I Love Portmanteaus- How About You?

In my previous postings, I wrote about my interest and idioms and aphorism. This time, it will be the word portmanteau and list examples of the most common ones we use in our daily speech.  

So what is portmanteau ? A fancy word for a linguistic phenomenon that you probably use every day in common speech. Portmanteaus are the blending of two words into one to create a new meaning for a singular concept. Pop culture loves to create a portmanteau by blending celebrity couple’s names into one, such as the OG "Brangelina" for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and "Kimye" for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. If you’ve used these names, you portmanteau-ed and didn’t know it! ‌‌

These portmanteaus can be broken up easily when the couple parts ways. Other portmanteaus are more permanently bonded through such regular use that the blended words make it into the dictionary as their own entries. ‌‌Here's a short list

 Animals

"Cockapoo," "labradoodle," "puggle," and "maltipoo" are all portmanteaus of dog breeds that people have created to combine the best features from each breed into a cute new one. People are also creating new types of animals by crossbreeding, producing "beefalo," "ligers," "zorses," and even imagining combinations of mythical creatures like a "Pegacorn" (combining Pegasus and a unicorn). ‌‌

Science

Technical words get smushed together, too, as science moves forward in our understanding of the world. "Hazmat" lets us know what materials are hazardous. A "cyborg" is a combination of cybernetics and an organism (a robot that’s alive?!). "EpiPen," dispensing life-saving medicine for allergies, is a portmanteau of epinephrine and pen (named for the appearance of the device). ‌‌

Locations

Places are also subject to portmanteaus, like the New York City neighborhoods "Tribeca" (Triangle Below Canal Street) and "SoHo" (South of Houston). Mexico and California are combined in various ways from "Calexico" to "Mexicali." And nicknames like "Hotlanta" describe attributes of the locale.

The Internet

The internet is the domain of portmanteaus. "Blog" is a web log, "malware" is malicious 

software, "emoticons" are emotions expressed in icon form, and "netiquette" is a guide to

 how people should behave on the internet. Even "internet" itself is a portmanteau, 

combining "inter" (meaning reciprocal or mutual) and "network." Other daily online 

portmanteaus we don’t think twice about are the emails we send, or the podcasts, 

webinars, webcasts, and webisodes that have become a part of our everyday lives. ‌‌

Recent Examples

As society rushes forward almost too quickly, there are gaps in language that portmanteaus

 fill quite nicely. Recent examples include "cronut," "bromance," "mansplaining," "frenemy,"

 and "tofurkey." As fantabulous as it is to have these portmanteaus, we’re going to need

 even more ginormous dictionaries to hold all of these words (or maybe we’ll just put them 

all in a Wiktionary).

Meanwhile, Did you know that....

Jomalig Island in Quezon has golden-yellow sand, one of the rarest beach colors in the

Philippines! This stunning beach is often compared to the golden shores of international 

destinations.

The sand’s golden color comes from crushed corals and shells. Over time, natural processes 

have created its distinct hue.

It’s a hidden paradise. Jomalig is one of the least-visited islands in Quezon, making it a 

peaceful escape with untouched beauty.

Getting there is an adventure. Visitors need to take a 5-6 hour boat ride, but the journey 

is  worth it for the breathtaking scenery.

Jomalig’s golden sands shine under the sun, making it a true hidden gem of the Philippines!

Lastly, the following photo of a Coastal village from Lazy Traveler reminds me of Marinduque-

Our second home.

The sun was just beginning its ascent, casting a warm, golden glow across the small coastal 

village as it awoke to a new day. The sandy path that hugged the shoreline was already 

marked with footprints, the early risers beginning their daily routines. On one side, a row 

of simple wooden houses, painted in faded hues of green and yellow, stood on stilts, their

thatched roofs catching the first rays of the morning light. Bright pink bougainvillea 

spilled over the fences, adding a splash of vibrant color to the scene.

Across the path, the calm waters of the bay shimmered, reflecting the vibrant sky.  

A lone outrigger boat, its white sail billowing in the morning breeze, glided across the water,

the fisherman already casting his nets for the day's catch.

In the distance, the silhouette of mountains rose against the brightening sky, their peaks

painted with hues of pink and orange.

The air was filled with the sounds of the village awakening – the cheerful chatter of 

children on their way to school, the rhythmic chopping of a bolo as a woman prepared

breakfast, and the distant crowing of a rooster.

It was the start of a new day, full of promise and possibility, in this peaceful corner of 

the Philippines.