"Portmanteau Words," another essay from Nunberg's the Way We Talk Now, deals with words that were made, not born. Portmanteau words, a term coined by slithy author Lewis Carroll [for more on him, see www.scarlet2snow.blogspot.com ] are words made of parts of two other words, in slithy's case, lithe and slimy. The first American portmanteau word is credited as being the brainchild of painter Gilbert Stuart and a newspaper editor, in regards to a district map of 1811 Massachusetts as proposed by then-governor Elbridge Gerry. Stuart said one district looked more like a salamander. The Editor replied that it looked more like a "gerrymander." (p.85)
Some others:
Dumfound = dumb + confound
twirl = twist + swirl
smog = smoke + fog
motel = motor + hotel
brunch = breakfast + lunch
Since these, which I must confess I thought the first two at least to have always been words in their own right, there has been an explosion, says Nunberg: cineplex, dramedy, sitcom, rockumentary, simulcast, frappuccino, dancercise, etc. He concludes by musing whether or not the creator of gerrymander could forsee a day when "shagadelic would be looking down on us from every billboard." (p.87)
This, of course, got me thinking -- why have speakers and writers of English contributed more of these words to the language in the last 60 years than in the previous 500 years? Part of it seems to be technical in nature, as we look for words to decribe new inventions and modes of delivery. But a lot of them seem to be entertainment based. Some of the more insidious examples from the past few years since Nunberg wrote his essay include: Bennifer, Brangelina, TomKat (all dealing with celebrity relationships), bootylicious, eyecandy, etc. All the examples I can think of, frankly, the English language could have done without. Now, that is not to say that smog does not have its place in the world, and I was amused by Austin Power's use of shagadelic, at least for a time, but, perhaps like the society it reflects, it seems as though the portmanteau words being added of late are a sign of a moral deterioration, or at least a blanket sense of superficiality that strikes fear into the heart of this wordsmith. There are a few cute ones: spanglish, spam, awippsome... and of course blog.
So, to make myself feel better, here are some portmanteau words I am sure are on the reject pile. Can you guess what they are derived from? Highlight the space behind to reveal the answers:
Austenoument (a denoument, Jane Austen style -- i.e. ends in a wedding)
Mothrattorney (why should Godzilla get all the good portmanteaux? A legal attack from above)
wookiewhack (a hairy beating)
tauntaungut (when you feel like you have a frozen jedi in your belly) -- thanks to Jeremy for this one
sesamstupor (When you have had enough of Sesame Street and other toddler programming)
Tune in next week when we examine slang..... all the slings and arrows of it.
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