Portmanteau Words - Thierry Detournay
Transcription
Portmanteau Words - Thierry Detournay
Portmanteau Words The standard linguistic term for this type of word is a blend. It was Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass who coined the word portmanteau to describe them. Among several other words Carroll created galumph, a combination of 'gallop' and 'triumph'. A portmanteau or blend word is one derived by combining portions of two or more separate words. Interestingly, portmanteau itself is a blend word, originating from the French portemanteau, a compound formed from porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak). Portmanteau words are used in various linguistic registers capitalising on the flexibility of the English language to coin new words in order to match new human behaviours or technological developments. Let us start with some classical ones … brunch Chunnel fortnight goodbye moped1 motel motorcade2 Oxbridge paratroops slang smog = = = = = = = = = = = breakfast channel fourteen God motor motor motor Oxford parachute slovenly3 smoke + + + + + + + + + + + lunch tunnel nights be (with) pedal hotel cavalcade Cambridge troops language fog and go on with some compulsive behaviours. 1 blogaholic chocoholic netaholic shopaholic tweetaholic workaholic = = = = = = blog chocolate net shop tweet work + + + + + + alcoholic alcoholic alcoholic alcoholic alcoholic alcoholic sexcapade sexting4 spermathon = = = sex sex sperm + + + escapade texting marathon vélomoteur ['mBLped] cortège (de voitures) 3 négligé ['slHvBnlN] 4 the sending of raunchy (= torride) text-messages 2 + ye (= you) The broadcasting world is particularly well represented, docudrama fanzine fictomercial5 infomercial6 Muppet sitcom7 telegenic telethon televangelist = = = = = = = = = documentary fan fiction information marionette situation television telephone television + + + + + + + + + drama magazine commercial commercial puppet comedy photogenic marathon evangelist avionics breathalyser8 camcorder9 cellophane electrocute intercom multiplex telex = = = = = = = = aviation breath camera cellulose electronic internal multiple teleprinter + + + + + + + + electronics analyser recorder diaphane execute communication complex exchange affluenza10 blaxploitation econocrat oilionaire = affluence blacks economist oil + + + + influenza exploitation bureaucrat millionaire croissandwich = croissant + sandwich medifraud outpatient11 = = medical outside + + fraud patient moonscape seascape cityscape = = = moon sea city + + + landscape landscape landscape pulsar = pulsating + star as well as the technological one. Miscellaneous 5 = = = work of fiction in which a writer is paid to incorporate the company's products into the story (= publifiction) long-format television commercial ( = infopub) 7 humorous drama based on situations that might arise in day-to-day life (= comédie de situation) 8 alcootest 9 caméscope 10 unsustainable addiction to economic growth (= addiction maladive pour la croissance économique) 11 patient en consultation externe 6 Finally, it will come as no surprise that the Web and IT vocabulary is full of such word formations. bit byte = = = = binary by binary web blog + + + + + digit eight or table log diarrhea blog blogorrhea codec emoticon Internet modem netiquette netizen pixel twitterrhea vlog webinar widget12 = = = = = = = = = = = compression emotion international modulator Internet Internet picture twitter video web window + + + + + + + + + + + decompression (module) icon network demodulator etiquette citizen element diarrhea blog seminar gadget Some among them have gained renown lately. e-business e-commerce e-mail e-tailer e-zine e-book e-waste = = = = = = = electronic electronic electronic electronic electronic electronic electronic + + + + + + + business commerce mail retailer magazine book waste adware13 freeware malware middleware14 shareware spyware = = = = = = advertising free malicious middle share spy + + + + + + software software software software software software podcast(er) podcasting podcatching = = = iPod iPod iPod + + + broadcast broadcasting catching simultaneous + web + broadcasting broadcasting simulcasting = webcasting = 12 = stand-alone app embedded into a site (= petit outil qui permet d'obtenir des infos - météo, actualité, dictionnaire, …) 13 logiciel publicitaire 14 intergiciel Wikipedia Wiktionary Wikipes Wikileaks = = = = wiki wikipedia wikipedia wikipedia + + + + encyclopaedia dictionary recipes leaks My latest discoveries Carmageddon15 zoobotics16 hacktivist17 frauditing18 Burgernomics corporatocracy phablet19 = = = = = = = car zoo hacker fraud Burger corporation phone + + + + + + + Armageddon robotics activist auditing economics autocracy tablet to be followed … 15 For some it is a pun on the end of times, for others on the eponymous and violent video game involving vehicular combat, an appropriate metaphor. 16 [zubotiks] Animal-like robots 17 personnes qui défendent leurs idées en hackant des sites contraires à leur éthique cfr. http://hacktiviste.org/ : cybermilitant 18 investigation of fraud by an auditor 19 an informal term for consumer touch-screen devices with screens that are between five and seven inches; it combines the capabilities of a smartphone and mini tablet and occasionally incorporate a stylus. A phablet is larger than most smartphones, but not as large as a tablet or mini-tablet