4.4   Blending

    Blending is the formation of new words by combining parts of two words or a word plus a part of another word. Words formed as such are called blends（拼缀词） or pormanteau words（混成词）. For example, flush（脸红）is the combination of flash（闪） and blush（使脸红）. Similarly, smog is the result of putting smoke and fog together.

    Blending is a very productive process and many coinages resulting from blending have become well-established. Moreover, they even serve as models for new formations. Hamburger is a popular fast food originating from the German seaport Hamburg. Later people mistook it as a combination of ham + burger and coined such words by analogy as beefburger, cheeseburger, shrimpburger（虾肉汉堡包）. In a similar way, Muldergate（马尔德门）, Billiegate（比利门）, Cattlegate（牲畜门） are modeled on Watergate, all denoting specific cases of political crisis resulting from scandalous deception connoted（暗含）by the underlying Watergate.

    Words created through blending are related to all aspects of society. But structurally, they fall into four major categories:

    1)  head + tail

autocide from (automobile + suicide) （撞车自杀）

broasted from (broiled + roasted) （烤炙）

cremains from (cremate + remains) （骨灰）

chocoholic from (chocolate + alcoholic) （嗜食巧克力的人）

skurfing from (skating + surfing) （溜冰板）

nucleonics from (nuclear + electronics) （核子的，核物理的）

chunnel from (channel + tunnel)（海峡隧道）

    2)  head + head

comsat from (communication + satellite) （（美）通讯卫星）

telex from (teleprinter + exchange) （电传）

Amerind from (American + Indian) （美洲印第安人）

sitcom from (situation + comedy)（情景喜剧）

    FORTRAN from (formula + translator) （公式翻译程序）

    3)  head + word

medicare from (medical + care) 

Eurasia from (Europe + Asia) 

telestar from (telecommunications + star) 

telequiz from (telephone + quiz) 

autocamp from (automobile + camp)

    4)  word + tail

lunarnaut from (lunar + astronaut)（登月宇航员）

bookmobile from (book + automobile)（流动图书馆）

workfare from (work + welfare)（工作福利制）

Reaganomics from (Reagan + economics)

tourmobile from (tour + automobile)（观光车）

    The overwhelming majority of blends are nouns; very few are verbs and adjectives are even fewer. The few verbs are: telecast from (television + broadcast) , guestimate from (guess + estimate)（猜估）, breathalyse from (breath + analyse)（呼吸分析）, and adjectives are even fewer, e.g. fantabulous from (fantastic + fabulous)（精彩绝伦）, fumious from (fuming + furious)（盛怒）.

    Blends are mostly used in writing related to science and technology, and newspapers and magazines. Though many of them have already achieved currency in English, they are still considered by the serious-minded people to be slang and informal. Instances as blaxploitation (black + exploitation)（剥削黑人）, sexaholic (sex + alcoholic)（性癖）, bikethon (bike + marathon) and eggwich (egg + sandwich) have not rid themselves of their nonce-word （临时造词的） status and are still struggling for existence. Therefore, it is advisable not to use such words too often, particularly in formal writing.