Reduplication

Stative Verbs

One common reduplication pattern in Sereer (to be fitted in wherever the writer would like) is the reduplication of an inflected stative verb stripped of its affixal inflectional morphology (and often exhibiting different allomorphs of its derivational morphology due to the different segmental context). Semantic distinctions between this and the use of an unreduplicated stative verb are not clear.

nqoox ne a ɓalga ɓalig. 'The bull is black.' (Note: ɓal-g-a ɓal-ig, *ɓal-ig-a ɓal-ig) (115)

qaarit ke a laaɓiira laaɓiir. 'The friends are generous.' (115)

Note that although the reduplicated verb has no inflectional morphology in the form of suffixes, it still bears a plural consonant mutation if the first verb has one.

ambeel ale a xooɗa xooɗ. 'The lake is deep.' (115)

peel ke a nqooɗa nqooɗ. 'The lakes are deep.' (Note: *nqooɗa xooɗ) (115)

This reduplication pattern cannot occur when subject extraction is marked on the verb with the suffix -u: qaarit ke a laaɓiira (laaɓiir) 'the friends are generous' but qaarit qum laaɓiiru (*laaɓiir)?, 'which friends are generous?' (115)