Reduplicative identity driven by surface correspondence

Abstract

This article focusses on the identity effect found in reduplication and how it can be accounted for in a formal theory. Specifically, this article demonstrates that the diminutive reduplication in Huozhou Chinese offers new empirical evidence supporting a correspondence-based analysis of reduplication. The reduplicative patterns can be understood as an effect of Agreement by Correspondence (ABC), thereby confirming a previously overlooked prediction of ABC. The case study demonstrates that ABC offers a more straightforward and reasonable analysis of Huozhou reduplication than Base–Reduplicant Correspondence Theory. Given the utility of ABC demonstrated in various other phenomena, including assimilation and dissimilation, the additional utility in reduplication establishes ABC as a more general and adaptable theory.