Thursday, August 6, 2020

Reduplication Avocation (Part II)

Last time I started my list of reduplicative names following the pattern [consonant][vowel][same consonant][a]. Turns out: there's a lot!

As last time, many are diminutives rather than full given names, especially in European languages. All are feminine, unless marked with an *. 

  • PAH-pah: Papa (many Polynesian mythologies)
  • PEH-pah: Pepa* (Spanish, Bulgarian, Czech) / Peppa (Italian) [unisex in Spanish and Czech; feminine elsewhere]
  • PIP-pah: Pippa (English)
  • PEE-pah: Pipa (Finnish)

  • RAH-rah: Rara (Swedish, Japanese)
  • RYE-rah: Raira* (Japanese [rare and unisex in real life; more common in pop-culture as a gairaigo of names like Lyra and Laila])
  • RAY-rah: Reira (Japanese)
  • REE-rah: Rira (Japanese)
  • ROH-rah: Rora (Swedish, Japanese [pop culture])
  • ROW-rah: Raura (Japanese)
  • ROO-rah: Ruura (Finnish)

  • SAH-sah: Sasa* (Scandinavian) / Sassa* (Scandinavian) [unisex]
  • SYE-sah: Sæsa (Icelandic)
  • SEH-sah: Sessa (Scandinavian)
  • SAY-sah: Zeiza (Spanish)
  • SEE-sah: Sisa* (Fijian, Slovak, Quechua, Southern African [not sure which language]) / Sissa (Swedish) / Ziza (Spanish) 
    [masculine in Fijian and in Southern Africa; feminine elsewhere]
  • SOH-sah: Sossa (Swedish)
  • SOO-sah: Susa (Finnish, Swedish, Spanish) / Sussa (Swedish) / Sússa (Icelandic)

  • SHAH-shah: Shasha (Mandarin, Indian [not sure which language], Russian) / Xiaxia (Mandarin) [unisex in Russian and in India; feminine in Mandarin]
  • SHEH-shah: Shesha* (Indian) [a Hindu god, and mostly masculine in real-life usage, as far as I can tell] / Xiexia (Mandarin)  
  • SHEE-sha: Shisha* (Biblical Hebrew)
  • SHOH-shah: Shosha (modern Hebrew)
  • SHOW-shah: Xiaoxia (Mandarin)
  • SHOO-shah: Xuxa (Portuguese) / Xiuxia (Mandarin)

  • TAH-tah: Tata* (Georgian, Russian, Portuguese) [unisex in Portuguese; feminine elsewhere. Also means "Daddy" in many languages]
  • TEH-tah: Teta (Italian, Greek, Spanish, Slavic mythology) / Tetta (Finnish) [also means "aunt" in several languages, and "breast" in others]
  • TEE-tah: Tita (pretty much all over the Western world) / Titta (Finnish)
  • TOH-tah: Tota* (Indian [not sure which language(s)], Japanese, Spanish, Basque) / Tóta (Icelandic) / Touta* (Japanese) / Totta* (Swedish)
    [masculine in Japanese and Spanish, and in India; unisex in Swedish; feminine in Basque and Icelandic]
  • TOO-tah: Tuta* (Georgian, Portuguese) / Tutta (Scandinavian) / Tuuta (Greenlandic) [masculine in Portuguese; feminine elsewhere]

  • TSAH-tsah: Tsatsa (Georgian)
  • TSEH-tsah: Ceca (Serbian)

  • VAH-vah: Vavá* (Portuguese)
  • VYE-vah: Vaiva (Lithuanian)
  • VEH-vah: Veva (Italian, Spanish)
  • VEE-vah: Veva (English) / Viva (Scandinavian, English) / Viiva (Finnish)
  • VOH-vah: Vova* (Russian)

  • WAH-wah: Wawa* (Mandarin, Papuan [not sure which language]) [masculine in Papua New Guinea, feminine in Mandarin]

  • YAH-yah: Yahya* (Arabic, Turkish, Persian) / Jaaja* (Greenlandic) / Yaya* (Central & Western African [not sure which language(s)])
  • YEH-yah: Yeya (Spanish)
  • YEE-yah: Yiya (Spanish, Mandarin)
  • YOH-yah: Yoya (Spanish) / Youya (Mandarin)
  • YOO-yah: Jujja (Swedish) / Yuuya* (Japanese) / Yuya* (Japanese)

  • ZAH-zah: Zaza* (Georgian, Biblical Hebrew)
  • ZAY-zah: Zeiza (Arabic)
  • ZEE-zah: Ziza* (Biblical Hebrew, Arabic) [masculine in Hebrew; feminine in Arabic]
  • ZOO-zah: Zuza (Polish, Slovak) / Zůza (Czech)

  • ZHAH-zhah: Zsazsa / Zsa Zsa (extremely rare nickname--I found usage in a few languages, but each case was literally the only one I found in each language [for Zsa Zsa Gabor, it was a nickname for Sári/Sarah]) / Jajá* (Portuguese)
  • ZHEE-zhah: Žiža (Serbian)
  • ZHOO-zhah: Zsuzsa (Hungarian)

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Reduplication Avocation (Part 1)

My seven-year-old is in quite a fun phase where she names and renames her toys constantly, usually in (to me) incredibly "matchy" ways. Favorites of her lately are Layla and Lola, and today she needed another--Lila? That's a name, right, Mom? What about Lillah? And Leela and Lula, too!!! Oh, man. Heaven. 
Anyway, I had the realization that there are many established L names that fit the pattern  'L-[vowel sound]-la' (in linguistic terms, this is called reduplication).  Nearly every vowel/diphthong makes a name, in fact!

So, naturally, I set out to see if any other consonants can do this fun little pattern as well. ;)
[all feminine, unless marked with an *.  Also, many are diminutives rather than full names, especially in European languages]

  • BAH-bah: Baba* (Indian [not sure which language]) / Babba (Swedish) / Bobba (Icelandic)
  • BYE-bah: Baiba (Latvian)
  • BEH-bah: Beba (Serbian, Bosnian, Spanish)
  • BIB-ah: Bibba (Icelandic)
  • BEE-bah: Biba (Croatian, Serbian, Indian [Punjabi?], Japanese)
  • BOH-bah: Boba* (Serbian, Croatian) [unisex in both]
  • BOO-bah: Buba* (Western African [Fula?]) / Bubba (Icelandic)
  • BUB-bah: Bubba* (English)

  • KAH-kah: Caca (Roman mythology) / Cacá* (Portuguese) / Kaká* (Portuguese) / Kaka* (Indian [not sure which language], Greenlandic) / Kaaka* (Greenlandic) 
    [unisex in Portuguese and Greenlandic; masculine in India]
  • KYE-kah: Kaika* (Finnish, Japanese) [unisex in Japanese; feminine in Finnish]
  • KEH-kah: Keka (Bengali)
  • KAY-kah: Keika (Japanese)
  • KEE-kah: Kikka* (Finnish, Norwegian) [unisex in both]
  • KOH-kah: Coca (Romanian) / Koka* (Indian [Telugu?], Russian, Georgian)
    [masculine in Georgian and in India]
  • KOO-kah: Cuca (Spanish) / Kuka* (Greenlandic) / Kukka (Finnish) [unisex in Greenlandic]

  • CHAH-chah: Chacha (Japanese [seems mostly historical])
  • CHEH-chah: Checha* (Spanish) [unisex]
  • CHOO-chah: Chucha (Spanish) [also an unrelated curse word in some Spanish dialects]

  • DAD-dah: Dadda (Icelandic)
  • DAH-dah: Dada* (Yoruba) / Dadá* (Portuguese) / Dodda (Icelandic)
    [unisex in Yoruba and Portuguese]
  • DYE-dah: Daida (Spanish)
  • DID-ah: Didda (Icelandic)
  • DEE-dah: Dida* (Romanian, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish) [unisex in Portuguese; feminine elsewhere]
  • DOH-dah: Doda (Polish)
  • DOW-dah: Dauda* (Western African [Hausa?])
  • DOO-dah: Duda* (Portugese, Croatian, Serbian, Georgian) [masculine in Georgian, unisex elsewhere]

  • FAH-fah: Fafa (Western African [Ewe?]), Fafà* (Portuguese) [unisex in Portuguese]
  • FEH-fah: Fefa* (Spanish, Portuguese) [unisex in Portuguese; feminine in Spanish]
  • FEE-fah: Fífa (Icelandic)

  • GAH-gah: Gaga* (Georgian)
  • GEH-gah: Gega* (Georgian)
  • GEE-gah: Giga* (Georgian)
  • GOH-gah: Goga* (Georgian, Serbian, Croatian) [masculine in Georgian; feminine elsewhere]
  • GOO-gah: Guga* (Georgian, Portuguese)
    [in case you're wondering, every single Georgian G_ga name seems to be a nickname for Giorgi/George]

  • JEE-jah: Gigia (Italian) / Jija (Indian [not sure which language])

  • LAL-lah: Lalla (English)
  • LAH-lah: Lala* (Scandinavian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Indian [not sure which language], Ancient Greek) / Lalla (Scandinavian, Italian, Ancient Greek)
    [masculine in India; feminine elsewhere]
  • LYE-lah: Laila (Scandinavian) / Lilah (English) / Lila (English) / Lyla (English) / Læla (Icelandic) / Lajla (Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian, Scandinavian)
  • LEH-lah: Lela (Georgian) / Lella (Italian, Swedish, Icelandic)
  • LAY-lah: Layla (Arabic, English) / Laila (Arabic, English) / Leila (Arabic, English, Scandinavian), Leyla (Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kurdish) / Lejla (Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian)
  • LIL-ah: Lilla (English, Icelandic) / Lillah (English)
  • LEE-lah: Lila (Scandinavian, Indian [many languages]) / Leela (Indian) / Lela (English) / Lilla (Hungarian, Scandinavian) / Liila (Finnish)
  • LOH-lah: Lola (Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Scandinavian)
  • LOY-lah: Loila (English, Spanish) [more common as a surname in Spanish]
  • LOO-lah: Lula* (English, Scandinavian, Portuguese) [unisex in Portuguese; feminine elsewhere]

  • MYE-mah: Maima (Western African [Gola?], Tahitian)
  • MEE-mah: Mima* (Swedish, Japanese, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene) / Mimma (Swedish, Finnish, Italian)
    [unisex in Serbian, Croatian, & Slovene; feminine elsewhere]
  • MOH-mah: Moma* (Serbian) / Mouma (Indian [not sure which language])
  • MOO-mah: Mouma* (Arabic) [unisex, I think?]

  • NAH-nah: Nana* (Japanese, Georgian, Greek, Scandinavian, Portuguese, Western African [not sure of the language(s)], Indian [again, not sure of the language]) / Nanna (Scandinavian) / Naana (Finnish) 
    [unisex in Portuguese and in Western Africa; masculine in India; feminine elsewhere]
  • NYE-nah: Naina (Indian [Hindi]) / Nina (archaic English)
  • NEH-nah: Nena (Serbian, Croatian, Scandinavian, German) / Neena (Finnish) / Nenna (Scandinavian) / Nnenna (Igbo)
  • NEE-nah: Nina (pretty much every European language, Japanese, Quechua, Persian, Indian [Hindi, Telugu, possibly others]) / Niina (Finnish, Japanese) / Neena (Indian) / Nína (Icelandic) / Ninna (Scandinavian)
  • NOH-nah: Nona (English, Georgian, Japanese, Roman mythology) / Nonna (Russian, Romanian, Armenian, Scandinavian) / Noona (Finnish)
  • NOY-nah: Noina (Thai)
  • NOO-nah: Nuuna (Greenlandic)


Yeah, this turned out to be a lot longer and more involved than I originally imagined. Part 2 coming soon!
As an aside: since I am doing this from an English-speaking perspective, these lists are necessarily limited to what I can easily distinguish. The sounds I will be working with are as follows:
consonants: b, c/k, ch, d, f, g, h, j, l, m, n, p, r, s, sh, t, th, ts, v, w, x/ks, y, z, zh
vowels & diphthongs: a, ah, ai("eye"), e, ei("ay"), i, ee, o, ao("ow"), oy, uh, oo