Blending (data for a linguistic terminological dictionary). Part 1. The broad and the narrow interpretation of blending

According to modern Russian linguists' definition, blending is an interaction of language units or their parts with semantic, structural, associative or functional affinity. The interaction results in the semantic or formal transformation of language units and in the formation of a new word or an expression referred to as a blend. In modern Russian linguistics the term blending has various senses, one of which may be called a broad sense, another a narrow sense. The difference between the broad and the narrow senses of the term is in the number and quality of language units that may interact in blending, in the number of ways of their connection in blends and in reasons for blending. From the point of view of the narrow interpretation of blending, only two words, two set expressions, two morphological forms or paradigms, or two syntactic constructions can blend. Accordingly, there are four types of blending distinguished: lexical blending, phraseological blending, morphological blending and syntactic blending. According to the broad interpretation of blending, but for the two-member constructs other units are able to blend, e.g., phonemes when forming affricates, morphemes in word formation. Emergence of participles and other syncretic grammatical classes of words and many cases of non-standard word order are also considered a result of blending in the broad sense. From the point of view of the narrow interpretation of blending there are two ways of connecting language units or their parts: overlap and clipping. In the latter case interchanging of the parts of two language units takes a place (biology + electronics = bionics, modulator + demodulator = modem). The structural scheme of clipping is ^b + AB = аВ, or АЬ, or Аа]. In Russian, four types of clipping are possible: lexical, phraseological, morphological and syntactic. Overlap is possible when two language units have one or several identical elements [А = a or А = b, etc.] (INNUendo + INsiNUation= INsiNUendo). In Russian, lexical, phraseological, morphological and syntactic clipping, as well as single and plural clipping, is possible. According to the broad interpretation of blending, there are other ways of blending language units or their parts but for overlap and clipping, e.g., insertion ^b + AB = аАВЦ and addition ^b + AB = аbAВ]. Blends may develop from an unconscious misspeaking, for stylistic purposes, as a result of historical changes in language. From the point of view of the broad interpretation blending may be a result of the wrong popular etymology.

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