Acronym and Blending

1. ACRONYM

Acronym is the result of forming a word from the first letter or letters of each word in a phrase, e.g. NASA, VIP, YMCA, AIDS. These systems of word formation are not only found in English but also in Indonesian.

For example acronym:

Satpam, Hansip, Kanwil, Kades, Jatim, Perek.

Nur (for Nurhadi), kek (for kakek), pak (for Bapak).

KK, LSD, ABRI. AND, PBB, POMG, RSU.

It is sometime difficult, if not impossible, to find the lexical equivalent of either English blending, clipping and acronym in Indonesian or Indonesian blending, clipping and acronym in English. What is the Indonesian word for ‘motel’ or ‘brunch’? And what is the English word for ‘hansip’ or ‘Kanwil’? The easiest way to translate those words is to explain the meaning of their components, e.g.;

motel     = motor + hotel        = hotel untuk para pelancong yang berkendaraan mobil

brunch   = breakfast + lunch = makan pagi dan siang sekaligus

hansip    = pertahanan + sipil = civil defence

Kanwil   = Kantor + wilayah = Regional Office

Thus in this case there is no word for word translation. Or, if the new word has become very popular, you don’t even have to translate it, just write as it is. For examples you have words such as NASA, UNICEF, WHO, and AIDS which you don’t have to translate because; they are quite popular. It is funny that we have etc in Indonesian which is identical with the English etc. We also have PM which can be interpreted as Perdana Perdana Menteri or Prime Minister. But these are only few coincidences.

2. BLENDING

Blending is the word formation process in which parts of two or more words combine to create a new word whose meaning is often a combination of the original words.

For example blending:

advertisement      + entertainment   → advertainment

biographical         + picture              → biopic

breakfast              + lunch                 → brunch

chuckle                + snort                 → chortle

cybernetic            + organism           → cyborg

guess                    + estimate            → guesstimate

hazardous            + material             → hazmat

motor                   + hotel                 → motel

prim                     + sissy                  → prissy

simultaneous        + broadcast          → simulcast

smoke                  + fog                    → smog

Spanish                + English             → Spanglish

spoon                   + fork                   → spork

telephone             + marathon          → telethon

web                      + seminar             → webinar