Book contents
- Data-Intensive Investigations of English
- Studies in English Language
- Data-Intensive Investigations of English
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1 Data-Intensive Approaches to English Linguistics
- Chapter 2 What Big Data Tells Us about American English Phonetics
- Chapter 3 Do You Reckon?
- Chapter 4 ‘Scots for the Masses’?
- Chapter 5 Combining Collocation Measures and Distributional Semantics to Detect Idioms
- Chapter 6 Using Data-Intensive Methods for Unlocking Expressiveness in Word Formation
- Chapter 7 Modals of Future Time Reference across Native and Non-native Englishes
- Chapter 8 Bayesian Multivariate Analysis of Complement Selection
- Chapter 9 Statistical Modelling of Syntactic Complexity of English Academic Texts Using Ensemble Machine Learning
- Chapter 10 Implications of the Replication Crisis
- Index
- References
Chapter 6 - Using Data-Intensive Methods for Unlocking Expressiveness in Word Formation
The Case of English Name Blending
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 December 2025
Book contents
- Data-Intensive Investigations of English
- Studies in English Language
- Data-Intensive Investigations of English
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1 Data-Intensive Approaches to English Linguistics
- Chapter 2 What Big Data Tells Us about American English Phonetics
- Chapter 3 Do You Reckon?
- Chapter 4 ‘Scots for the Masses’?
- Chapter 5 Combining Collocation Measures and Distributional Semantics to Detect Idioms
- Chapter 6 Using Data-Intensive Methods for Unlocking Expressiveness in Word Formation
- Chapter 7 Modals of Future Time Reference across Native and Non-native Englishes
- Chapter 8 Bayesian Multivariate Analysis of Complement Selection
- Chapter 9 Statistical Modelling of Syntactic Complexity of English Academic Texts Using Ensemble Machine Learning
- Chapter 10 Implications of the Replication Crisis
- Index
- References
Summary
This paper investigates the expressive function of two types of binary English blends composed of personal names: determinative blends such as Messidona, where the referent of the whole blend is the same as the referent of one of the names (Messi), and coordinative blends like Clintasha (Clint + Natasha), referring to (real or imagined) couples in a romantic relationship. We present the results of two complementary studies exploring quantitative methods for studying the functions of blending. Specifically, we use sentiment analysis to test the hypothesis commonly advocated in the literature that blends are expressive word-formation devices. The first study compares the contexts of name-based determinative blends and non-blends to investigate to what extent name blending as a word-formation pattern carries expressive meaning. The second study explores the relation between the expressive nature of coordinative blends and different registers and communicative constellations. On a theoretical level, the paper corroborates earlier research on the expressive nature of blends but also challenges previous claims about the irregular nature of blending by showing that expressiveness is a systematic property of the word-formation process. On a methodological level, we show how recent data analytic tools can be used to address theoretical linguistic questions in morpho-pragmatics.
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- Data-Intensive Investigations of English , pp. 136 - 166Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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