Home › Glossary › Letter E

Echo reduplication

Sound
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 linguistic device where a word is repeated with a vowel change, creating an echo effect (e.g., “zigzag”)

Detailed Definition
Echo reduplication is a poetic device where a word or phrase is immediately repeated with slight phonetic alteration—often vowel change—to mimic an echo or create playful emphasis (e.g., "chit-chat," "flip-flop"). In poetry, it enhances musicality, rhythm, and onomatopoeic effect, evoking natural sounds, hesitation, or emotional doubling through sonic mirroring.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Ping-pong" in a poem about memory: "The past bounces ping-pong in my mind"; "Flip-flop" used metaphorically: "My heart flip-flops with every glance"; "Wishy-washy waves wash over me"; "Helter-skelter thoughts race through the night"; "Namby-pamby notions fade at dawn"
Additional Notes
Echo reduplication repeats a word or syllable with slight variation for sonic or emotional effect (e.g., “shadow, shadowed”); it’s common in incantatory and ritual verse—students can use it to create haunting rhythm or psychological depth; distinct from mere repetition by its subtle transformation.
Also Known As
reduplicative echo echoic reduplication mimetic repetition sound-mirroring reduplication Ablaut reduplication
Skip to main content