DOUBLY AS A LANGUAGE TOOL

                            DOUBLY IN LANGUAGE ANALYSIS

The term, doubly, as a relative tool for language analysis was invented by Nnaji (2013) to analyse the set of grammatical features which allow for absolute replications. Nnaji achieves this in his attempts to analyse the syntax of Nkalaha version of the Igbo language. In a paper submitted to the International Symposium on Language, Linguistics, Literature and Education held in Osaka; Japan 2013, Nnaji defined a doubly as follows:

A doubly or collection of doublies, as a language feature, refers to a spontaneous duplication of certain words in a relatively ungrammatical style. In this, lexical properties (especially verbs) such as follow, look, talk, copy etc. are adversely duplicated as follow-follow, look-look, talk-talk, copy-copy etc. as was the situation with pidgin. This duplication in Pidgin English is considered ungrammatical in Standard English, whereas in Nkalaha dialect it is duly grammatical.

Nnaji attempts to express the situation that prevails in the use of language for colloquial purposes where several words or phrases are realised through coinages which often times are replicated in everyday conversations. In this manner, a peculiar kind of coinage – a language feature that is prominent in Pidgin English – is purposefully invented and used in conversations mainly to spur humour and to ridicule certain actions or characterisations. Sometimes they are not used purposefully. This becomes the situation when they occur extemporaneously. When words are used in a manner that they are ungrammatically duplicated for emphases – such as follow-follow, look-look, touch-touch, waka-waka, beg-beg, borrow-borrow etc. – Nnaji refers to such word groupings as doublies.

Doublies can take varying forms. They may assume the place of action words, nomenclature or as phrases. These three forms are discussed as follow.

(a) Doublies derived from nouns/pronouns:

Tummy – Tummy

Mee – Mee

Goody – Goody

Wee – wee

(b) Derived from verbs:

Talk – Talk

Look – Look

Read – Read.

(c) Doublies from other parts of speech:

Very – very

Many – many

Now – now

Small – small

(d) Phrasal doublies:

Phrasal doublies are realised through the assistance of some adverbial particles, mainly prepositions, mediating among nouns. Examples of such doublies include:

Time – to – time = consistency or periodically.

One – by – one = serial, queue 

Line – by – line

Man – to – man

Strength – to – strength

Bone – to – bone

House – to – house

Hand – to – hand

Hand – in – hand 

Face –to – face

Head – to –head

Seat – to – seat

Road –to – road

Room – to – room

Word – to – word

Ward – to – ward

Pole – to – pole

One – on – one etc.