18.2712, Qs: Partial /p/ reduplicants in English
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LINGUIST List: Vol-18-2712. Tue Sep 18 2007. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.
Subject: 18.2712, Qs: Partial /p/ reduplicants in English
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1)
Date: 15-Sep-2007
From: Mark Jones < markjjones at hotmail.com >
Subject: Partial /p/ reduplicants in English
-------------------------Message 1 ----------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:51:24
From: Mark Jones [markjjones at hotmail.com]
Subject: Partial /p/ reduplicants in English
E-mail this message to a friend:
http://linguistlist.org/issues/emailmessage/verification.cfm?iss=18-2712.html&submissionid=156301&topicid=8&msgnumber=1
Hi,
I have two questions about partial /p/ reduplicants in English, relating to
an idea I have concerning the etymology for the phrase 'higgledy piggledy'
which I believe contains a lexical element 'higgledy' (diminutive past
tense of 'higgle', a possible British English dialect word for 'to hail'),
and a partial reduplicant 'piggledy'.
These /p/ reduplicants are not unknown elsewhere in English, e.g.
'easy peasy, Andy pandy, namby pamby, roly poly', and I suspect also 'silly
billy' (< silly pilly) and possibly also giving rise to Peggy as a form of
Margaret (from Meggy Peggy).
If the lexical element has a labial initial then the reduplicant is /w/, e.g.
piggy wiggy, Benny wenny, fishy wishy.
My two queries are:
1) What other examples of partial /p/ reduplicants do people know?
2) Has this pattern been the subject of any written study?
Any responses (and on 'higgle'!) much appreciated. A summary or reference
will be provided if response warrants it.
Many thanks
Mark Jones
Mark J. Jones
British Academy Post-doctoral Research Fellow
Department of Linguistics
University of Cambridge
http://www.ling.cam.ac.uk/people/mark/
mjj13 at cam.ac.uk
Linguistic Field(s): Morphology
Phonology
Semantics
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