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Today’s lesson is about
Portmanteu Words. Have you ever heard of them?
First of all, “Portmanteu” is
pronounced as:
port—MAN—tow
What a strange-sounding word,
right?
That’s because this word was
originally borrowed from French. Now, it’s an old-fashioned word that we use
for a large suitcase that has two parts that fold together. It looks like this:
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This photo by puuikibeach is available at <a ref="http://www.flicker.com/photos/puuikibeach/6339304142/">under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ph/"> Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 |
Because of the bag's distinct form, in the year
1882, British writer Lewis Carol used the same name in his book “Through the Looking-Glass.”
Through the Looking Glass is the sequel to his very famous book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
In the second book, Lewis Carol first used the expression
“Portmanteau Word” to mean “two meanings packed up into one word.”
And so,
Portmanteau Word = a
word that combines the sound and meaning of two words
How Portmanteaus are Born
One good example of a Portmanteau
Word is “brunch.” Brunch means a late morning meal. It’s a combination of a
late breakfast and an early lunch.
This way:
Brunch = Breakfast +
Lunch
Ex.
I usually have brunch on Saturdays.
I usually brunch on Saturdays.
Another good example is the word “smog.”
Smog is a type of air pollution. It looks like a mixture of smoke and fog. This is why it’s another Portmanteau Word:
Smog = smoke + fog
Finally, we have “spork.”
Spork = Spoon + fork
This picture is more than enough
explanation:
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image courtesy of stock.xchng |
As you can see, Portmanteau Words
are very interesting because many new words (neologisms) come from a blending
or combination of 2 different words. Afterwards, they become part of standard English.
Let’s have more examples…
You know those names that we use to call
unusual English, right? Well, they’re also Portmanteau Words:
Ex.
Japlish = Japanese +
English
Konglish = Korean +
English
Chinglish = Chinese +
English
Russlish = Russian +
English
Germlish = German +
English
etc.
Besides that, from celebrity news, you can hear cases of “name-meshing.”
“Name-meshing” happens when you
make Portmanteau Names out of the combination of two names, especially those of
well-known people.
Here are a few examples:
Jelena = Justin
Bieber + Selena Gomez
Haylor = Harry Styles
+ Taylor Swift
Brangelina = Brad
Pitt + Angelina Jolie
TomKat = Tom Cruise +
Katie Holmes
Billary = Bill +
Hillary Clinton
etc.
Portmanteaus and Technology
Finally, because Portmanteau
Words are good at adding new words to the English Vocabulary (we call new words “neologisms”),
many Portmanteau Words can be found in the area of technology.
In fact, the word “Internet” is a
Portmanteau Word:
Internet = international
+ network
Also WiFi:
WiFi = wireless +
fidelity
Here are other Net words or technology
terms that are also Portmanteau Words:
Portmanteau
|
2 Original Words
|
Blog
|
(1) web + (2) log
|
Emoticon
|
(1) emotion + (2) icon
|
Freeware
|
(1) free + (2) software
|
Malware
|
(1) malicious + (2) software
|
Microsoft
|
(1) microcomputer + (2) software
|
Modem
|
(1) modulator + (2) demodulator
|
Netiquette
|
(1) Internet + (2) etiquette
|
Netizen
|
(1) Internet + (2) citizen
|
Pixel
|
(1) pic + (2) element
|
Sexting
|
(1) sex + (2) texting
|
Wikipedia
|
(1) wiki + (2) encyclopedia
|
50 Portmanteaus in English
There are many Portmanteau Words
in different parts of the English language.
If you still haven’t had enough,
here are 50 more:
Portmanteau
|
2 Original Words
|
Beatles
|
(1) beat + (2)
beetles
|
Beefalo
|
(1) beef + (2)
buffalo
|
Bionic
|
(1) biology + (2)
electronic
|
Bootylicious
|
(1) booty + (2)
delicious
|
Breathalyzer
|
(1) breath + (2)
analyzer
|
Camcorder
|
(1) camera + (2)
recorder
|
Chillaxing
|
(1) chilling + (2)
relaxing
|
Chork
|
(1) chopstick +
(2) fork
|
Chortle
|
(1) chuckle + (2)
snort
|
Croissandwich
|
(1) croissant +
(2) sandwich
|
Cyborg
|
(1) cybernetic +
(2) organism
|
Dancercise
|
(1) dance + (2)
exercise
|
Docudrama
|
(1) documentary +
(2) drama
|
Edutainment
|
(1) education +
(2) entertainment
|
Eurasia
|
(1) Europe + (2)
Asia
|
Faction
|
(1) fact + (2)
fiction
|
Fantabulous
|
(1) fantastic +
(2) fabulous
|
Fanzine
|
(1) fan + (2)
magazine
|
Frappucino
|
(1) frappe + (2)
cappucino
|
Ginormous
|
(1) giant + (2)
enormous
|
Globish
|
(1) global + (2)
English
|
Guesstimate
|
(1) guess + (2)
estimate
|
Humongous
|
(1) huge + (2)
monstrous
|
Infomercial
|
(1) information +
(2) commercial
|
Liger
|
(1) lion + (2)
tiger
|
Motel
|
(1) motor + (2)
hotel
|
Olionaire
|
(1) oil + (2)
millionaire
|
Outpatient
|
(1) outside + (2)
patient
|
Paratroop
|
(1) parachute +
(2) troop
|
Prissy
|
(1) prim + (2)
sissy
|
Feminazi
|
(1) feminist + (2) Nazi
|
Rockumentary
|
(1) rock + (2)
documentary
|
Seascape
|
(1) sea + (2)
landscape
|
Simulcast
|
(1) simultaneous +
(2) broadcast
|
Sitcom
|
(1) situation +
(2) comedy
|
Skort
|
(1) skirt + (2)
short
|
Skyjack
|
(1) sky + (2)
hijack
|
Smash
|
(1) smack + (2)
mash
|
Smirting
|
(1) smoking + (2)
flirting
|
Soundscape
|
(1) sound + (2)
landscape
|
Splatter
|
(1) splash + (2)
spatter
|
Stagflation
|
(1) stagnant economy + (2) inflation
|
Tangelo
|
(1) tangerine + (2)
pomelo
|
Telegenic
|
(1) television + (2)
photogenic
|
Travelogue
|
(1) travel + (2) monologue
|
Tween
|
(1) teen + (2)
between
|
Wallyball
|
(1) wall + (2) volleyball
|
Webinar
|
(1) web + (2) seminar
|
Wholpin
|
(1) whale + (2)
dolphin
|
Wurly
|
(1) wavy + (2)
curly hair
|
Finally…
As a reminder, I have to tell you
that some of the Portmanteau Words that I have cited above are not as widely
accepted. Of course, like what I said, others have already become part of
standard English.
It depends partly on how recent the
new word has been created. If the word has been around longer, chances are that it has become an authentic, widely-used member of the English
Vocabulary. It varies from case to case though.
For instance, the Portmanteau “Refudiate,”
which was first used by American politician Sarah Palin became New Oxford American Dictionary’s “Word
of the Year” in 2010.
In response to some criticism
about her invention of the new word, Palin posted on Tweeter:
"Refudiate," "misunderestimate,"
"wee-wee'd up." English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to
coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!
Sun Jul 18 20:38:47 via web
Sarah Palin
Sarah PalinUSA
Sarah PalinUSA
Hope You Learned Something!
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