[Lingtyp] Query: syllable-reversing ludlings

[David Gil]

Dear all,

Ludlings (aka play languages or secret languages) are often constructed 
by reversing the order of syllables in a word.Using numerals to denote 
syllables, 12 > 21.But what happens when there are three (or more) 
syllables in the word?For tri-syllabic words, the two most common 
outcomes are

(a) 123 > 312

(b) 123 > 231

The Riau Indonesian ludling I have written about has the (a) pattern, 
eg. /bahasa > sabaha/. But a friend of mine in Papua has recently 
started writing to me in a ludling using the (b) pattern, e.g. /bahasa > 
hasaba/.Which got me curious.According to Wikipedia, the French ludling 
/verlan/ may use either option, e.g. /cigarette/ > /restiga/ or /garetsi/.

I would appreciate any information you might be able to provide with 
regard to syllable-reversing ludlings of this kind that you might be 
familiar with in other languages.Specifically, I would like to know:

(1) which pattern is followed in tri-syllabic words: (a), (b), or 
perhaps other?

(2) what is the location of word-stress in the language?

The motivation behind the second question is that I have a hunch that 
the difference between the ludlings in closely related Riau Indonesian 
and Papuan Malay might be due to their different stress patterns — a 
hypothesis that is easily tested by looking at a handful of other languages.

Thanks,

David

-- 
David Gil
  
Senior Scientist (Associate)
Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
  
Email: gil at shh.mpg.de
Mobile Phone (Israel): +972-556825895
Mobile Phone (Indonesia): +62-81344082091

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