Malamanteau
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 The original xkcd comic strip for "Malamanteau," with mouseover text "The article has twenty-three citations, one of which is an obscure manuscript from the 1490's and the other twenty-two are arguments on LanguageLog."[1]
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| Meaning | A form of portmanteau (a new word formed by combining other words), often unintentional |
|---|---|
| Examples | misunderestimate, insinuendos, bewilderness, refudiate |
| Etymology | Steve Goldberg on the Ask MetaFilter forums, July 17, 2007, xkcd and Wikipedia |
A malamanteau (plural: malamanteaux) is a neologism defined by Robert Lane Greene in The Economist as an erroneous and unintentional portmanteau (a new word formed by combining other words). Examples include insinuendos (from innuendo and insinuation), bewilderness and refudiate. Randall Munroe of xkcd defined it as a "neologism for a portmanteau created by incorrectly combining a malapropism with a neologism." The word is itself a portmanteau of malapropism and portmanteau.[2]
A malamanteau may be created when somebody confuses two words, using one in place of the other. Unlike a malapropism or an eggcorn, the fumbled word is not completely replaced, but merely transfixed to the new one in the manner of a portmanteau. A well-known example is misunderestimate, which was uttered in 2000 by then-US President George W. Bush, who was likely jumbling the words underestimate and misunderstand.[3][4]
Etymology
The earliest known use of the term was on the Ask MetaFilter forums on July 17, 2007. When trying to classify the linguistic phenomenon, Philadelphia musician Steve Goldberg,[3] identified as user ludwig_van, commented "It's not spoonerism. More like a portmanteau combined with a malapropism. So I'd go with malamanteau or a portmanpropism."[5]
The word was popularized by former NASA roboticist Randall Munroe in a May 11, 2010 xkcd comic strip which featured a facsimile of an invented Wikipedia entry for "malamanteau" reading "A malamanteau is a neologism for a portmanteau created by incorrectly combining a malapropism with a neologism. It is itself a portmanteau of..."[1] Munroe created the stunt word to lampoon Wikipedia's writing style and tendency to overuse certain words.[6]
Shortly thereafter, an entry for "malamanteau" was created on the English Wikipedia, mirroring the strip's language. Editors from the encyclopedia disputed whether the word deserved an entry and the article was repeatedly deleted and recreated before being listed for discussion on a Wikipedia noticeboard.[7] The incident was picked up by various media and the 19,000 word debate[8] over whether malamanteau was a word and whether it met Wikipedia's notability guidelines was reported on many blogs.[9][10] On May 12 the word appeared on the Google Trends top 10 list.[11][3][12] Urban Dictionary lists as one of its definitions of malamanteau "A word defined to infuriate Wikipedia editors."[13]
Examples and definition
Also in May 2010 lexicographer Erin McKean wrote an article about the word, "One-day wonder," for The Boston Globe. In the article, she lists "insinuendos," "bewilderness," and the Bushism "misunderestimated" as malamanteaux.[3]
Sarah Palin coined a malamanteau that summer with her use of "refudiate", combining the words refute and repudiate.[4][14] The word was chosen as new word of the year for 2010 by New Oxford American Dictionary, with the statement "From a strictly lexical interpretation of the different contexts in which Palin has used 'refudiate,' we have concluded that neither 'refute' nor 'repudiate' seems consistently precise, and that 'refudiate' more or less stands on its own, suggesting a general sense of 'reject.'"[15]
Malamanteaux have been the topic of discussion on Language Log, a collaborative language blog maintained by phonetician Mark Liberman.[6][16][12] Robert Lane Greene, writing in The Economist, criticized Munroe's definition for malamanteau, arguing that it was too specific to be useful. He proposed in his blog "Johnson" that a malamanteau be defined as "an erroneous and and unintentional portmanteau."[2]
References
- ^ a b "Malamanteau". xkcd. February 22, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
- ^ a b R.L.G. (November 4, 2010). "Eggcorn, mashup, malamanteau or other?". The Economist.
- ^ a b c d McKean, Erin (May 30, 2010). "One-Day Wonder". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ^ a b Hensher, Philip (July 21, 2010). "Sarah Palin's struggle with English language". The Telegraph.
- ^ "How to define this language mistake?". Ask MetaFilter. July 17, 2007.
- ^ a b Liberman, Mark (November 6, 2010). "Once more into the malamanteau". Language Log.
- ^ "All public logs: Malamanteau". Wikipedia. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ^ "Redirects for Discussion: Malamanteau". Wikipedia. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ^ Beutler, William (May 18, 2010). "Much Ado About Malamanteau". The Wikipedian.
- Rice, Mary (May 12, 2010). "Malamanteau | Defining a new word". Personal Money Network.
- "Wikipedia Is Not Amused By Entry For xkcd-Coined Word". Slashdot. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
- ^ "0739: "Malamanteau"". xkcd Forums. May 12, 2010.
- Pareso, Brad (May 13, 2010). "Nothing But Net: The Net at 10 a.m." Long Island Press.
- "Malamanteau Wikipedia Controversy!". LA Late. May 12, 2010.
- ^ "Malamanteau 2010". Google Trends. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ^ a b Liberman, Mark (May 12, 2010). "22 arguments". Language Log.
- ^ "2. Malamanteau". Urban Dictionary. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ^ Mayotte, TJ (March 30, 2011). "Dictionary Battles: The Fight to Find Meaning in Doublespeak". Elkridge Patch.
- Liberman, Mark (July 18, 2010). "Refudiate?". Language Log.
- ^ Howie, Craig (November 15, 2010). "Top of the Ticket: Sarah Palin's 'refudiate' named dictionary's word of the year". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Mair, Victor (May 12, 2010). "Veracious". Language Log.