Preposition doubling

[Misha Schutt]

Sorry to be so late in adding my two kopecks to an old discussion,
but I'm just catching up on my digests and this is a feature of
folksong texts I've always found charming.  Here are two
examples I hope you'll find interesting.

It does occur in Bulgarian, at least in the folksong "Polegnala
e Tudora" (which has been heard lately in a car commercial):

Polegnala e Tudora
pod d^urvo pod maslinovo
     Tudora lay down beneath an olive tree
(I'm using ^u for the schwa vowel)


There is also a nice Russian song which may be taking poetic
license, since it uses the construction so heavily:

Kak u sokola, kak u jasnogo
boljat krylyshki, boljat krylyshki,
nel'zja sokolu, nel'zja jasnomu
po sadam letat', po sadam letat'.

Kak u molodca razudalogo
golova bolit, golova bolit,
nel'zja molodcu razudalomu
v horovod hodit', v horovod hodit'.

A chem golovu, a chem bujnuju
polechit' jemu, polechit' jemu?
Svjazhem golovu, svjazhem bujnuju
golubym platkom, golubym platkom.

Ot platka kudry, ot platka rusy
zavivalisja, zavivalisja--
Krasote jego, krasote jego
divovalisja, divovalisja.


Misha Schutt
Burbank (Calif.) Public Library
(BA Russian, Middlebury College 1972, now Slavicist by avocation;
also took Bulgarian at Indiana U about 1974 from Chuck Gribble,
who I see on this list from time to time)