Portmanteau Word/morph (linguistics)
In linguistics the term blend is used to refer to general combination of words, and the term portmanteau is reserved for the narrow sense of combining two or more morphemes in one morph. E.g. in the Latin word animalis the ending -is is a portmanteau morph because it is used for two morphemes: the singularity and the genitive case. In English two separate morphs are used (of an animal).
The term may also be extended to include contractions. Examples of such combinations include:
Language | Combination | Portmanteau |
---|---|---|
Portuguese | de o | do |
a aquele | àquele | |
de ela | dela | |
em um | num | |
French | à le | au |
à les | aux | |
de le | du | |
de les | des | |
en les | ès | |
German | in das | ins |
in dem | im | |
zu dem | zum | |
zu der | zur | |
Irish | de an | den |
do an | don | |
Spanish | a el | al |
de el | del | |
Italian | a il | al |
a la | alla | |
a lo | allo | |
a l' | all' | |
a i | ai | |
a gli | agli | |
a le | alle | |
di il | del | |
di la | della | |
di lo | dello | |
di l' | dell' | |
di i | dei | |
di gli | degli | |
di le | delle | |
da il | dal | |
da la | dalla | |
da lo | dallo | |
da l' | dall' | |
da i | dai | |
da gli | dagli | |
da le | dalle | |
Cornish | a an | a'n |
Welsh | i ein | i'n |
o ein | o'n | |
West Frisian | bist do | bisto |
yn de | yn 'e |
This usage has been referred to as "portmanteau morph."
While in Portuguese, French, and Spanish the use of the short forms is obligatory, German and Cornish speakers may freely choose the form they use.
Read more about this topic: Portmanteau Word (version 2)
Famous quotes containing the word word:
“Thus the theory of description matters most.
It is the theory of the word for those
For whom the word is the making of the world,
The buzzing world and lisping firmament.”
—Wallace Stevens (18791955)