Reduplication

[Paul Hopper]

Actually, it would be difficult, perhaps impossible to isolate a "pure"
diminutive uncontaminated by some affective meaning such as expressivity,
endearment or familiarity. To my knowledge, this term is never used to
refer simply to an object whose dimensions are objectively less than some
norm. This means, if it is true, that no languages have been found where
"they live in a small house" would be rendered as "they live in a
house-house". But if we never find the pure diminutive pattern
synchronically, how likely is it that kin and nursery terms would start
out historically as diminutives?

The inquiry that started this thread specified that the examples should
show full reduplication AND have a diminutive meaning that was not simply
a derivative of some other meaning. On the basis of the contributions so
far, it looks as if this doesn't happen.

- Paul


>
> In Hindi you may find many examples of  full reduplication such as:
>
> sar-sar 'a sound of wind',
> Kal-kal 'a rippling sound'
> Mar-mar 'susurration'
> Car-car 'a crackling sound'
>
> Generally in Hindi reduplication comes for onomatopoeic words. But in
> 'ghar ghar' it is used as in every home. Reduplication for diminutives is
> not found in Hindi.
>
> Amitabhvikram
> Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android
>
>


-- 
Paul J. Hopper,
Paul Mellon Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emeritus,
Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Carnegie Mellon University,
Pittsburgh, PA 15213,
Tel. 412-683-1109,
Fax 412-268-7989.

Adjunct Professor of Linguistics,
Department of Linguistics,
University of Pittsburgh.

Senior External Fellow,
School of Linguistics and Literature,
Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS),
Freiburg i.Br., Germany