Portmanteaus

This book explores the portmanteau as a popular language trend. A portmanteau is a lexical blend in which at least one of the two original words is shortened in the process of combination, such as brunch (breakfast + lunch) or motel (motor + hotel). Although portmanteaus have a long history in the English language, they are experiencing a significant proliferation in online communication. The power of the portmanteau lies in its ability to bring concepts together both sonically and n writing. In doing so, portmanteaus carry the associations of their source words through multiple and shifting contexts, making them complex sites of rhetorical inquiry. This book examines the portmanteau form by analyzing a range of contemporary blend words. It theorizes a method of “critical portmanteau decomposition” that illustrates the ways the portmanteau’s form contributes to its functioning by forging conceptual associations between its components. These associations become clear when the blend is “decomposed” into its constituent parts: the source words and the extra linguistic contexts surrounding both the source words and the blend as a whole. This complex blending process reflects and constructs conceptual networks that can be easily masked by the form, which is often viewed as playful and innocuous. This is particularly significant when the portmanteau transmits ideology, as the playful form is at odds with its content. Critical portmanteau decomposition takes into account the pieces of the portmanteau, the cognitive process of blending, the connections forged among elements, and the context of the complete word.