3) disyllable 1 + disyllable 2:

e.g. motor + hotel → motel

global + English → Globish

4) disyllable + multi-syllable:

e.g. traffic + indicator → trafficator

Oxford + Cambridge → Oxbridge

5) multi-syllable 1 + multi-syllable 2:

e.g. advertising + editorial → advertorial  

 gigantic + enormous → ginormous    

1.2 Research Questions and Hypotheses

The formation of vocabulary and the construction of its meaning are the cornerstone and one of the most important topics in the study of lexicology. Blending words involve semantic synthesis and the code section with the characteristics of both word formation and synthesis of truncated word formation (Zhou Qiqiang, 2006). And by evaluating and analyzing the cognitive ability of students’ blending words, we can understand learners’ phonemic awareness. Besides, it is also a verification of related linguistic theories.

In this paper, we will use an experimental methodology to investigate Chinese EFL learners’ word-blending ability. This methodology involves a production experiment in which Chinese college students were asked to choose the most appropriate blending words on the basis of their knowledge of blending word formation. In the analysis of the data, we will focus on three questions:

1) What is the current status of EFL learners’ blending ability?

2) If the syllables of source words are shorter whether the rate of accuracy will rise?

3) What are the factors that influence students’ blending cognitive awareness?

We proposed that the grades of the questionnaire can show the level of Chinese EFL learners’ blending ability and the audio data can show these EFL learners’ word formation process. We speculate that compared with junior students, senior students may have stronger phonemic awareness and in turn they will be more capable of blending formation and get higher grades. Moreover, senior students may have stronger phonemic awareness of the blending words’ pronunciations as well as the changes of stress. Since the hypothesis that the word formation of English blending words is similar to that of Chinese blending words, we also propose that the shorter the syllables are the higher rate of accuracy the learners will get.

Following a brief review of Gries’s previous studies, the blend formation is mostly influenced by the degree of recognizability of the source words and the similarity of source words (Gries, 2004). We guess the two factors also influence Chinese EFL learners’ blending cognitive awareness. We suggest that when the EFL learners are more familiar to the source words’ syllabic structures, students can more easily blend two words into a new blending word. The correlation between the source words also plays an important role in the blending word formation process.