Reduplication (Meadow Mari)

TtlRdp

TtlRdp: Total reduplication of an entire word, relative stem, or absolute stem (root) is used productively.

(1) dissertacijpaša-merkənvoz-em.
dissertation workACCslowlywrite1SG
’I am writing my dissertation slowly.’ (T. E.)

(2)dissertacijpaša-merkən-erkənvoz-em.
dissertation workACCslowlyslowlywrite1SG
’I am writing my dissertation rather slowly (now and then).’ (T. E.)

(3)Andrejkol-enəle,tudoman-eš.
AndreydiePST2.3SGis.PST2(s)hesay3SG
’(S)he says Andrey has died.’ (Riese 2016: 3287)

(4)maneš-manešpočešAndrejkol-enəl’e.
gossipaccording_toAndrejdiePST2.3SGis.PST2
’According to the gossip Andrej has died’. (Riese 2016: 3287)

In Meadow Mari reduplication is often used to express intensity or the repetitive nature of a process (2). Certain words can acquire a completely new meaning as a result of reduplication, cf. (3) vs (4) (Riese 2016).

Author: Bogáta Timár


[🠐 back]