[Ads-l] Combining two people's names: Javanka

Sun Jun 4 03:56:17 UTC 2017

Thank you. I tried searching; I should have tried with specific portmanteaus.

Perhaps rather than saying the stressed syllable, it is better to say that the rime of each stressed syllable is preserved (BZ’s Vocabulary article and December 2005 Language Log article), though

Rab Butler + Hugh Gaitskell = Butskell

at least is an exception. Perhaps the shared “t” in the rime of each is the fusion key in that one.

The example of 

Robert Pattinson + Kristen Stewart = Robsten

is an interesting combination of a first name and a last name, perhaps due to the lack of similar rimes. And I think only Merkozy in AZ’s February 2012 article has an instance in which the woman’s name is mentioned first. 

Still a good puzzle for a linguistics student.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA

> On 3 Jun 2017, at 20:28, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Here are two posts I wrote for Language Log on name-blends, from 2005:
> 
> http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002610.html <http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002610.html>
> http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002730.html <http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002730.html>
> 
> Another one of mine, on Vocabulary.com <http://vocabulary.com/>:
> 
> https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wordroutes/blending- <https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wordroutes/blending->
> the-candidates-robama-and-obamney/
> 
> And more on Arnold's blog:
> 
> https://arnoldzwicky.org/2012/02/16/pairmanteaus/ <https://arnoldzwicky.org/2012/02/16/pairmanteaus/>
> https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/07/22/an-appellmanteau/ <https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/07/22/an-appellmanteau/>
> 
> 
> On Sat, Jun 3, 2017 at 8:20 PM, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at mst.edu <mailto:gcohen at mst.edu>>
> wrote:
> 
>> Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>> 
>> <snip>
>> 
>> "This sort of name combination has occurred in the past, though I can't
>> think of any instances."
>> 
>> <snip>
>> 
>> 
>> During President Clinton's time in office there was "Billary" (Bill +
>> Hillary).
>> 
>> 
>> G. Cohen
>> 
>> ________________________________
>> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
>> Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at GMAIL.COM>
>> Sent: Saturday, June 3, 2017 12:03 PM
>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> Subject: Combining two people's names: Javanka
>> 
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Combining two people's names: Javanka
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> -------------------
>> 
>> Today CNN has an article titled =E2=80=9CIvanka Trump's Worst Week in =
>> Washington=E2=80=9D =
>> (http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/03/politics/ivanka-trump-worst-
>> week-in-washing=
>> ton/index.html
>> <http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/03/politics/ivanka-trump-worst-week-in-washing=ton/index.html>
>> =
>> <http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/03/politics/ivanka-trump-worst- <http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/03/politics/ivanka-trump-worst->
>> week-in-washing=
>> ton/index.html>) by Chris Cillizza in which he writes:
>> 
>> =E2=80=94=20
>> Bannon represents a hard-charging, nationalist, populist, =
>> anti-establishment view of politics. Ivanka and her husband -- "Javanka" =
>> for short -- are far more liberal and moderate-minded.
>> =E2=80=94
>> 
>> This sort of name combination has occurred in the past, though I can=E2=80=
>> =99t think of any instances.=20
>> 
>> There must be phonological rules at play, something somebody must have =
>> figured out by now. To borrow from words from grafting =
>> (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafting <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafting> =
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafting <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafting>>), in this combination the =
>> stressed syllables in Jared (the scion) and Ivanka (the stock) are both =
>> preserved.
>> 
>> Also providing some welcome (imnsho) criticism of the word Javanka, the =
>> article "How a portmanteau for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner tore apart =
>> Twitter=E2=80=9D =
>> (https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/javanka-ivanka-trump-jared-kushner/ <https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/javanka-ivanka-trump-jared-kushner/> =
>> <https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/javanka-ivanka-trump-jared-kushner/ <https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/javanka-ivanka-trump-jared-kushner/>>) =
>> by David Covucci in the The Daily Dot provides more examples:
>> 
>> Ben Affleck + Jennifer Lopez =3D Bennifer
>> Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie =3D Brangelina
>> Wilmer Valderrama + Lindsay Lohan =3D Lohalderrama
>> 
>> In each case, the stressed syllable in each is preserved, and in each =
>> case, the man=E2=80=99s name is given first on the left side of the =
>> equation regardless of alphabetical order and regardless of the ordering =
>> in the resulting combination.
>> 
>> Probable factors in how these are combined are that men=E2=80=99s names =
>> are frequently clipped to a monosyllabic form (thus having only one =
>> syllable from which to choose) and women=E2=80=99s names are frequently =
>> two or more syllables.
>> 
>> I have no love of the celebrosphere, or whatever it=E2=80=99s called, so =
>> here is another article with more words; perhaps this is a good project =
>> for a linguistics student:
>> 
>> =
>> http://www.suggest.com/celebs/532/14-best-celeb-supercouple- <http://www.suggest.com/celebs/532/14-best-celeb-supercouple->
>> names-we-love-=
>> to-say/
>> <http://www.suggest.com/celebs/532/14-best-celeb-supercouple-names-we-love-=to-say/ <http://www.suggest.com/celebs/532/14-best-celeb-supercouple-names-we-love-=to-say/>>
>> =
>> <http://www.suggest.com/celebs/532/14-best-celeb-supercouple <http://www.suggest.com/celebs/532/14-best-celeb-supercouple>
>> -names-we-love=
>> -to-say/
>> <http://www.suggest.com/celebs/532/14-best-celeb-supercouple-names-we-love=-to-say/ <http://www.suggest.com/celebs/532/14-best-celeb-supercouple-names-we-love=-to-say/>>
>>> 
>> =20

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