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What Is Blending in English Grammar

The document discusses blending in English grammar, which refers to forming new words by combining parts of two existing words. There are two types of blends: total blends that combine parts of words and partial blends that combine a whole word with part of another. Blends are created for ease of communication, to describe something new, or to create popular words. Examples like brunch, globish, and hangry are provided.

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Wajiha Haroon
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153 views

What Is Blending in English Grammar

The document discusses blending in English grammar, which refers to forming new words by combining parts of two existing words. There are two types of blends: total blends that combine parts of words and partial blends that combine a whole word with part of another. Blends are created for ease of communication, to describe something new, or to create popular words. Examples like brunch, globish, and hangry are provided.

Uploaded by

Wajiha Haroon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is blending in English grammar?

In terms of English grammar, blends refer to words that are formed by taking parts of two
different words and putting them together to create a new word.

Unlike some ways of forming words that don't change the meaning (such as clipping or
abbreviating), blending two words together creates a new word with a different meaning. If
you are aware of the separate words that are used to create a blend, you will be more likely to
understand the meaning of the new word, as it usually combines the meanings of the two
existing words!

Blends: synonyms

The synonyms for blend words are:

1. Portmanteau: This term, derived from French, refers to a linguistic blend of two (or
more) words in which part of each word is combined into a new word.
2. Fusion: In some contexts, this term might be used to describe the merging of two
words to create a new one.
3. Meld Words: Less common but still used, this term also describes the combination of
two words.
4. Compound Words: Although this term can be slightly different (usually referring to
the combination of two whole words rather than parts of words), it is sometimes used
synonymously.

What are the different types of blends?

There are two different types of word blends: total blends and partial blends.

Types of word
Description
blends

Taking different parts of words and combining them to make a new


1. Total Blends
one.

2. Partial Blends Taking a whole word and combining it with part of another word.

The first type we will look at is often referred to as total blends, as they involve taking
different parts of words and combining them to create a new one.
The first way to create a total blend is to take the beginning of one word and merge it with
the end of another. Here are some examples of total word blends:

 Breakfast + Lunch = Brunch


Brunch is a meal eaten in the late morning, combining a late breakfast and an early lunch.
 Global + English = Globish
Globish refers to a simplified form of English used to help non-native speakers.
Another way of creating a total blend is to take the beginning of one word and join it with
the beginning of another. For example:

 Situation + Comedy = Sitcom


Sitcom is a genre of comedy programme that usually involves the same characters in each
episode.
 Motor + Pedaler = Moped
Moped is a type of small motorbike.
As opposed to total blends, we can also create partial blends. This means taking
a whole word and combining it with part of another word. For example:

 Stay + Vacation = Staycation


A staycation is a holiday from home.
 Dumb + Confound = Dumbfound
Used to describe a feeling of amazement.
Blends can also be created by overlapping words, where two parts of each word contain the
same letter(s). For example:

 Smoke + Fog = Smog


Smog is a smoky fog; usually refers to air pollution.
 Motor + Hotel = Motel
A motel is a hotel for people who travel by car.

Why do we blend words?

There are different reasons for blending words. Here are a few examples!

For ease of communication

For example, instead of saying “I’m getting my camera recorder”, you could say “I’m getting
my camcorder”.

Or, instead of saying “I’m filming a video blog”, you could say “I’m filming a vlog.”

To describe something new

We always want to describe something new that is similar to two existing things or ideas but
does not have its own word yet. For example, the combination of the words ‘spoon’ and
‘fork’ create the blend ‘spork’. A spork is a utensil that resembles a mixture of both a spoon
and a fork.
Or, the combination of ‘jeans’ and ‘leggings’ creates ‘jeggings’, which are leggings that are
made to look like jeans.

To create popular words or phrases

Nowadays, words can become a trend or be used by the mass public such as in social media.
New words help create a sense of community on the internet and allow users to gain global
popularity or branding awareness with certain hashtags.

For example, the word 'hangry' is a popular informal term combining the words ‘hungry’ and
‘angry’. It is used to describe the feeling of being hungry and angry at the same time.

Or the term 'shopaholic', which combines the words ‘shop’ and ‘alcoholic’ to refer to
someone who shops to excess, or possibly becomes addicted to shopping!

Blends - Key takeaways

 Blends are words that are formed by taking parts of two different words and putting

them together to create a new word.

 Blending two words together creates a new word with a different meaning. This is

different to some other ways of word formation (e.g. clipping, abbreviations) in which

the meanings do not change.

 There are two different types of blends: total and partial.

 Blended words can also overlap with one another (contain the same letters in each

individual word).

 We blend words for ease of communication, to create new terms for things/ideas that

are similar to existing things, and to create trendy words that can go mainstream.

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