Question

A portmanteau is:

A.

A word which sounds the same but have different meanings.

B.

A word that results from blending two or more words or part of words.

C.

Creation of new words without reference to the existing morphological resources.

D.

Copying a word that originally belonged to one language into another language.

E.

Question Not Attempted

Correct option is B

Explanation:

The correct answer is A word that results from blending two or more words or part of words.

A portmanteau is a linguistic blend of two (or more) words, in which parts of the words are combined to form a new one.

The term was coined by Lewis Carroll, who used it to describe the blending of two words to form a new word, just as a portmanteau suitcase blends two compartments into one. For example, the word "brunch" is a portmanteau of "breakfast" and "lunch", while "smog" is the combination of "smoke" and "fog".

Information Booster:

The term portmanteau was first introduced by Lewis Carroll in the poem Through the Looking Glass (1871).

Carroll combined the two French words “porte-manteau” (a type of suitcase) to describe the new words created by blending two existing words. The idea was that these "blended words" are like a suitcase that holds two meanings at once.

Examples:

Motel – A blend of "motor" and "hotel".
Podcast – A blend of "iPod" and "broadcast".
Blog – A blend of "web" and "log".

Characteristics of Portmanteau Words:

- They often combine the initial sound or part of one word and the ending of another.
- They are created to describe a new concept, product, or phenomenon.
- These words are very common in the English language, especially in the fields of technology, pop culture, and social media.

Portmanteau words are frequently used in literature, particularly in poems and stories that involve imaginative or playful language. Lewis Carroll, for instance, was known for his inventive use of portmanteaus, such as in his famous poem Jabberwocky, which includes words like "chortle" (chuckle + snort) and "galumphing" (gallop + triumph).

Portmanteau words play a significant role in the evolution of language, as they allow for concise ways of expressing complex ideas or new concepts. The rapid development of technology and social media, in particular, has led to an increase in portmanteau words.

Additional Knowledge:

A word which sounds the same but have different meanings:
This definition describes a homophone. Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings (e.g., "two," "too," and "to").

Creation of new words without reference to the existing morphological resources:
This definition could apply to neologisms or coinages, which are entirely new words that don’t necessarily follow existing linguistic structures.

Copying a word that originally belonged to one language into another language:
This describes the process of loanwords or borrowings. Loanwords are words taken from one language and used in another (e.g., "café" from French into English).

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