THE ROLE OF REDUPLICATION IN PUNJABI: ECHO COMPOUNDS, AFFIXATION AND EMPHASIS

This study critically examines the role of reduplication in the Punjabi language, investigating both its morphological and semantic properties. By focusing on the processes of full and partial reduplication, the research highlights the diverse forms in which this phenomenon operates across various parts of speech, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. The study reveals how reduplication in Punjabi functions not only as a grammatical tool for word formation but also as a semantically rich process that introduces emphasis, intensity, continuity, and distribution. Special attention is given to echo compounds and affixation processes, demonstrating how they contribute to the expansion of meaning within the language. The findings suggest that reduplication is a versatile linguistic strategy that plays a crucial role in shaping the expressiveness and structure of Punjabi, offering insights into both its morpho-semantic functions and its capacity for generating new meanings through repetition. This paper also offers a comprehensive exploration of reduplication's contribution to the broader linguistic landscape, engaging with theories of word formation and emphasizing the significance of this phenomenon in both everyday usage and literary contexts. The research contributes to the under-explored area of Punjabi linguistics, providing new perspectives on its structural and functional dynamics.