[Lingtyp] function of fully reduplicated nouns

[SIMONE MATTIOLA]

Dear Joseph and everyone,

As Camil Staps mentioned, you can find some information on the functions of
reduplicated nouns across languages in Mattiola & Barotto (2023).
Additionally, as Alex pointed out, it's not uncommon in the languages of
the world to have "opposite" functions expressed through reduplicative
patterns (though often not the same pattern as in Mwotlap).

To my knowledge, reduplicative patterns used to express the superlative
function (in its strict sense, not just prototypicality or intensification)
are rarely attested cross-linguistically. However, in a very recent work of
mine (unpublished yet), I found some cases of comparatives and superlatives
expressed through reduplication (not full though) in certain Salishan
languages (for example, Upper Chehalis). You might want to look at a recent
PhD thesis on reduplication in Salishan languages (Mellesmoen 2025).

I also want to note that I am not sure we can consider cases like "deal of
deals" as true reduplication, since between the two elements occur a
subordinating relation and they occupy different "slots" within another
construction (English Genitive Construction: X of Y), thus probably not
being a repetition of the same element (X-X/X X), but rather two distinct
elements filling different "positions" in a construction, and these
positions are instantiated (let's say by chance) by two forms of the same
lexical item (X of X-PL).

Best,
Simone

- Mattiola, Simone & Alessandra Barotto. 2023. Nominal reduplication in
cross-linguistic perspective: from PLURALITY to CHANGE OF REFERENTS’
SPECIFICITY. *Studies in language *47(1). 135-189.
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.21050.mat
- Mellesmoen, Gloria Madeleine. 2025. *The grammar of Salish reduplication*.
Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia dissertation.
https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0448511

---

Dr. Simone Mattiola

Assistant professor (senior) in Linguistics

Department of Humanities

University of Pavia

Piazza del Lino 2, 27100, Pavia (Italy)

Website <https://sites.google.com/view/simone-mattiola/>

Institutional page
<https://unipv.unifind.cineca.it/individual?uri=http%3A%2F%2Firises.unipv.it%2Fresource%2Fperson%2F769871>

Academia.edu page <https://unipv.academia.edu/SimoneMattiola>

Research gate page
<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Simone-Mattiola>


Il giorno gio 7 ago 2025 alle ore 12:14 Stefan Savić via Lingtyp <
lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org> ha scritto:

> Hello,
>
> No references come to mind, only two more examples with a superlative
> function from BCMS (Bosnian-Croatian-Mobntenegrin-Serbian):
>
> na kraju krajeva 'at the end of the day, lit. on end of (all) ends'
>
> dno dna 'rock bottom, used metaphorically, often to describe someone's
> reprehensive behaviour or acts, lit. bottom of (the) bottom'
>
> Best,
> Stefan
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 6, 2025, 6:46 PM Joseph Brooks via Lingtyp <
> lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I'm wondering if anyone knows of any (cross-ling or for specific
> languages) work on this type of construction where a noun/phrase can be
> fully reduplicated for a superlative function or other meanings such as an
> especially remarkable or exaggerated instance of something. For ex in Chini
> (Lower Sepik-Ramu, PNG) anggunu 'mosquito' vs anggunu anggunu '(place known
> for) especially bad mosquitoes'. Or as in English 'man's man', 'deal of
> deals'.
>
> Thanks,
> Joseph
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