Blends

Have you ever wondered how new words are created in English? This topic relates to neologism, which refers to how new words are created, or how existing words are given new meanings.

Today we will be focusing on examples of word blends, a specific type of neologism. We will explain blends, look at why we blend words, and give some examples. As you read through the article, consider how many blended words you are already familiar with!

What are different types of neologisms?

There are lots of different ways to create new words that are not limited to our examples of word blends; here are some below:

1. Derivation - adding prefixes or suffixes to existing words.

2. Back-formation - the opposite of derivation; removing a prefix or suffix from an existing word.

3. Compounding - two existing words that are either hyphenated or formed into one word.

4. Repurposing - taking a word that is in a certain context and putting it into a different context.

5. Conversion - taking a word that is in a certain word class and using it as another word class.

6. Eponyms - words that are named after places or people.

7. Loanwords - words that are borrowed from other languages.

8. Onomatopoeia - words that are created by imitating a sound.

9. Reduplication - words or sounds in words that are repeated (either fully or partially).

10. Occasionalism - words that are invented for a particular occasion in which there is not already an existing word.

11. Error - words that are created as a result of misspellings or mispronunciations.

12. Clipping (truncation) - part of a longer word is removed to create a new, shorter word with the same meaning.

13. Abbreviations - this refers to the shortening of a longer word.

And finally, the focus of this article: blends.

What are blends?

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. Think of blending up two fruits to make a smoothie... But do that with words instead!

Fig. 1 - Take words and blend them together!

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!

What are the different types of blends?

There are two different types of word blends.

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:

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:

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:

Blends can also be created by overlapping words, where two parts of each word contain the same letter(s). For example:

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 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 that can become a trend or be used by the mass public.

In particular, words can now often become trendy through social media, creating a sense of community on the internet and gaining global popularity.

Fig. 2 - Blends are often used on social media.

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!