Chapter 32Reduplication and Phonological Alternations

32.1 Copying roots and stems

Reduplication repeats all or part of a word. In Hokkaido Ainu verbs, the repeated material may be a root, a whole stem, or a smaller portion of the stem. The resulting verbs express repeated action, continuation, degree, or a maintained result, with differences among formations and individual words Nakagawa (2024: 151–153); Satō (2008: 247–248, 277–278).

The distinction between a root and a stem matters here. In Satō's analysis, moymoye repeats the root moy- before the transitive suffix -e; it does not repeat the whole verb moye “move something” Satō (2008: 247). Full-stem reduplication instead repeats all of apkas “walk” in apkasapkas Nakagawa (2024: 153).

32.2 Three formations from turi

Nakagawa compares three reduplicated forms of turi “extend something.” His semantic classification follows Kobayashi's unpublished 2007 thesis, and his accompanying sentences are Saru examples Nakagawa (2024: 152–153, examples 61–64).

Repetition occurs in both the root and whole-stem examples. The partial form describes the continuation of the resulting position. Nakagawa's broader classification also includes high degree among the meanings of root and whole-stem reduplication Nakagawa (2024: 152). These categories therefore overlap in meaning.

32.3 Extent of an action and lexical restrictions

Satō compares root reduplication in yasyaske with whole-word reduplication in yaskeyaske. In his Chitose examples, the former describes clothes torn in several places; the latter describes wood broken into fine pieces. He provisionally relates the difference to repetition over a limited portion versus repetition of a complete action Satō (2008: 247–248) ‹speculative›.

The available formation also depends on the lexical item. Satō describes moymoye as usual and marks *moyemoye as a form not normally used Satō (2008: 248). Nakagawa restricts root and partial-stem reduplication, in principle, to the V/-pa class, whose final vowel is replaced by -pa in the plural; whole-stem copying extends to other classes Nakagawa (2024: 153).

Satō also identifies a partial-root pattern in sik-mak-ak-a “keep the eyes open.” Here the repeated material is ak, within a larger formation Satō (2008: 277–278). Kindaichi and Chiri's earlier classification likewise distinguishes full-stem, root, root-minus-initial-consonant, and final-syllable patterns Kindaichi & Chiri (1936: 171–174, §§223–225).

32.4 Consonants at the copy boundary

Copying can place two consonants together without any sound change: kik-kik, from kik “hit,” already contains /kk/. Nakagawa's Saru sentence describes the narrator clapping to summon the master of a house Nakagawa (2024: 153, example 66).

Tamura explicitly segments kikkik as kik-kik Tamura (1996: s.v. kikkik). The longer apkas-apkas also shows that the repeated unit can contain several syllables Nakagawa (2024: 153).

32.5 Boundaries, resyllabification, and accent

A final consonant often becomes the onset of a following vowel-initial syllable across a morpheme boundary. Shiraishi illustrates this with sik-o → si.ko “open the eyes” and mat-ak → ma.tak “younger sister.” He also reports occasional blocking associated with accent or morphological structure Shiraishi (2022: §4.4, examples 7–8).

His reduplication example, reported from Tamura, is ˈay-[ʔ]ay “baby.” The glottal stop preserves a boundary before the second vowel despite preceding consonantal /y/. In paˈraparak-ˌ[ʔ]an “cry,” the illustrated boundary instead precedes the person suffix -an, which bears secondary accent Shiraishi (2022: §4.4, example 8).

32.6 Person marking on reduplicated verbs

The resulting verb takes person marking. Nakagawa's Saru examples include a=kikkik “I clapped,” a=koturiri “I kept holding it out toward someone,” and apkasapkas=an “I kept walking” Nakagawa (2024: 152–153, examples 63, 65–66). The person marker stands outside the repeated material. Its phonological behavior depends on the marker and the adjacent sounds; see Chapter 31 (Person Markers: Contraction, Accent, and Suffix Boundaries).

32.7 Lexical meanings and aspect

Some reduplicated formations have specialized lexical meanings. Tuytuye, related to tuye “cut,” means “winnow”; nukannukar, related to nukar “see,” means “look after” Nakagawa (2024: 153). The meaning of a particular reduplicated verb therefore requires lexical information as well as its copy pattern.

Refsing discusses reduplication among mechanisms of plural formation, while describing its usual contribution as repetition or duration Refsing (1986: 149, §13.7). Nakagawa treats it as lexical aspect and excludes it from his Handbook account of grammatical number Nakagawa (2022: §1). These are different ways of organizing the morphology ‹contested›. Related aspectual constructions are treated in Chapter 113 (Completion, Repetition, and Event Phases).

32.8 Regional descriptions

The Saru examples in Nakagawa and the Chitose examples in Satō both establish root and whole-stem copying. Refsing's Shizunai account also describes repeated and continuing events Nakagawa (2024: 152–153); Satō (2008: 247–248); Refsing (1986: 149). The documented lexical restrictions accompany these regional descriptions.

32.9 Interpreting a repeated form

A reduplicated word may preserve the copied consonants, as in kikkik, or show assimilation, as in tutturi and nukannukar. The copy pattern and the pronunciation boundary are distinct properties: Shiraishi's glottal example supplies a particular boundary-sensitive pronunciation, while the root and stem comparisons establish how the words are formed Tamura (1996: s.vv. kikkik, nukannukar); Nakagawa (2024: 152); Shiraishi (2022: §4.4).