#reduplication

this is called reduplication. according to wikipedia, reduplication is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word—or part of it, or even the whole word—is repeated exactly or with a slight change.

reduplication in tahitian is not just for emphasis—repeating a word can change its meaning in subtle ways. it might make something feel more poetic, more continuous, or even softer or cuter. it can also intensify or pluralize a word. the possibilities are endless!

since reduplication is a very common feature in reo tahiti, i could easily find quite a few examples. here's a short, non-exhaustive list of tahitian reduplications:

iti (small, little) → itiiti (very small; little by little)

to’a (coral) → to’ato’a (to smell of coral)

oni (male) → ’oni’oni (macho, to act like a male, to brag)

tio (oyster) → tiotio (small oyster)

rima (hand) → rimarima (finger)

tipi (knife) → tipitipi (to peel the vegetables)

rave (to take) → raverave (to shoplift)

ta’i (to cry) → ta’ita’i (to chirp, shout, cry repeatedly (over and over again, nonstop), cry together at the same time)

’ata (to laugh) → ’ata’ata (to laugh often, laugh with others, laugh together)

haere (to go) → hāhaere (to go—the two of us—together)

rahi (tall, broad) → rahirahi (two or more tall, broad things or people)

horoi (to wash) → horohoroi (to wash repeatedly)

tāpū (to cut) → tāpūpū (to cut several times, to cut into small pieces)

ta’oto (to sleep) → tā’oto’oto (to get some sleep)

fa’ari’i (to accept) → fa’ari’iri’i (to come to accept little by little, to tolerate)

ta’amino (to turn) → ta’aminomino (to go round and round; labyrinthine, as tangled as a labyrinth)

neva (to turn one's head to the side to look) → nevaneva (startled, restless, distracted, constantly moving, unsettled)

the tahitian language also uses what is known as metathesis, a process that involves reversing the order of syllables to change or alter meaning. for example:

niho (tooth) → honi (to bite)

’ōmuhu (to whisper) → ’ōhumu (to slander in a low voice)

maru (shade, shadow) → ruma (darkness) → rumaruma (nebula, nebulous; cloudy, obscured by clouds)

hook idea: reduplication is a highly productive process of word formation. it allows for the creation of new words and thus enriches vocabulary. sometimes it turns a noun into a verb, or a stative verb into an action verb; or changes the meaning altogether. newly created words can convey a wide range of nuances: more or less, smaller or larger, resemblance, greater quantity (plural), smaller quantity, repetition (frequency),... a whole range of nuances that are worth learning!

You know when you repeat a word but start it with shm instead of the original letter to be ironic, sarcastic, or derisive?

Like the U.S. congress might say, “Budget? What budget? Budget shmudget.”

This is called shm-reduplication, and English borrowed this construction from Yiddish!

When a language has a regular grammatical process whereby a word or part of a word is repeated to form a new meaning, this is called reduplication.

Here’s a fun article from the Atlantic about shm-reduplication:

If you want to learn more about Yiddish, a really fun and informative book on the topic is Born to Kvetch: Yiddish language and culture in all its moods: