Portmanteau

Portmanteau Definition
Portmanteau is a literary device in which two or extra phrases are joined collectively to coin a new phrase, which refers to a singe concept.

The coinage of portmanteau involves the linking and mixing of two or greater phrases, and the new phrase shaped in the technique shares the identical meanings as the unique words. It is different from a compound word, which could have a completely one of a kind which means from the words that it become coined from.

Portmanteau, on the opposite hand, shares the identical semantic features. For example, the word “brunch” is fashioned with the aid of splicing phrases “breakfast” and “lunch.” The spliced components “br-” and “-unch” are combined to shape a portmanteau phrase, “brunch,” which is the meal taken between breakfast and lunch. Interestingly, the phrase portmanteau is shaped by way of mixing two French words, porter (“to carry”) and Manteau (“cloak”).

Common Portmanteau Examples
In present day times, portmanteau words have entered the English language regularly. We see their considerable coinage in unique fields of life. No doubt, they're both useful and interesting. Below is a listing of examples of portmanteau phrases in current language.

Education + amusement = edutainment
fan + magazine = fanzine
cyberspace + magazine = cyberzine
Oxford + Cambridge = Oxbridge
telephone + marathon = telethon
medical + care = Medicare
parachute + troops = paratroops
motor + hotel = motel
camera + recorder = camcorder
web + log = blog
iPod + broadcasting = podcasting
Examples of Portmanteau in Art and Entertainment
The international of artwork and enjoyment is replete with portmanteau examples, together with:

britcom, from British and comedy (see also: sitcom)
californication, from California and fornication
cassingle, from cassette and single
cosplay, from dress and play
dramedy, from drama and comedy
religulous, from faith and ridiculous
sacrilicious, from sacrilege and delicious (Homer Simpson)
scanlation, from experiment and translation
sitcom, from situational and comedy
slurve, form slider and curve (baseball pitches)
spife, spoon and knife
spork, spoon and fork
streetball, from street and basketball
Examples of Portmanteau in Literature
Example #1: Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There (Lewis Carroll)
In literature, Lewis Carroll introduces the time period portmanteau in his novel “Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There.” In chapter 6, Humpty Dumpty explains the that means of “slithy” and “mimsy,” in the nonsense poem Jabberwocky. He says that “slithy” is a aggregate of “slimy” and “lithe,” and “mimsy” is a combination of “flimsy,” and “miserable.” He tells Alice:

“You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one phrase.”

Example #2: Finnegans Wake (By James Joyce)
James Joyce extensively makes use of portmanteau words in his novel Finnegans Wake. For instance:

Ethiquetical is fashioned from ethicsand etiquette.
Blinkhards is coined from the Dutch “blinken” (“to shine”) and the English to blink.
“Stop his laysense. Ink him!” Laysense comes from the words “layman” and “sense.”
Sinduced is from “sin” and “seduced.”
Comeday is from “someday” and “comedy.”
Fadograph is fashioned from “fading” and “photograph.”
Example #3: Bleak House (By Charles Dickens)
Charles Dickens is famous for giving his characters portmanteau names. Such names correspond with the each man or woman’s disposition as well. For instance, there is a individual named Mr. Tulkinghorn, a stout lawyer, in Bleakhouse. Tulking is a amendment of bulking and horn suggests an injurious nature.

Similarly, Mr. Boythorn in Bleakhouse is a compounding of boyhood, regarding his goodness of heart; and thorn, pointing to his loud and vicious nature. Moreover, Mr. Murdstone seems to come from the phrases “murderer” and “stone,” and refers to coldness. In The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the call Crisparkle is a blending of the words “Christian,” which manifests his goodness, and “sparkle,” which displays his boy-like temperament.

Function of Portmanteau
One of the many elements that distinguish the English language from different languages of the arena is the scope it offers for creativity, via literary devices inclusive of portmanteau. The lifestyles of portmanteau words rightly testifies to this creative factor inside the English language, where totally new words with a completely unique meaning of their very own are shaped by using mixing elements of or more definitely one of a kind phrases. Writers are interested in such coinages due to the fact they permit them to add creativity to their works, which therefore adds the element of interest in their literary texts. Moreover, it attracts readers’ attention, as they enjoy and appreciates this subtle demonstration of phrase play.

Polysyndeton Procatalepsis