfast,
but would they think of a mixture of breakfast and lunch in the first place?
Portmanteau words, as Humpty Dumpty calls them, in Linguistics are known as
blends. It is a part of morphology which is often discussed, because there are a lot of
contradictions. The question arises if there are general rules which can be used to
form blends and if there are major categories of blends.
The paper will show the most important characteristics of blends and their structure.
Furthermore it tries to find some answers to the above mentioned questions and
proves or disproves generalisations. With the help of a survey the characteristics
shall be looked at in a critical way.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Characteristics
2.1 Definition
2.2 Meaning
2.3 Structure
3. Survey
3.1 Analyses
3.2 Conclusion of the Survey
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper explores the morphological process of blending in the English language, aiming to identify general structural rules and categories while critically evaluating existing theories through an empirical survey.
- The linguistic definition and morphological classification of blends.
- Structural characteristics and the "AD-rule" of blending.
- Semantic relationships and word formation processes.
- Empirical analysis of speaker-generated blends based on semantically related word pairs.
- The role of phonology and speaker intuition in the creation of new lexical items.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Definition
Blends are words “that combine two (rarely three or more) words into one, deleting material from one or both of the source words” (Plag 2003:122). This combination is realised phonetically as well as orthographically. Some would describe blends as a type of compound nouns, because they function in a similar way. If you take an exocentric compound, where the head is outside the compound, you will have the same effect as a blend has, namely that its meaning is a mixture of both words.
The same is true for acronyms. An acronym is a word which is created from the initials of other words. This means that words are combined into a new one by deleting material from these words. This would fit into the definition of blends as well.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the historical and linguistic context of blends, introducing the core research questions regarding the rules of their formation.
2. Characteristics: Examines the theoretical definition, semantic types, and structural principles of blends as described in current morphological literature.
3. Survey: Presents an empirical study where participants create new blends from selected word pairs to test theoretical generalizations.
4. Conclusion: Summarizes findings, noting that while theoretical rules are useful, phonology and speaker intuition play a dominant role in the subconscious creation of blends.
5. Bibliography: Lists the academic sources used to support the analysis of word-formation and blending processes.
Keywords
Blending, Morphology, Word-formation, AD-structure, Linguistics, Portmanteau, Syntax, Semantics, Phonology, Neologisms, Lexical innovation, Structural analysis, Empirical survey.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this linguistic research?
The paper focuses on the morphological process of "blending," which involves combining parts of two or more words to create a new lexical item.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
Central themes include the definition of blends, their structural rules, their relationship to compound nouns, and the influence of phonology on their formation.
What is the research goal?
The primary goal is to analyze whether general structural rules (like the AD-structure) can reliably explain how speakers create blends, tested through a practical survey.
What methodology does the author use?
The author uses a qualitative and quantitative survey methodology, asking 15 participants to create new words based on ten predefined semantically related word pairs.
What is covered in the main body of the paper?
The main body covers the theoretical characteristics of blends and a detailed analysis of the survey results, categorized by the specific word pairs provided to participants.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include blending, morphology, AD-structure, word-formation, and lexical innovation.
What is the "AD-structure" in the context of blending?
The AD-structure refers to the generalized blending rule where the first part (A) of the first word is connected to the second part (D) of the second word.
How does the author explain the difference between blends and compound nouns?
The author notes that while they function similarly, blends involve the deletion of material from source words, whereas compounds generally combine full words.
Why are blends often considered "innovative"?
Blends are viewed as innovative because they catch the attention of readers and often emerge in creative or casual usage to express new concepts efficiently.
- Quote paper
- Franka Girod (Author), 2008, Analysing Blends, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/150856
