Tamil echo formation (Was Re: Hindi-Urdu echo-nouns in v)

Vasu Renganathan vasur at CCAT.SAS.UPENN.EDU
Fri Feb 20 02:53:55 UTC 1998


Unlike in Hindi, echo formation in Tamil (possibly in other Dravidian
languages also) is quite regular. Almost all nouns in Tamil can form echo
construction.

When the first syllable of a noun is replaced either with ki or kI, we
get the echo counter part.  ki is used to replace syllables with short
vowels and kI is used for long vowels.

   Examples:  puttakam kittakam,  vITu kITu, pATTu kITTu etc.
   Proper names: jAn kiin, mEri kIri, rAmasAmi kImasAmi
   Vowel initial words: ATu kITu, eRumpu kiRumpu, ENi kINi etc.

(Some verbal participle forms also undergo echo formation: ATi kITi paar,
pEsi kIsi vacciTAtE...)

However, those nouns that begin either in ki or kii do not undergo echo
formation.  *kiLi kiLi,  *kiitA kiitA...

I guess the same is the case with other Dravidian languages Telugu,
Malayalam, Kannada etc.  I think Masica uses the features such as
reduplication, onomotopoeic words, free word order etc., besides echo
formation to substantiate his claim that "India is a linguistic area".

Vasu.

> By the way, these "echo-formations" are of course not limited to Hindi: C.
> Masica (The
> Indo-Aryan Languages, pp.80-1) discusses them in the NIA languages
> generally, and further (in Defining a Linguistic Area, p. 189) lists them
> as an "Indian Area-Defining" feature (no.10, with references to Emeneau
> and Bloch), attested also in Dravidian and Munda.
>
> RS
>
> On Fri, 20 Feb 1998, Dick Plukker wrote:
>
> > A few more examples of these wonderful expressions (quoted from Kavita Kumar,
> > Hindi for non-Hindi speaking people, Calcutta etc., 1994, p. 255-56):
> > ro.tii-vo.tii,  kaafii-vaafii. She also gives the following echo's:
> > ta.rak-bha.rak, aamne-saamne, bhii.r-bhaa.r, hallaa-gullaa.
> > ------
> >
> > To speed up things for you I quote from Anvita Abbi, o.c., p. 23:
> >
> > naam-vaam, dil-vil, .khuun-vuun, phal-val, aasaan-vaasaan,
> > tho.raa-vo.raa, tej-vej, dekhnaa-vekhnaa, ghiisnaa-viisnaa, chuunaa-vuunaa,
> > gaanaa-vaanaa, traas-vraas, pyaas-vyaas, ha/snaa-va/snaa, pe.m.t-ve.m.t,
> > bhai.m-vai.ms, udhaar-vudhaar, aam-vaam, ainak-vainak, uun-vuun
> > ii.m.t-vii.m.t.
> > With loss of initial v: vardaan-ardaan, vika.t-uka.t, vaayu-aayu.
> > Without v: gholnaa-olnaa, .tuu.tnaa-uu.tnaa, somvaar-omvaar.
> > -----
> >
> > Some more: kaam-vaam, mez-vez;
> > .dhiilii-.dhaalii, dhuum-dhaam, saj-dhaj;
> > pa.rhnaa-a.rhnaa, baccaa-accaa; .thiik-.thaak.
> >
> > I recall forms like minister-winister, dance-wance in writers as
> > Rushdie and Deshpande. But there are many, many more. Actually, I believe
> > you can make echo-words yourself if you should want so.
> >
> >
> > >Dear members of the list,
> > >
> > >I would be grateful for references to descriptions of doubled nouns in
> > >Hindi-Urdu of the following type:
> > >
> > >First noun: is an ordinary noun
> > >Second noun: is a nonsense word that begins with v (or m) and rhymes with
> > >the first noun
> > >
> > >Examples:
> > >caae vaae, 'tea, etc.'
> > >saRak maRak, 'roads and highways, etc.'
> > >
> > >--If anyone would care to send further examples I would be very happy.
> > >
> > >--I am aware of Anvita Abbi's work on reduplicated words in South Asian
> > >languages, but it has not reached us yet.
> > >
> > >My apologies for cross-postings.
> > >
> > >With best wishes,
> > >
> > >Ruth Schmidt
> > >
> > >
> > >***********************************************
> > >Ruth Laila Schmidt
> > >Dept of East European and Oriental Studies
> > >University of Oslo
> > >P.O. Box 1030 Blindern
> > >N-0315 Oslo, Norway
> > >Phone: (47) 22 85 55 86
> > >Fax: (47) 22 85 41 40
> > >Email: r.l.schmidt at east.uio.no
> > >
> > >
> >     Dick Plukker
> >     India Institute, Amsterdam
> >
>





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