English reduplication

English uses some kinds of reduplication, mostly for informal expressive vocabulary.
There are three types:

Rhyming reduplications: argy-bargy, arty-farty, boogie-woogie, bow-wow,

chock-a-block, claptrap, easy-peasy, eency-weency, fuddy-duddy, fuzzy-wuzzy,
gang-bang, hanky-panky, harum-scarum, heebie-jeebies, helter-skelter, herky-
jerky, higgledy-piggledy, hobnob, Hobson-Jobson, hocus-pocus, hodge-podge,
hoity-toity, hokey-pokey, honey-bunny, hot-pot, hotch-potch, hubble-bubble,
hugger-mugger, hulking-bulking, Humpty-Dumpty, hurdy-gurdy, hurly-burly,
hurry-scurry, itsy-bitsy, itty-bitty, loosey-goosey, lovey-dovey, mumbo-jumbo,
namby-pamby, nimbly-bimbly, nitty-gritty, nitwit, okey-dokey, pall-mall, palsy-
walsy, pee-wee, pell-mell, picnic, razzle-dazzle, righty-tighty, roly-poly, rumpy-
pumpy, super-duper, teenie-weenie, teeny-weeny, tidbit, walkie-talkie, tighty-
whitey, willy-nilly, wingding

Although at first glance "Abracadabra" appears to be an English rhyming reduplication

it in fact is not; instead, it is derived from the Aramaic formula "Abra kaDavra"
meaning "I would create as I spoke")

Exact reduplications (baby-talk-like): bonbon, bye-bye, choo-choo, chop-chop,

chow-chow, dum-dum, gee-gee, go-go, goody-goody, knock-knock, night-night,
no-no, pee-pee, poo-poo, pooh-pooh, rah-rah, so-so, tsk-tsk, tuk-tuk, tut-tut,
wakey wakey, wee-wee and so on.

Couscous is not an English example for reduplication, since it is taken from a French
word which has a Maghrebi origin.

Ablaut reduplications: bric-a-brac, chit-chat, criss-cross, dilly-dally, ding-dong,

fiddle-faddle, flimflam, flip-flop, hippety-hoppety, kitcat, kitty-cat, knick-knack,
mish-mash, ping-pong, pitter-patter, riff-raff, rickrack, riprap, see-saw, shilly-
shally, sing-song, snicker-snack, splish-splash, teeny-tiny, teeter-totter, tic-tac-
toe, tick-tock, ticky-tacky, tip-top, tittle-tattle, wish-wash, wishy-washy, zig-zag

Back clipping

Back clipping or apocopation is the most common type, in which the beginning is
retained. The unclipped original may be either a simple or a composite. Examples are:
ad (advertisement), cable (cablegram), doc (doctor), exam (examination), fax
(facsimile), gas (gasoline), gym (gymnastics, gymnasium), math (mathematics), memo
(memorandum), mutt (muttonhead), pub (public house), pop (popular concert), trad
(traditional jazz).
Fore-clipping

Fore-clipping or aphaeresis retains the final part. Examples: chute (parachute), coon
(raccoon), gator (alligator), phone (telephone), pike (turnpike), varsity (university).

Middle clipping

In middle clipping or syncope, the middle of the word is retained. Examples are: flu
(influenza), jams or jammies (pajamas/pyjamas), polly (apollinaris), shrink (head-
shrinker), tec (detective).

Complex clipping

Clipped forms are also used in compounds. One part of the original compound most
often remains intact. Examples are: cablegram (cable telegram), op art (optical art),
org-man (organization man), linocut (linoleum cut). Sometimes both halves of a
compound are clipped as in navicert (navigation certificate). In these cases it is difficult
to know whether the resultant formation should be treated as a clipping or as a blend,
for the border between the two types is not always clear. According to Bauer (1983), the
easiest way to draw the distinction is to say that those forms which retain compound
stress are clipped compounds, whereas those that take simple word stress are not. By
this criterion bodbiz, Chicom, Comsymp, Intelsat, midcult, pro-am, sci-fi, and sitcom are
all compounds made of clippings.

Most blends are formed by one of the following methods:

1. The beginning of one word is added to the end of the other (see portmanteau
word. For example, brunch is a blend of breakfast and lunch. One of the two
may be a whole word if it is short. This is the most common method of blending.
A monosyllabic word is divided into its onset and rime if necessary. A blend of
this type typically has the same number of syllables as the second word.
o broccoli (3) + cauliflower (4) broccoflower (4)
o breakfast (2) + lunch (1) brunch (1)
o camera (3) + recorder (3) camcorder (3)
o education (4) + entertainment (4) edutainment (4)
o information (4) + commercial (3) infomercial (4, exception)
o motor (2) + hotel (2) motel (2)
o simultaneous (5) + broadcast (2) simulcast (3, exception)
o smoke (1) + fog (1) smog (1)
o spoon (1) + fork (1) spork (1)
o stagnation (3) + inflation (3) stagflation (3)
2. The beginnings of two words are combined. For example, cyborg is a blend of
cybernetic and organism.
3. Two words are blended around a common sequence of sounds. For example, the
word Californication, from a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is a blend of
California and fornication.
 4. Multiple sounds from two component words are blended, while mostly
preserving the sounds' order. Poet Lewis Carroll was well known for these kinds
of blends. An example of this is the word slithy, a blend of lithe and slimy. This
method is difficult to achieve and is considered a sign of Carroll's verbal wit.

When two words are combined in their entirety, the result is considered a compound
word rather than a blend. For example, bagpipe is a compound, not a blend, of bag and
pipe.

[edit] Blending of two roots

Blending can also apply to roots rather than words, for instance in Israeli Hebrew.
"Israeli dakhpr bulldozer hybridizes (Mishnaic Hebrew>>)Israeli dp
push and (Biblical Hebrew>>)Israeli pr dig[...] Israeli shiltt zapping,
surfing the channels, flipping through the channels derives from (i) (Hebrew>)Israeli
shalt remote control, an ellipsis like English remote (but using the noun
instead) of the (widely known) compound shalt rakhk cf. the Academy
of the Hebrew Languages shalt rkhak; and (ii) (Hebrew>)Israeli shitt
wandering, vagrancy. Israeli shiltt was introduced by the Academy of the
Hebrew Language in [...] 1996. Synchronically, it might appear to result from
reduplication of the final consonant of shalt remote control. Another example of
blending which has also been explained as mere reduplication is Israeli gakhlilt
fire-fly, glow-fly, Lampyris. This coinage by Hayyim Nahman Bialik blends
(Hebrew>)Israeli gakhlet burning coal with (Hebrew>)Israeli lyla night.
Compare this with the unblended khakhlilt (black) redstart, Phnicurus
(<<Biblical Hebrew dull red, reddish). Synchronically speaking though, most
native Israeli-speakers feel that gakhlilt includes a reduplication of the third radical of
gl. This is incidentally how Ernest Klein[2] explains gakhlilt. Since he is
attempting to provide etymology, his description might be misleading if one agrees that
Hayyim Nahman Bialik had blending in mind."[3]

"There are two possible etymological analyses for Israeli Hebrew kaspr bank
clerk, teller. The first is that it consists of (Hebrew>)Israeli ksef money and the
(International/Hebrew>)Israeli agentive suffix - -r. The second is that it is a quasi-
portmanteau word which blends ksef money and (Hebrew>)Israeli spr
count. Israeli Hebrew kaspr started as a brand name but soon entered the
common language. Even if the second analysis is the correct one, the final syllable -
-r apparently facilitated nativization since it was regarded as the Hebrew suffix - -r
(probably of Persian pedigree), which usually refers to craftsmen and professionals, for
instance as in Mendele Mocher Sforims coinage smartutr rag-dealer."[4]

Comparing a few examples of each type

Pronounced as a word, containing only initial letters
o laser: light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation
o NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
o scuba: self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
Pronounced as a word, containing non-initial letters
o Amphetamine: Alpha-methyl-phenethylamine
o Gestapo: Geheime Staatspolizei ("secret state police")
o Interpol: International Criminal Police Organization
 o radar: radio detection and ranging
Pronounced as a word or names of letters, depending on speaker or context
o FAQ: ([fk] or ef a cue) frequently asked questions
o IRA:
When used for Irish Republican Army, pronounced as letters in
English (i ar a) but as a word in Spanish [ia]
When used for Individual Retirement Account, can be
pronounced as letters (i ar a) or as a word [ar]
o LED: light-emitting diode ([ld] or more frequently el ee dee)
o SAT: ([st] or es a tee) (previously) Scholastic Achievement (or
Aptitude) Test(s), now claimed not to stand for anything.
o SQL: ([sikwl] or ess cue ell) Structured Query Language, also
sometimes pronounced as sequel.
Pronounced as a combination of names of letters and a word
o CD-ROM: (see-dee-[rm]) Compact Disc read-only memory
o IUPAC: (i-u-[pk]) International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
o JPEG: (jay-[pg]) Joint Photographic Experts Group
o SFMOMA: (es-ef-[mom]) San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Pronounced only as the names of letters
o BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation
o CNN: Cable News Network
o DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid
o USA: United States of America
Pronounced as the names of letters but with a shortcut
o AAA:
(triple a) American Automobile Association
(triple A) Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
(three a's) Amateur Athletic Association
o IEEE: (i triple e) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
o NAACP: (en double a cee pee) National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
o NCAA: (en cee double a or en cee two a or en cee a a) National
Collegiate Athletic Association
Shortcut incorporated into name
o 3M: (three em) originally Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing
Company
o E: (e three) Electronic Entertainment Exposition
o W3C: (double-u three cee) World Wide Web Consortium
Multi-layered acronyms
o FRC: FIRST Robotics Competition, i.e., For Inspiration and Recognition
of Science and Technology Robotics Competition
o GAIM: GTK+ AOL Instant Messenger, i.e. GIMP Tool Kit America
OnLine Instant Messenger, i.e. GNU Image Manipulation Program Tool
Kit America OnLine Instant Messenger, i.e. GNU's Not Unix Image
Manipulation Program Tool Kit America OnLine Instant Messenger
o GTK+: GIMP Tool Kit, i.e. GNU Image Manipulation Program Tool Kit,
i.e. GNU's Not Unix Image Manipulation Program Tool Kit
o PAC-3: PATRIOT Advanced Capability 3 i.e., Phased Array Tracking
RADAR Intercept on Target i.e., RAdio Detection And Ranging
 o JAXB: Java API for XML Binding, i.e. Java Application Programming
Interface for eXtensible Markup Language Binding
o VHDL: VHSIC Hardware Description Language, i.e., Very High Speed
Integrated Circuits Hardware Description Language
Recursive acronyms, in which the abbreviation itself is the expansion of one
initial
o GNU: GNU's Not Unix!
o HURD: HIRD of Unix-Replacing Daemons, where "HIRD" stands for
"HURD of Interfaces Representing Depth"
o PHP: PHP Hypertext Preprocessor
o VISA: VISA International Service Association
o XNA: XNA's Not Acronymed - a game development framework from
Microsoft
Initialisms whose last word is a noun, but which are used as adjectives and the
final noun stated separately (almost always redundantly)
o ABS system (ABS from the German Antiblockiersystem): Anti-lock
braking system system
o ATM machine: Automated Teller Machine machine
o DC Comics: Detective Comics comics
o UPC code: Universal Product Code code
o PIN number: Personal Identification Number number
o KFC Chicken: Kentucky Fried Chicken chicken
Self-referential acronyms
o TLA: Three Letter Acronym, i.e. it is an example of what it means