Reduplication? You Can Say That Again!*
/As with many world languages, English uses a playful form of repeated sounds and rhyming sounds to express certain concepts in a creative, emphatic, or fun-loving way. Linguists call this repetition “reduplication.”
There are three kinds of reduplication: 1) exact repetition, 2) rhyming, and 3) internal substitution.
1. An example of exact repetition is blah-blah-blah (which means lots of talking without much meaning or content). A number of these forms are seen in children’s language (for example: go pee-pee) and have a kind of simple, friendly rhythm—encouraging children to learn verbal communication. Other repetitions serve to intensify the meaning, as in “He’s a real dum-dum.”
2. An example of rhyming is hub-bub (which means busy, noisy activity); in rhyming, the end sound stays the same and the first part of the word changes.
3. An example of internal substitution is topsy-turvy (which means upside down or all mixed up); the first and last sounds stay the same and part of the middle is changed. These expressions often appear to show a kind of back-and-forth movement, first this way, then that way. When the second word is a repetition of the first, with only a change in vowel, this is technically called Ablaut (from the German word for vowel: Laut).
People’s names are sometimes reduplications. Here are some better-known examples.
· Sirhan Sirhan (the man who assassinated Robert Kennedy)
· John-John Kennedy (boyhood name for John F. Kennedy’s son)
· Chi-Chi Rodriguez (a professional golfer)
· Ling-Ling (a panda bear)
· Boutros Boutros Ghali (former Secretary General of the United Nations)
· Yo-Yo Ma (famous cellist)
· Dee Dee Myers (former press secretary to Bill Clinton)
Test yourself:
Write the number of these 10 English reduplications in the blanks with their meanings. (A longer list follows below.)
1. wishy-washy ____ something you shouldn’t do
2. nitty-gritty ____ a totally polite person with no bad habits
3. goody-goody ____ the small, difficult details
4. dilly-dally ____ somewhat artistic but trite
5. no-no ____ unable to make a definite decision or commitment
6. hanky-panky ____ play equipment pushing one child up and one down
7. teeter-totter ____ to say something is not important
8. bling-bling ____ a secret romantic relationship (“fooling around”)
9. pooh-pooh ____ to waste time on a job or errand, not be focused
10. artsy-fartsy ____ expensive and showy jewelry
*Note: “You can say that again!” is an expression of affirmation. It means “Amen! I agree!” It is used above with an intentional double meaning.
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1. Exact reduplications:
blah-blah(-blah) bling-bling
bye-bye* chi-chi*
choo-choo* chop-chop
doo-doo* dum-dum
goody-goody knock-knock
night-night* no-no
pee-pee* poo-poo*
pooh-pooh (verb) rah-rah
shi-shi so-so
tom-tom wee-wee*
yada-yada yoyo
(A number of these are children’s language.* )
2. Here are more rhyme-reduplications:
artsy-fartsy (arty-farty) boogie-woogie
chalk-talk chick-flick
chock-a-block clap-trap
gang-bang eency-weency
fancy-schmancy fuddy-duddy
fuzzy-wuzzy hanky-panky
harum-scarum heebie-jeebies
helter-skelter higgledy-piggledy
hob-nob hocus-pocus
hodge-podge hoity-toity
hokey-pokey hub-bub
hugger-mugger hum-drum
honey-bunny hurly-burly
itsy-bitsy/itty-bitty jeepers-creepers
lovey-dovey lub-dub
mumbo-jumbo namby-pamby
nitty-gritty okey-dokey
Oompah-Loompah pell-mell
rag-tag razzle-dazzle
Slim Jim super-duper
teenie-weenie walkie-talkie
willy-nilly wingding
3. Here are more ablaut or internal substitution reduplications:
bric-a-brac chit-chat
click-clack criss-cross
dilly-dally ding-dong
fiddle-faddle flim-flam
hip-hop jibber-jabber
knick-knack mish-mash
ping-pong pish-posh
pitter-patter riff-raff
see-saw shilly-shally
sing-song splish-splash
teeny-tiny teeter-totter
tick-tock tip-top
tit for tat topsy-turvy
wishy-washy zig-zag
