French Word of the Day: Mot-valise
This is nothing to do with your luggage.
Why do I need to know mot-valise?
Because you may have expected the word you use in English for this to be the same in French.
What does it mean?
Mot-valise – roughly pronounced moh val-eez – translates precisely to “word-suitcase”.
It is a French word that describes taking two words, combining them, and building another - for example ‘Brexit’ combines Britain and exit, or 'bromance' combining bro or brother and romance.
Oddly enough, English speakers call this type of word a portmanteau - the French word for a large travelling bag - but in France, people instead say mot-valise.
An example of a commonly used French mot-valise would be the term franglais, a combination of français and anglais (French and English).
Interestingly, the word mot-valise in French was inspired by the English-language usage of portmanteau in British writer Lewis Caroll’s novel Through the Looking Glass. In the book, Humpty Dumpty tells Alice that a portmanteau word contains two meanings “packed into one word”. Together, they learn about the word “slithy” - a combination of slimy and lithe.
The plural form of mot-valise is mots-valises.
Use it like this
Il m'a dit que le mot-valise, franglais, est à éviter car les langues évoluent naturellement. Le franglais n'est donc pas juste. – He told me that the portmanteau “franglais” should be avoided because languages naturally evolve. Thus, “franglais” is not accurate.
Mon mot-valise préféré est Twictée - la combinaison de Twitter et de dictée. Il s'agit d'un nouvel outil destiné à aider les élèves à mieux apprendre la dictée, tout en combinant un réseau social qui leur est connu. – My favourite portmanteau is “Twictée” in French. It combines Twitter and dictation. It is a new tool to help students better learn dictation, while combining a social media they are familiar with.
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Why do I need to know mot-valise?
Because you may have expected the word you use in English for this to be the same in French.
What does it mean?
Mot-valise – roughly pronounced moh val-eez – translates precisely to “word-suitcase”.
It is a French word that describes taking two words, combining them, and building another - for example ‘Brexit’ combines Britain and exit, or 'bromance' combining bro or brother and romance.
Oddly enough, English speakers call this type of word a portmanteau - the French word for a large travelling bag - but in France, people instead say mot-valise.
An example of a commonly used French mot-valise would be the term franglais, a combination of français and anglais (French and English).
Interestingly, the word mot-valise in French was inspired by the English-language usage of portmanteau in British writer Lewis Caroll’s novel Through the Looking Glass. In the book, Humpty Dumpty tells Alice that a portmanteau word contains two meanings “packed into one word”. Together, they learn about the word “slithy” - a combination of slimy and lithe.
The plural form of mot-valise is mots-valises.
Use it like this
Il m'a dit que le mot-valise, franglais, est à éviter car les langues évoluent naturellement. Le franglais n'est donc pas juste. – He told me that the portmanteau “franglais” should be avoided because languages naturally evolve. Thus, “franglais” is not accurate.
Mon mot-valise préféré est Twictée - la combinaison de Twitter et de dictée. Il s'agit d'un nouvel outil destiné à aider les élèves à mieux apprendre la dictée, tout en combinant un réseau social qui leur est connu. – My favourite portmanteau is “Twictée” in French. It combines Twitter and dictation. It is a new tool to help students better learn dictation, while combining a social media they are familiar with.
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