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Article published In:
Studies in Language
Vol. 47:1 (2023) ► pp.135–189

Nominal reduplication in cross-linguistic perspective

From plurality to change of referents’ specificity

| University of Bologna
| University of Bologna

This paper aims at investigating the semantics of nominal reduplication cross-linguistically. Nominal reduplication is treated as an iconic morphological device expressing functions that have something to do with plurality. Nevertheless, in the languages of the world, other types of functions are attested as well, which seem to pivot around different notions like conceptual similarity, heterogeneity, combinations of them, or even possession. Based on a large-scale cross-linguistic analysis, we provide a typology of nominal reduplication considering the range of semantic functions and the type of reduplicative patterns. We argue that the attested variation clearly points to a common semantic core underlying the various functions, and this core can be identified in some modification of the degree and type of referentiality. Finally, the attested tendencies and correlations may shed new light on the role of iconicity in explaining the connection between reduplicated nouns and their functions.

Keywords: reduplication, typology, morphology, plurality, referentiality
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical premises
    • 2.1Reduplication
    • 2.2Reduplication and iconicity
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Functions of nominal reduplication in the world’s languages
    • 4.1Plural and related functions
    • 4.2Functions conveying exemplary status: Set construction and associativity
    • 4.3Functions conveying categorial status: Related variety and taxonomy
    • 4.4Evaluative meanings
    • 4.5Exclusiveness
    • 4.6Indeterminacy
    • 4.7Denoting new referents
    • 4.8Possession
    • 4.9Other functions
  • 5.An overview on frequency data
  • 6.The functional domain of nominal reduplication
    • 6.1From plurality to change of referents’ specificity
    • 6.2From plurality to referentiality: What about iconicity?
  • 7.Beyond nominal reduplication
  • 8.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 23 May 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.21050.mat
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