What is Reduplication?

Reduplication (Rd), also called Doubling, is a phonological process present in typical development, up to the age of 2-3 years. This is one of the earliest phonological processes in normal development and is frequently seen within the child’s first 50 learned words. Rd occurs when one or more syllable within one word is repeated to form a different version of that word.

Examples:

• banana = nana

• daddy = dada

• mommy = mama

• water = wawa

• grandpa = papa

A subset of Rd, called Diminutive forms, occurs when the child adds a syllable to the end of a word.

Examples:

• dog = doggie

• horse = horsie

• frog = froggie

This process may reoccur at the age of 3 years, when the child begins using multisyllabic words.