ENGLISH FRANCA Academic Journal of English Language and Education 10.29240/ef.v8i2 November.4174 - http://journal.iaincurup.ac.id/index.php/english/index pISSN: 2580-3670, eISSN:2580-3689; Vol 8, No 2, 2024, Page 423-434 Article info: http://journal.iaincurup.ac.id/index.php/english Received 24 April 2024; Received in revised form 10 July 2024; Accepted 24 August 2024, Available Online 24 August 2024 Published by Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Curup on behalf of ENGLISH FRANCA: Academic Journal of English Language and Education. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-SA license Copyright (c) 2024 Author The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG” Rizka Sylvia¹, Dohra Fitrisia² ¹ Universitas Islam Kebangsaan Indonesia, Bireuen, Indonesia ² Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Indonesia Corresponding Email: rizkasylviaa17@gmail.com To cite this article: Sylvia, R., & Fitrisia, D. (2024). The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG”. ENGLISH FRANCA: Academic Journal of English Language and Education, 8(2 November). Retrieved from https://journal.iaincurup.ac.id/index.php/english/article/view/4174 Introduction Twitter is among the several venues and technology available for learning English. Twitter is a social platform enabling users to send and receive text messages, limited to 140 characters, referred to as tweets (Tana, 2023). Twitter was founded by Jack Dorsey in March 2006, with its social networking platform launching in July. Since its inception, Twitter has emerged as one of the ten most used websites worldwide, sometimes referred to as the "short message service of the internet." Rosell-Aguilar (2018) claimed that Twitter could enhance students’ cultural, social, and linguistic concepts. 9GAG is a popular international comedy website that provides open images, videos, and texts (Sayani as cited in Mahasneh & Bashayreh, 2021). As a result, many EFL teachers recommend this Twitter account to their students so that they can learn English. This account stands out since it has lighthearted humor and delivers simply. Generally, EFL students prefer the entertainment content on 9GAG accounts to learn English, because this hands-on learning method minimizes their difficulty while learning and builds their English vocabulary rapidly (Pranoto, 2021). English has developed rapidly in many aspects following the times and the need for communication. Many people in a social group communicate using predetermined language; but, if the language does not fit the context, they will be replaced with the new one. Thus, the listeners are able to grasp the speakers' intentions quickly (Pelkey & Augustyn, 2023). It proves that the language changes phenomenon occurs not only as a result of people's dissatisfaction with their predetermined language but also as a result of a desire to create Abstract. This study aimed to examine the blended words in 9GAG Twitter posts for humor and ascertain their meanings. This study applied a qualitative descriptive approach. The data were collected from 9GAG posts containing blended words to convey humor through observation and documentation analysis. The study's findings indicated that there were 15 blended words found in 9GAG posts in conveying humor. Furthermore, the meanings obtained by the researchers differ as well. Many words were semantically similar to those listed in dictionaries, while others had an unconventional meaning, which can be used and interpreted only in certain contexts. Furthermore, these insights served as valuable language updates by enumerating newly identified terms in the lexicon. This can swiftly improve the linguistic comprehension of individuals, particularly EFL educators, and learners utilizing this account for English instruction. The misinterpretations and ambiguities that arose this time may be mitigated. Keywords: 9GAG, blending, humor language, Twitter, word formation https://portal.issn.org/resource/ISSN/2580-3670 https://portal.issn.org/resource/ISSN/2580-3670 http://journal.iaincurup.ac.id/index.php/english mailto:rizkasylviaa17@gmail.com https://journal.iaincurup.ac.id/index.php/english/article/view/4174 Rizka Sylvia & Dohra Fitrisia The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG” 424 | V o l . 8 , N o . 2 , 2 0 2 4 ( 4 2 3 - 4 3 4 ) something utterly new. Moreover, the modified language will form new patterns and interpretations that differ from the root words. The patterns and meanings of words are frequently shaped by the context in which they are employed during conversation. Sociolinguistically, this is called register, meaning that a certain group uses a specific language to convey specific meanings. In other words, the register can be interpreted as a linguistic variant that emerges from the particular requirements of its application, such as politics, advertising, sign language, humor, prayer, and so forth (Muna & Arifianti, 2024). Furthermore, the bidirectional connection between speakers and listeners significantly influences the process of linguistic evolution. Schools, state institutions, civil society organizations, and social networks constantly create new terms, depending on the activity they are involved in. To make their conversations more concise and understandable, they tend to merge two separate terminologies. The phenomenon explained previously is known as blending, meaning a process in forming a new term by merging two or more parts of different words and removing some parts of the root words (Aulia et al., 2024; Plag, 2003; Yule, 2010). Interestingly, this phenomenon is not only be found in a verbal expression but can also be found in written representatives, as in the 9GAG posts on Twitter. Subsequently, even though the EFL teachers and students teach and learn English amusingly through this account, they still experienced some perplexions with some blended words found in the posts while conveying humor. A few examples of those blended words are pawty, pawtner, and so on. They likely do not comprehend the formation of blended words and their underlying meanings. This circumstance will lead to misinterpretations and misunderstandings, as it is widely acknowledged that each individual, organization, and community has a distinct communication style. Several previous studies have been conducted regarding this research. The first was conducted by Wijayava et al. (2017). This study aimed to explain the English blends used in social media, identify the types of English blends used in social media, and explicating how English blends are formed in social media. This is a descriptive qualitative study, in which the data were collected using the observation method with writing technique. The study identified 115 English mixes present in social media. The dataset comprised 65 entries from Instagram, 47 from Twitter, 1 from Facebook, and 2 from Blackberry Messenger. Furthermore, these social media platforms employed two forms of mixing: blending with clipping (108 instances) and blending with overlapping (7 instances). The researchers identified eleven methods of blend creation in this study overall. A study conducted by Theresa and Rizky (2018) aimed to investigate new terminology emerging in social media due to the blending process. This is qualitative research. The researchers used the theory of John Algeo's classification of word-formation to analyze new terms found in Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. In this study, 19 blended words were found by the researchers in these three social media platforms. 13 of them are blending accompanied by clipping, such as Twittard (which is derived from Twitter and tard), Instamood (which is derived from Instagram and mood), and Vidiot (which is derived from video and idiot). Lastly, Embu-Worho and Gayatri (2018) as well attempted to explicate how the new words are formed by the process of shortening on Twitter, find out the most frequently tweeted words, find out the most commonly used word-formation process, explore the reasons behind forming those new words, and describe how Twitter character limitation affects the creation of shorter words. This study applied a quantitative method, in which the data were taken from Twitter posts and articles (library study). The researchers approximately found 15 most frequent words used in Twitter posts categorized into clipping, acronyms, and blending. For instance, adorbs from adorable, gorg from gorgeous, SMH (shake my head), WTF (what the fuck), frenemy (friend and enemy), and fantabulous (fantastic and fabulous). This study aims to assess the blended words in 9GAG posts on Twitter for their humorous conveyance and to elucidate their meanings. This can reduce the misinterpretations and ambiguities that arose this time, particularly for EFL teachers and Rizka Sylvia & Dohra Fitrisia The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG” 425 | V o l . 8 , N o . 2 , 2 0 2 4 ( 4 2 3 - 4 3 4 ) students who employed the 9GAG account on Twitter as a learning medium, as outlined by Pranoto (2021) in his study. This study can enhance the understanding of EFL teachers and students regarding English, particularly its application in various circumstances to communicate certain expressions. In summary, comprehending blended words and their linguistic formation can aid individuals, notably EFL educators and learners, in identifying, interpreting, constructing, and elucidating the meanings of numerous expressions, specifically in English. Furthermore, the interest of this study also lay in its exploration of how blending as a word-formation process contributes to the creation of new humor on online platforms. By concentrating on the well-known humorous Twitter account "9GAG," this study offered fresh perspectives on how word choice and linguistic innovation can influence humorous expressions in digital communication. This study can assist people become more acquainted with how language evolves in reaction to digital content and how comedy, as a social function, adjusts to the particular possibilities and constraints of Twitter and other equivalent platforms. Also, this study emphasized the significance of blending in contemporary language use, particularly in the context of technoculture, as well as the larger linguistic phenomenon associated with it. Theoretical Framework The Definition of Blending New words can be formed by amalgamating two distinct syllables and omitting certain components of the root word (Plag, 2003). This is typically referred to as blending. According to Yule (2010), this process transpires solely by extracting the beginning syllable from the first word and amalgamating it with the last syllable of the second word. Similarly, Kvetko in Bednárová-Gibová (2014) appended that blending may occur when two different syllables are combined; thus, a single short word is formed. Further, the term blending may also be defined as the creation of new terminology by combining parts of two or more distinct words, whereby none of these parts can be seen as separate in the morphology (Bauer, 2024). Furthermore, blending can also refer to a process of combining two types of words in which one or both of them have been previously shortened (Meilantari & Aritonang, 2024). In most cases, the shortening process occurs because of overlapping sounds or letters; for instance, cartune (cartoon + tune), motel (motor + hotel), and slanguage (slang + language) or because of deleting some parts of the existing words, such as fanzine (fan + magazine) and Spanglish (Spain + English). In line with the aforementioned explanations, Gries in Karjo (2024) also added that the blending process frequently leads to a new shorter terminology due to the overlap of multiple morphemes. According to Yule (2010), the blending process is apparently similar to compounding since they involve combining two separated words to form a new lexicon. Nevertheless, blending is a process that commonly involves shortening or cutting some parts of the words before merging them into a new term; whereas compounding only combines two distinct words directly without requiring any additional steps. In addition, the results of blending cannot be determined from the combination of the root words. In contrast, the results of compounding can be obviously determined by looking at the entire combination of the root words. In sum, blending can be interpreted as a process of merging two separated words in various ways to obtain new terminologies. This process can be done by cutting off the parts of the root words and overlapping them in phonetic and graphemic order. As a result, the wholly new terms are formed and occasionally known as hybrid words. The Types of Blending In general, blending is categorized based on its formation process. However, Kemmer (2003) described various types of blending based on their characteristics, as follows: Rizka Sylvia & Dohra Fitrisia The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG” 426 | V o l . 8 , N o . 2 , 2 0 2 4 ( 4 2 3 - 4 3 4 ) 1) Overlap Blends This process occurs when two root words distribute multiple morphological matters. In other words, it can be interpreted as a process in which the consonants, vowels, and syllables overlap to form a new single word. As for examples, backronym (back + acronym), beefalo (beef + buffalo), palimony (pal + alimony), pictionary (picture + dictionary), shampagne (sham + champagne), smog (smoke + fog), and so forth. 2) Substitution Blends This type of blending occurs when parts of the one root word are substituted with the others. Carjacking (car + hijacking) and stoolgazing (stool + stargazing) are several examples of substitution blends. 3) Intercalative Blends This blending normally occurs when two words are semantically coordinated, whereby the sound of the root word is interspersed with another sound. Several instances of intercalative blends are chortle (chuckle + snort), mimsy (flimsy + miserable), and slithy (slimy + lithe). Further, Enarsson (2007) commonly distinguished four types of blending, namely: 1) Blending with overlapping This type of blending is usually done by overlapping the last part of the first word onto the first part of the second word. Subsequently, blending with overlapping can also occur in words that are phonologically similar in sounds. Particularly, sexpert (sex + expert), playbore (playboy + bore), sinema (sin + cinema), cellebrity (cell + celebrity), Twittard (Twitter + tard), Twaiting (Twitter + waiting). 2) Blending with clipping Blending with clipping typically can be done by removing or shortening some parts (maybe the entire parts) of root words. This type of blending can be formed in a variety of ways, including: a. Keeping the first word in its entirety and the last part of the second word, such as dockominium (dock + condominium), foodaholic (food + alcoholic), guesstimate (guess + estimate), and toytoons (toy + cartoons). b. Keeping the whole part of the second word and the first part of the first word; for example, squaerial (square + aerial). c. Keeping the first part of the first word and the last part of the second word; for instance, brunch (breakfast + lunch), smog (smoke + fog). d. Merging the first part of the two separated words, such as agitprop (agitation + propaganda) and telex (teleprinter + exchange). 3) Clipping at morpheme boundaries This method involves truncating the morpheme to create more concise and straightforward words. The most prevalent examples of this form of merging are Chunnel (Channel + tunnel), Oxbridge (Oxford + Cambridge), and Yarvard (Yale + Harvard). 4) Blending with clipping and overlapping Shortening the root words and overlapping them afterward can also form the blended words. In other words, each root has gone through a simplification process before being blended. Twech (Twitter + technology) and Twype (Twitter + type) are several examples of this particular blending. In addition, Arnold (2011) divided blending into two types based on their prototype phrases, in which both of them involve changes in meaning and sound. In more detail, the explanations of those two types of blending can be seen below: 1) Additive Blends Rizka Sylvia & Dohra Fitrisia The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG” 427 | V o l . 8 , N o . 2 , 2 0 2 4 ( 4 2 3 - 4 3 4 ) This particular type is generally a type of blending that may be modified into a phrase by combining each complete stem with the conjunction “and”. For example, brunch (a combination of breakfast and lunch), smog (a combination of smoke and fog), Frenglish (a combination of French and English), slanguage (a combination of slang and language), smaze (a combination of smoke and haze), and transceiver (a combination of transmitter and receiver). 2) Restrictive Blends Restrictive blends can be changed into an attributive phrase, in which the first component is the second modifier. A few examples of this type of blending are atomaniac (atom maniac), cinerama (cinematographic rama), medicare (medical care), motel (motorists’ hotel), positron (positive electron), telecast (television broadcast), shamboo (sham bamboo), and spam (spiced ham). In summary, several experts have described some types of blending depending on their prototype phrases and how they are formed. In recent years, the use of blending has become more prevalent in social media and commercial advertising, even though it is not found frequently in everyday language. Consequently, many new words are emerging in English. In other words, blending swiftly expands the English language and diversifies its vocabulary. Material and Method Due to the in-depth explanation of specific occurrences, the researchers opted for a qualitative descriptive methodology. The analysis concentrated on 9GAG posts on Twitter with mixed words used for humor from January 1, 2021, to March 31, 2021. The researchers served as the primary instruments in this investigation. In a qualitative study, the researchers were chiefly accountable for the planning, observation, collection, and interpretation of data (Alhamid & Anufia, 2019). To advance their research, the researchers employed various assistive gadgets, including a smartphone and a laptop. The researchers gathered data exclusively from observation and documentation. The data from this study were evaluated according to the theory of Miles et al. (2014). Initially, the researchers synthesized all the previously gathered data. Subsequently, the researchers proceeded to present the data. The researchers meticulously categorized the data into tables and subsequently uncovered the interpretations. In analyzing the meaning, the researchers used the combination of experts’ opinions and some English-related websites, including www.urbandictionary.com, www.merriam-webster.com, and so on. Additionally, this step was undertaken by considering the context and cultural aspects of the discussion. In the end, these activities resulted in a comprehensive report. In the latter part of the study, the researchers drafted a conclusion as a closing paragraph. Results and Discussion Results The Analysis of Blending The researchers discovered approximately 15 blended words in this current study. The following table presents the detailed list of those blended words. Table 1. The Process of Blending No. The Blended Words Word Classification Root Words 1. Birdlar Noun Bird (N) + Burglar (N) 22. (Noun).exe Noun A particular noun (N) + Executable File (N) 33. Cosplay Verb Costume (N) + Play (V) http://www.urbandictionary.com/ http://www.merriam-webster.com/ Rizka Sylvia & Dohra Fitrisia The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG” 429 | V o l . 8 , N o . 2 , 2 0 2 4 ( 4 2 3 - 4 3 4 ) 44. Eargasm Noun Ear (N) + Orgasm (N) 55. Empawyee Noun Employee (N) + Paw (N) 66.. Furriendship Noun Fur (N) + Friendship (N) 77. Olympig Noun Olympic (Adj) + Pig (N) 88. Pane-ful Adjective Pane (N) + Painful (Adj) 99. Pawtato Noun Paw (N) + Potato (N) 110. Pawtner Noun Paw (N) + Partner (N) 111. Pawty Noun Paw (N) + Party (N) 112. Pixel Noun Picture (N) + Element (N) 113. Podcast Noun iPod (N) + Broadcast (N) 114. Pupartment Noun Puppy (N) + Apartment (N) 115. Romeow Noun Romeo (N) + Meow (N) Subsequent to the tabulation of data in the aforementioned table, the researchers elucidated the definitions of each term fully in the subsequent sections. 1) Birdlar This term is scarcely present in any dictionary, despite its usage by few individuals on social media. In this context, "birdlar" is a bird that engages in theft from humans, essentially referring to a robber bird, as elucidated by Jennifer Wong in her YouTube video titled "The Birdlar". The new phrase originates from the amalgamation of two distinct words: "bird," referring to a flying animal with a beak, and "burglar," denoting an individual who commits theft. Society surprisingly adopted this term as colloquial language to facilitate comprehension for listeners. Usage: – “Catching a birdlar” (Posted on March 12, 2021). 2) (Noun).exe In linguistics, the term exe is short for the adjective "executable," which means "capable of being executed." In computer science, exe is a file format that holds commands or sequences of object code that a computer's operating system can run. You know, the term "exe" is pretty well-known in the meme world. So, Knowyourmeme.com explains that this term is basically sarcasm aimed at people or animals doing weird things or getting into silly, embarrassing situations that just don’t make sense, like when someone totally misses the point of a conversation. Usage: – “Dog.exe is running” (Posted on January 16, 2021). – “Dog.exe has stopped working” (Posted on March 2, 2021). – “Brain.exe has stopped working” (Posted on March 31, 2021). 3) Cosplay Costume play, referred to as cosplay, involves individuals dressing up and impersonating characters, whether real or fictional, from literature, video games, or films (Lamerichs, 2011). Crawford and Hancock (2019) argued that cosplay is primarily engaged Rizka Sylvia & Dohra Fitrisia The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG” 430 | V o l . 8 , N o . 2 , 2 0 2 4 ( 4 2 3 - 4 3 4 ) in as a hobby or for entertainment, typically occurring in designated settings, both virtual and physical. Usage: – “10/10 cosplay” (Posted on March 8, 2021). – “Cosplay doge” (Posted on February 26, 2021). 4) Eargasm The suffix –gasm derives from the term orgasm, denoting a sensation of satisfaction or pleasure arising from a certain activity, usually associated with sexual experiences (Gałecki, Depko, Jedrzejewska, & Talarowska, 2012; Alexander & Marson, 2018). Eargasm refers to a joyful sensation triggered by the auditory experience of distinctive or delicious sounds, such as the crunch of food, the sizzling of hot oil during frying, and analogous events. Usage: – “Stop for a moment and have some eargasm” (Posted on March 12, 2021). 5) Empawyee The term "empawyee" is a recent neologism utilized on Twitter and is absent from all dictionaries, including Google Translate. The term "empawyee" is a portmanteau of "employee," denoting an individual who is employed, and "paw," which signifies the leg of a charming animal equipped with pads and claws. Conversely, the term "paw" is employed by meme aficionados and pet proprietors to refer to furry animals such as cats, dogs, rabbits, and similar creatures. In this context, the term "empawyee" refers to a pet affectionately utilized by the owner or a pet that exhibits employee-like behavior. Usage: – “Empawyee of the month” (Posted on March 6, 2021). 6) Furriendship The term furriendship is a portmanteau of the words fur and friendship. The video on the 9GAG account depicts a friendship between two diverse fuzzy animals, illustrating their real affection for one another despite their differing sorts and personalities. This term rarely occurs on social media platforms or in informal discussions. While not formally recognized in dictionaries, this term is widely known and utilized by several pet owners in their everyday discussions within their communities. Usage: – “Unlikely furriendship” (Posted on March 2, 2021). 7) Olympig The name Olympic etymologically denotes a worldwide standard sporting event performed every four years in various countries. “Olympig” can function as an adjective in a phrase, denoting all that pertains to the Olympics. Consequently, "olympig" may be construed as a pejorative or negative name for an individual associated with the Olympics who appears corpulent, akin to a pig. This term first appeared during the Tokyo Olympics in March 2021. According to BBC News, Hiroki Sasaki, the chief design officer of the Tokyo Olympics, suggested that comedian Naomi Watanabe wear a pig costume during the opening ceremony. Usage: – “Olympics creative director resigns after calling comedian “Olympig” (Posted on March 19, 2021). 8) Pane-ful Pane-ful is etymologically formed from the terms pane and painful. This term has recently emerged and specifically denotes the intense anguish felt upon witnessing a shattered pane, notably a smartphone screen, due to accidental impact. Rizka Sylvia & Dohra Fitrisia The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG” 431 | V o l . 8 , N o . 2 , 2 0 2 4 ( 4 2 3 - 4 3 4 ) Usage: – “That is...pane-ful” (Posted on February 7, 2021). 9) Pawtato Pawtato is a neologism formed by the deliberate amalgamation of the terms paw and potato. Pawtato denotes a little, corpulent, hairy, and yellowish-brown pet resembling a potato. Pet owners subsequently employ this neologism to illustrate the beauty of their dogs. Usage: – “Pawtato doin’ a steal” (Posted on January 14, 2021). – “Fluffy pawtato” (Posted on February 7, 2021). 10) Pawtner The phrase "pawtner" is synonymous with "partner," referring to two individuals engaged in the same activity simultaneously. Conversely, the term "pawtner" connotes a charming, furry companion rather than a human individual. Pet owners typically employ this new term when their pets enjoy trailing them. Usage: – “Work from home pawtner” (Posted on March 22, 2021). 11) Pawty The term "pawty," a portmanteau of "paw" and "party," denotes a gathering attended by numerous individuals to commemorate a certain occasion. It is typically furnished with entertainment or refreshments. Nonetheless, the term "pawty" differs from a conventional party as the attendees and esteemed guests are charming, furry pets. Pawty refers to a gathering specifically dedicated to furry creatures, including cats and dogs. Usage: – “The only pawty I wanna join” (Posted on March 22, 2021). 12) Pixel The term pixel is formed from the amalgamation of the words picture and element, as stated on the website www.betterphotography.in. Semantically, a pixel is the smallest digital unit of visible light that can constitute an object on a computer display. Usage: – “Pretty pixel art tea” (Posted on January 5, 2021). 13) Podcast A podcast is a digital audio recording that is freely available online for public download and listening. Furthermore, a podcast is generally available in multiple episodes and addresses a diverse array of subjects. The term podcast has gained significant popularity in recent years as numerous public people vie to produce various content in podcast format on social media platforms, primarily YouTube and Spotify. Usage: – “Every podcast ever” (Posted on January 12, 2021). 14) Pupartment A puppy apartment, or pupartment, is a tiny structure located on one of the floors of a larger edifice equipped with opulent amenities, exclusively designated for dogs. Usage: – "Pupartment" (Posted on March 7, 2021). 15) Romeow The expression "romeow" lacks a definitive meaning. This term specifically denotes a feline exhibiting behavior akin to that of Romeo, a male character from William Shakespeare's play, "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet." Rizka Sylvia & Dohra Fitrisia The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG” 432 | V o l . 8 , N o . 2 , 2 0 2 4 ( 4 2 3 - 4 3 4 ) Usage: – “Romeow, you came!” (Posted on January 12, 2021). Discussion Based on data collection and analysis processes, the findings of this present study support previous studies that have mentioned that blending with clipping was the most common type of blending used in social media posts (Theresa & Rizky, 2018; Wijayava et al., 2017). Blending with clipping can be done in several ways; taking the entire part of the first word and combining it with the last part of the second word (for instance, birdlar, eargasm, pane-ful, pawtato, pawtner, and pawty), cutting off the last part of the first word and combining it with the entire part of the second word (for instance, romeow and olympig), combining the beginning of the first word and the last part of the second word (for instance, pupartment), and combining the first part of the two separated words (for instance, pixel). In terms of meanings, this study’s findings were different from the study conducted by Wijayava et al. (2017), Embu-Worho and Gayatri (2018), and Theresa and Rizky (2018). Each of these studies found different types of blended words from the different objects of the study; thus, the meanings obtained also differ. Moreover, according to Morelent in Awwaliyah (2024), blending is not a sign of laziness. People tend to shorten the words to convey their intended messages efficiently, simply, and understandably. Especially if they communicate through Twitter, in which the characters were limited up to 140 characters in one tweet. In this manner, they blended the words, phrases, and sentences to make the listeners comprehend what they meant in a single click. Blending in the humor industry enables authors to convey concepts imaginatively and occasionally in surprising ways, which can make humor more appealing. In order to create words that make others laugh, blending becomes a crucial technique, particularly when the phrases are pertinent to the humor's context. The use of blending in humorous language is dependent on both the invention of new words and how they are employed in suitable situations to express amusing ideas (Saifudin et al., 2024). In quite a few cases on 9GAG, blending creates a lighter, more amusing feel. The words created through the blending process are regularly succinct, memorable, and possess a "catchy" character that causes them to become viral. On top of that, blending in humorous material also creates double- entendres or vagueness that can enrich the humor conveyed. As an instance, the phrase "furriendship" has an affectionate image since it combines the words "fur" and "friendship," yet in a lighthearted context; it more accurately describes a distinct and hilarious friendship. Blending in humor circumstances on 9GAG is extremely effective for two major causes. First, blended words typically convey well-known ideas or even common cultural tropes. The audience feels connected to the delivered material as a result. For instance, in the age of social media, the term "podcast" clearly describes a type of digital audio file that is publicly available online for download and listening by every individual. A podcast also covers a lot of ground and is usually available in multiple episodes. In recent years, the term "podcast" has gained popularity in society as a result of the competition among prominent personalities to produce several podcasts on social media platforms, primarily YouTube and Spotify. This phenomenon is called relatability. The second matter is creativity and astonishment. This refers to the freedom that comes from blending two unexpected ideas, which typically results in humor through surprise. Emerging novel terms regularly make people laugh since they don't always fit the mold. In conclusion, the blending process in word formation on the "9GAG" Twitter account is crucial to producing distinctive, amusing, and topical comedy. By merging two or more words to produce new meanings, 9GAG is able to use linguistic innovation to produce amusing content that appeals to a worldwide audience. This method works well not only for exact humor but also for giving memes and other posts more nuance and levels of meaning. Conclusion Rizka Sylvia & Dohra Fitrisia The Word Formation of Blending in Humor Language: A Study of a Twitter Account “9GAG” 433 | V o l . 8 , N o . 2 , 2 0 2 4 ( 4 2 3 - 4 3 4 ) The findings of this study have shown that 15 blended words were discovered in the 9GAG account posts on Twitter in conveying humor. The researchers also found different meanings to the blended words discovered. A few words semantically have the same meaning as listed within the dictionaries; however, several words have their own unique meanings, which can be only interpreted and grasped depending on the contexts. In summary, Twitter contributes significantly to language development by helping to discover new terms. New words will always emerge in society because the times and communication requirements are constantly changing. The reciprocal communication between speakers and audiences would function optimally in the absence of ambiguities or misinterpretations, particularly for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) educators and learners in Indonesia utilizing Twitter as a medium for English education and learning. Besides, this study has also contributed significantly to the language history, mainly English as a lingua franca. This study's findings provide a way to bring the new blended words into the dictionaries in the sense of linguistic renewal. As a result, the readers' understanding of linguistics can enhance directly, particularly in the sub-discipline of morphology. Ultimately, the researchers anticipated that this study would serve as a valuable reference for future investigators seeking to explore analogous issues through alternative approaches, including the application of different theoretical frameworks, the refinement of data sources, or the utilization of diverse research instruments for data collection, such as interviews. Acknowledgement The principal author would especially want to express gratitude to Dohra Fitrisia, who was a compassionate and indulgent co-author who additionally devoted her special consideration to supporting the principal author during the drafting of this study. Besides, the principal author would like to thank the site administrator of the 9GAG Twitter account for giving us permission to conduct the research therein. Notwithstanding this study's shortcomings, the principal author is open to criticism and suggestions that will help this research move forward. References Alhamid, T., & Anufia, B. (2019). 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