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Ablaut reduplication

Sound
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A reduplicative pattern where vowel change signals grammatical or semantic change (e.g., sing–sang–sung).

Detailed Definition
A morphological/phonological device where repeated consonants are paired with alternating vowels to indicate tense, aspect, or derivation; occasionally used in playful verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
In ablaut reduplication, vowel shifts create rhythmic patterns: "tick-tock" (high to low vowel); "ding-dong" (short i to short o); "flip-flop" (short i to short o); "zig-zag" (short i to short a); "criss-cross" (short i to short o); "ping-pong" (short i to short o)—all follow the I-A-O vowel hierarchy common in English reduplicatives.
Additional Notes
Rooted in Indo-European phonology; in English, it often appears in playful reduplications or poetic sound effects.
Also Known As
Vowel gradation Echo reduplication Sonic doubling Phonetic repetition
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