Reiteration in Pichi
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Kofi Yakpo
Abstract
Pichi, an Afro-Caribbean English-lexifier Creole spoken on the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea, features four types of reiteration. Amongst them, reduplication and repetition can be distinguished on formal and semantic grounds. Reduplication is a derivational operation consisting of self-compounding and tone deletion. It is restricted to dynamic verbs and yields iterative, dispersive and attenuative meanings. Repetition occurs with all major word classes, renders more iconic meanings and is analyzed as semi-morphological in nature. A comparison with verbal reiteration in a cross-section of West African languages and two of its sister languages in the Caribbean allows the conclusion that Pichi reduplication reflects an areal pattern. I conclude further that Pichi reduplication is not exceptionally iconic nor specifically “creole” in nature.
Abstract
Pichi, an Afro-Caribbean English-lexifier Creole spoken on the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea, features four types of reiteration. Amongst them, reduplication and repetition can be distinguished on formal and semantic grounds. Reduplication is a derivational operation consisting of self-compounding and tone deletion. It is restricted to dynamic verbs and yields iterative, dispersive and attenuative meanings. Repetition occurs with all major word classes, renders more iconic meanings and is analyzed as semi-morphological in nature. A comparison with verbal reiteration in a cross-section of West African languages and two of its sister languages in the Caribbean allows the conclusion that Pichi reduplication reflects an areal pattern. I conclude further that Pichi reduplication is not exceptionally iconic nor specifically “creole” in nature.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Reduplication beyond the word level 1
- The morphosyntax of non-iconic reduplications 27
- Verb focus in Haitian 77
- Verb doubling in Breton and Gungbe 135
- NN constructions in Modern Hebrew 175
- Attenuative verbal reduplication in Mauritian 203
- Reduplication in São Tomense 235
- Reiteration in Pichi 251
- Subject Index 285
- Language Index 287
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Reduplication beyond the word level 1
- The morphosyntax of non-iconic reduplications 27
- Verb focus in Haitian 77
- Verb doubling in Breton and Gungbe 135
- NN constructions in Modern Hebrew 175
- Attenuative verbal reduplication in Mauritian 203
- Reduplication in São Tomense 235
- Reiteration in Pichi 251
- Subject Index 285
- Language Index 287
