Portmanteau - Portmanteau Word/morph (linguistics)

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

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