Tumačenje slivenica u nazivima brendiranih proizvoda jela i pića na engleskom jeziku

Abstract

The present paper examines the ability of 50 native speakers of Serbian to accurately interpret both the source words and the meanings of 50 blends in food and drink brand names in English. The blends have been formed by four different techniques, namely complete blending, contour blending, semi-complete blending, and fragment blending. 25 subjects were students of English who had previously completed a course in English Morphology and had thereforereceived formal instruction in blending, whilethe other group of subjects included 25 EAP students who continued to learn English at tertiary level (for at least one year), but who had no formal instructionin blends. Two questionnaires were used in the research. In the first questionnaire, the subjectswere asked tointerpret the source words, as well as the meanings of 50 blends in isolation, whereas in the second one they were supposed to interpret the source words of the same 50 blendspresented in a linguistic context. The analysis showed that fewer than 50 percent of the subjects in each group were able to properly identify both the source words and the meanings of those 50 blendsout of context, with the percentage of successfully recognized source words in context being slightly (although not significantly) higher. It wasalso shownthat there was a general tendency towards easier recognition of the source words in the so-called semi-complete and complete blends than of those formed by fragment or contour blending. Finally, the analys isindicated that, besides a greater knowledge of the English language and especially its lexicon, extralinguistic factors such as non-native students’ encyclopedic knowledge and experience were often more significant for successful interpretation of the blends than having formal instruction in blending