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Duonyms

Duonyms

(OP)
Curiosity, they say, killed the cat.
While on the Flowcontrol web site I noted a link to "Duonyms" and couldn't resist.
If you're as curious as I am, then you'll follow the link. If not.....
http://www.flowresearch.com/duonyms.htm
I'll give you a clue to what you might find: an alternative term for the words you will find would be "portmanteau"; examples are to be found in the German language usually.

JMW
www.viscoanalyser.com
Eng-Tips: Pro bono publico, by engineers, for engineers.

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

RE: Duonyms

Too many of those look like someone just forgot the space.  I guess bluejeans, fatcat, hothead and shareware have become common... and butterball comes not from combining two words but from the trademarked turkey brand (which probably did come from putting the two words together).

Wouldn't "greenmusic" be the musical accompaniment of the environmental movement?  From my teenage years I have an entirely different definition of "blackhead".  

And I've always called the person with no apparent signs of a brain not a "braindeadhead" (like too many of these, a riff on "deadhead") but "dain-bramaged" {not a real word, but most English speakers I know understand it, and it's not something I would usually say
in other contexts ... like this forum ... }

And when you get to phrases like "zippyspiritedfunpersonal", I think I'll just retreat and dust off my high school German.

RE: Duonyms

In German it is very common and convenient to just paste two or more words together to form a new one, a so-called "composite word" (I never heard of the expression "duonym"). One of my favorites is "Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitaen". For a Non-german, it is easier to make sense of this word if you pull it apart : "Donau-Dampfschiff-Fahrt-Gesellschaft-Kapitaen" which simply means "captain of Danube River Steamboat Transport Company".

Donau = Danube (river)
Dampfschiff = steamboat
Fahrt = transport
Gesellschaft = society, corporation, company
Kapitaen = captain

This is not a nonsense word : There actually is an existant company called the "Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft" or translated "Danube River Steamboat Transport Company" and the captain of one of their ships (resp. steamboats) would carry this title.

Just in case anybody thinks I made a spelling error : The "s" after "fahrt" and "gesellschaft" are because these parts of the composite word are in the genitive case (very much like in English, where "John's car" would mean "a car belonging to John", the only difference being the use of an apostrophe in English but no apostrophe in German). There are only two "ff" when combining "Schiff" + "Fahrt" = "Schiffahrt" because in German grammar there is a rule that a third letter must be dropped.

RE: Duonyms

(OP)
It was just such a title as this that was used as an example of the new German spelling rules a year or two back. There seemed, in the original, to be an inordinate number of "s's" in sequence. After a short time the changes were dropped and we are back with our impressive number of identical consonants. I wish i could remember the "word" they used, but it was a ships capitan example.

JMW
www.viscoanalyser.com
Eng-Tips: Pro bono publico, by engineers, for engineers.

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

RE: Duonyms

Actually, the "old spelling rules" were such as that when a vowel follows a "triple consonant" configuration, one of these is dropped. This would be the case with "Schiff" + "Fahrt" = "Schiffahrt".

On the other hand, in terms of the "old spelling rules", when another consonant follows a "triple consonant" configuration, these stay triple. Example : "Sauerstoff" + "Flasche" = "Sauerstoffflasche" (translation "bottle of oxygen" meaning a steel flask filled with oxygen under pressure, the kind used in welding or for scuba diving).

In the "new spelling rules" the issue was simplified and now, regardless if a vowel or a consonant follows, one is dropped and a "double consonant" is used. This means that now "Sauerstofflasche" would be the correct spelling.

Lots of "old-timers" (like me) don't really care and still adhere to the "old rules".

RE: Duonyms

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again.  When you guys really dig into to the actual spelling and construction rules, every language is complex and largely illogical.  Mostly folks claim that English is the only truly illogical language.

I think the only logical "languages" don't involve words.

David

RE: Duonyms

In elementary school we were taught the following:  COMPOUND WORDS. A compound word is made when two words are joined to form a new word.  I just copied this from a google search for compound words.  You could argue that duonym is more economical but otherwise why duonym rather than compound word?  Hmmm can we dream up a new word to replace composite word?  How 'bout multiword?  But likely I am way late because somebody has probably already dreamed up a fancier sounding replacement.  I guess for me compound just rolls off the tongue nicer than duonym

speaking of multi..., it irks me no end to hear the term multimedia apparently used for describing...  But that belongs on another thread.

Jesus is THE life,
Leonard

RE: Duonyms

The term "composite word" is my invention. If the correct term is "compound word", that's fine with me. My excuse is that I am not a native English speaker. German is my mother tongue.

RE: Duonyms

gambro,
Good excuse or rather reason.  I was just being onery.

Jesus is THE life,
Leonard

RE: Duonyms

I wonder if the good steamboat captain has enough space on his tax-forms to write Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitaen...
-Mark

RE: Duonyms

metman,

I always heard that word as "ornery" as in "that dude is downright ornery."

Patricia Lougheed

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.

RE: Duonyms

Patricia,
Thanks for the correction.  The onus should have been on me.

Jesus is THE life,
Leonard

RE: Duonyms

jmw

Hmmm - looked at the site - what a trivial load of old nerdbaloneyballshite. I'm sure the good compiler has found all the examples he or she has quoted). I've seen stuff like this in my son's 3rd rate regional skateboarding magazine but there it's part of the technique of using cool code-words to make the reader think he's part of an elite.

Surely they have mostly been invented as Dilbert type fun words (funwords?) What's clever about running words together like 'girlofmydreams' ?

Some are obvious and useful - few would complain about redhead or shareware - but does anyone seriously call a colour 'fireenginered'? Or a word for a cat which sits on a laser printer? These would all be much more comprehensible if hyphenated or as separate words, and might get through the spell checker.

But I do like 'vendorbender' because the rhyming element makes it humorous.

I do hope the perpetrator of this website doesn't take it too seriously.

RE: Duonyms

in Texas, coldbeer is one word...

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