34. Reduplication.

Reduplication is a linguistic process in which all or part of a word is repeated to convey a specific meaning. This phenomenon occurs in various languages and serves different purposes, including creating emphasis, indicating plurality, expressing intensity, or forming diminutives. Reduplication can involve the repetition of a whole word, a part of a word, or a morpheme.

1. **Full Reduplication:**

- In full reduplication, the entire word is repeated.

- Example: "boo-boo" (informal term for a minor injury) or "choo-choo" (childish term for a train).

2. **Partial Reduplication:**

- In partial reduplication, only a portion of the word is repeated.

- Example: "zigzag" (a pattern characterized by sharp turns or angles) or "super-duper" (informal term for extremely good or impressive).

3. **Consonant Reduplication:**

- Consonant reduplication involves the repetition of one or more consonants in a word.

- Example: "ping-pong" (a sport played with a small ball and paddles) or "zig-zag" (a pattern with sharp turns).

4. **Vowel Reduplication:**

- Vowel reduplication repeats one or more vowels in a word.

- Example: "teeny-weeny" (informal term meaning extremely small) or "boo-hoo" (imitating the sound of crying).

5. **Internal Reduplication:**

- Internal reduplication repeats a part of the word within itself.

- Example: "mishmash" (a mixture of different things) or "iggity-biggity" (informal term expressing excitement or enthusiasm).

Reduplication can serve various functions, depending on the linguistic context and the specific language. Some common purposes of reduplication include:

- **Intensification:** Reduplication can emphasize the degree or intensity of a quality.

- Example: "big-big" (very big) or "hot-hot" (very hot).

- **Plurality:** Reduplication may indicate plurality.

- Example: "dog-dog" (several dogs) or "book-book" (multiple books).

- **Diminutives:** Reduplication can be used to form diminutives, indicating a smaller or cuter version.

- Example: "baby-baby" (a small baby) or "kitty-kitty" (a small cat).

- **Repetition or Continuation:** Reduplication can express repetition or ongoing action.

- Example: "talk-talk" (continuously talking) or "wait-wait" (waiting for a while).

Reduplication adds a layer of expressiveness to language and is found in both formal and informal registers. Its usage varies across languages and can contribute to the formation of a rich and nuanced vocabulary.

35. General characteristics of the grammatical structure of language.

The grammatical structure of a language refers to the system of rules and patterns that govern how words are organized into meaningful units, such as sentences and phrases. The general characteristics of the grammatical structure of a language encompass various aspects of syntax, morphology, and semantics.

1. **Syntax:**

- **Sentence Structure:** Languages have specific rules for organizing words into sentences. This includes the arrangement of subjects, verbs, objects, and other elements.

- **Word Order:** Languages can have different word orders, such as subject-verb-object (SVO), subject-object-verb (SOV), or verb-subject-object (VSO).

- **Clausal Structure:** Sentences can be simple, compound, or complex, depending on the arrangement of independent and dependent clauses.

2. **Morphology:**

- **Word Formation:** Morphology deals with the internal structure of words. It includes processes like affixation (adding prefixes, suffixes, or infixes), compounding, and derivation.

- **Inflection:** Languages use inflections to indicate grammatical features such as tense, number, gender, case, and mood.

3. **Semantics:**

- **Meaning Relations:** Semantics is concerned with the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. It explores how words relate to each other in terms of synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, and polysemy.

- **Ambiguity:** Languages may contain ambiguous expressions where a word or phrase can have multiple meanings.

4. **Pragmatics:**

- **Contextual Use:** Pragmatics deals with how language is used in context. It includes aspects like deixis (words that depend on context for meaning) and speech acts (the intention behind utterances).

- **Conversational Implicature:** Pragmatics also covers implied meanings in communication that go beyond the literal interpretation of words.

5. **Phonology:**

- **Sound System:** Phonology focuses on the sound patterns of a language. It includes the study of phonemes, syllables, and the rules governing pronunciation.

- **Prosody:** Prosody refers to the rhythm, intonation, and stress patterns in spoken language.

6. **Discourse Structure:**

- **Text Cohesion:** Discourse structure involves the organization of sentences and paragraphs in longer texts. It includes cohesive devices like pronouns, conjunctions, and lexical cohesion.

- **Narrative Structure:** Languages often follow specific patterns in storytelling, including the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

7. **Grammatical Categories:**

- **Parts of Speech:** Words are categorized into parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

- **Grammatical Relations:** Sentences involve relationships between subjects, objects, and verbs, as well as modifiers and complements.

8. **Agreement and Concord:**

- **Grammatical Agreement:** Some languages have rules for agreement between elements in a sentence, such as subject-verb agreement or adjective-noun agreement.

Understanding these general characteristics helps linguists and language learners analyze and comprehend the grammatical structure of a language, facilitating effective communication within that linguistic system.