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Predicative reduplication: Functions, their relationships and iconicities

Predicative reduplication: Functions, their relationships and iconicities AbstractWe survey the predicative functions of reduplication and analyze the relationships between them in terms of semantic affinity and iconicity. Forty-five functions are identified in 108 languages. The most frequent ones have to do with repetition/continuity of events, multiplicity of participants, and intensity. Reduplication can be polysemous. Based on high cross-linguistic frequency of expression by a common reduplicative form and cases of ambiguity, we identify semantic affinities among twelve functions, together comprising a semantic map. We also analyze the functions in terms of five iconicities—iconic relationships between specific aspects of form and meaning. An interesting relationship emerges: for any pair of semantically closely related functions, the iconicities of one are always a superset of the iconicities of the other. On the widely-held assumption that initial uses are high in iconicity, the picture is one of monotonic loss of iconicity as use is extended. As well as showing empirically how the functions relate to each other, we also review three earlier proposals which were largely based on reasoning. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png linguistic Typology de Gruyter

Predicative reduplication: Functions, their relationships and iconicities

linguistic Typology , Volume 22 (1): 67 – Apr 25, 2018

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Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
ISSN
1430-0532
eISSN
1613-415X
DOI
10.1515/lingty-2018-0003
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractWe survey the predicative functions of reduplication and analyze the relationships between them in terms of semantic affinity and iconicity. Forty-five functions are identified in 108 languages. The most frequent ones have to do with repetition/continuity of events, multiplicity of participants, and intensity. Reduplication can be polysemous. Based on high cross-linguistic frequency of expression by a common reduplicative form and cases of ambiguity, we identify semantic affinities among twelve functions, together comprising a semantic map. We also analyze the functions in terms of five iconicities—iconic relationships between specific aspects of form and meaning. An interesting relationship emerges: for any pair of semantically closely related functions, the iconicities of one are always a superset of the iconicities of the other. On the widely-held assumption that initial uses are high in iconicity, the picture is one of monotonic loss of iconicity as use is extended. As well as showing empirically how the functions relate to each other, we also review three earlier proposals which were largely based on reasoning.

Journal

linguistic Typologyde Gruyter

Published: Apr 25, 2018

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