Lexical Shortening and Blending: An Innovative Word Formation Process in Arabic

Abstract

A corpus of 170 partial Arabic blends in which the first and/or second constituents are shortened was collected from several Arabic resources and subjected to further analysis to explore the structure of Arabic partial blends; blend types (attributive/headed); which constituents and which part is shortened; the kind of relation that exists between the constituents of Arabic blends; and the contexts or registers which favour the formation of lexical blends. Blends consist of two or more words merged into one new word. Blending involves shortening of one constituent or both. It involves creating new words by omitting part of the original word but retaining its original meaning. Partial blends consist of a splinter, i.e. shortened constituent (تركو Turko; انجلو Ango, افرو Afro, قطر Qatar, ايبرو Iberian, أورو Euro,يهو Jewish, أحيو biology, القرو-وسطي , أمنو security, سع Saudi, جمهو republic) and a head (full constituent) that combines with it. Data analysis showed the following: (i) compounds with multiple blends with different splinters from the same lexical items (فَحْم السكر carbon+sugar > فَحْمَس ،فَسْكَر ،فَحْسك ، فَحْكَر); (ii) blends with a final reduction in the first constituent كهرمغنيطيسي) electromagnetic(; (iii) blends with a splinter as a first constituent+the combining vowel /o/ (تركوخليجي Turkish+Gulf; هندو إيراني Indo-Iranian); (iv) three-and four-constituent blends (الأنجلو-صهيو-فارسي-أمريكي Anglo+Zio+ Persian+American); (v) Blends with prefixes that are shortened particles/adverbs (قبتاريخ pre-historic; بيسطري interlinear; فوبنفسجي ultraviolet; غِبُّلوغ post puberty; تحبحري undersea); (vi) blends with initial reduction in the second constituent resulting in the suffix {el} (امريكائيل) America+el last syllable in Israel); (vii) splinters with initial reduction in the second constituent (بيروتشيما Beirut +Hiroshima; عبقريشتاين (genius+Einstein); (viii) imperfect blends with final reduction of first constituent + initial reduction of second constituent (متشائل pessimist+optimist; جزائسطينية Algeria+Palestinian); (ix) technical blends (برمجاني freeware; حَمْضَلون acid+vinegar); and (ix) blends with overlapping consonants (أنفمي nose+mouth; عربيزي Arabic+English; قببلوغ (قبل+بلوغ) pre-puberty; سوداناس Sudan people). Syntactically and semantically, the relation between constituents of a blend containing a prefix/suffix is exocentric and syntagmatic but it is endocentric and paradigmatic in blends in most of the categories. Recommendations for testing the Arabic blend recognition, comprehension and interpretation by translation students are given.