Football blending in Modern Greek: morphophonological patterns and evaluative expression

Abstract

This paper examines blending in written digital football discourse in Modern Greek as a structurally constrained and evaluatively loaded word-formation pattern. It argues that the attested formations are not instances of unconstrained wordplay, but morphophonologically patterned outputs integrating two lexical sources in a single form. The analysis distinguishes between linear blends and frame-preserving blends with embedded source material. Within the linear group, the material includes overlap-mediated and boundary-clear realizations, alongside more peripheral cases with only minimal overlap. These configurations are analysed as different morphophonological routes for evaluative expression rather than as formations with categorically distinct discourse functions. The attested blends allow the target to remain accessible in context while compactly introducing evaluation. Their expressive force appears to derive not only from the meanings of their sources, but also from the blending process itself, insofar as fusion into a single form may heighten evaluative salience.