A portmanteau (pronounced port-MAN-toe) is a type of literary device. It is a word made by blending at least two words. The new word combines both the sounds and meanings of the originals
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #2: Literary Device Lesson: Portmanteau
2. A portmanteau is when two words are combined to form a new word which refers to a single concept that retains the meanings of both the original words. Modern language is full of portmanteaus. In fact, the portmanteau is itself a portmanteau. It’s a combination of the French porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak). Record the two parts and meanings of portmanteau on your recording sheet.
3. Write these examples on your recording page.
smog (smoke + fog) – hazy, polluted air
internet (interconnected + network) – a computer network of information
labradoodle (labrador + poodle) – a hybrid dog breed with parentage from a labrador retriever and a poodle
pluot (plum + apricot) – a hybrid stone fruit that combines the characteristics of a plum and an apricot
4. To form a portmanteau, usually the first segment of one word is attached to the final segment of another word. Some portmanteau words are blended in other ways, like combining the initial segments of both words. Look at the examples that you wrote on your recording sheet or find 3 of your own. Describe how each of the words were created
Example: spork (spoon + fork) – an eating utensil that serves as both a spoon and a fork
Spork is formed by combing the beginning segment of spoon with the last segment of fork.
5. Try this portmanteau creator. Enter two words that are often found together and look to see the combos that are generated for you. Explore several combos and record your two starting words and the results.
5. Create your own portmanteau. Pick two words that are often used together to describe a single concept. For example lettuce and dressing or amazing and spectacular. See if there’s a way to combine them and create a single word that encompasses the meaning of both. Show all of your work on your recording sheet.
6. Portmanteaus are often mistaken for compound words. On your recording page explain how they are different from compound words. When you are done, scroll to the bottom of this post to see if you had the right idea.
7. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Lesson adapted from https://www.grammarly.com/blog/portmanteaus/
A compound word is created when two or more entire words are joined to create one word with a new meaning. For example:
- Black + bird = blackbird.
- Foot + ball = football.
- High + light = highlight.
A portmanteau, on the other hand, occurs when elements of two or more words are blended to create one word with a combined meaning. For example:
- Breakfast + lunch = brunch.
- Information + commercial = infomercial.
- Motor + pedal = moped.
To further illustrate the difference, note that if we were to form a portmanteau word out of black and bird, we would have blird. Likewise, to make a compound word out of breakfast and lunch, we would create the word breakfastlunch.
