Blog entry #92
Why do we say hip-hop instead of hop-hip and King Kong instead of Kong King?
There seems to be an unwritten rule in English that native speakers seem to know almost instinctively. The reason for the above question is usually stated as "Because saying it any other way just sounds wrong"!
So what’s the rule?
Rule: if you have three words, then the vowel order has to be I, A, O (big, bad wolf). In case of two words, the first is almost always an I and the second is either an A or O (little green men, and not green little men).
Fascinatingly, ablaut reduplication isn’t seen just in English. It’s also prevalent in Indo-European languages, wherein the most commonly used letter is 'e’, akin to that of the English language.
Ablaut reduplication pairs words with internal vowel alternations, such as chit-chat, ping-pong, and jibber-jabber.
Other types of reduplication are as follows:
Rhyming Reduplication - boogie-woogie, easy-peasy, and hoity-toity
Exact Reduplication (used in baby talk) - bye-bye, choo-choo, and no-no
Shm- Reduplication (feature of American English with Yiddish roots) - fancy-shmancy
Comparative Reduplication - my balloon went higher and higher, her skin got whiter and whiter
Contrastive Focus Reduplication - I’m awake, but I’m not AWAKE-awake
Related topic:
The Unwritten Adjective Rule:
Adjectives in English absolutely have to be written in this order: opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun.
A lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife feels correct whereas rearranging the words does not. Also, as size comes before colour, green great dragons can’t exist. This construction creates dissonance in English speakers’ ears. Something just doesn’t sound right.
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