Changes in Malay reduplicated words
This short note by R. O. Winstedt, published in the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (Vol. 77, 1917), catalogues the systematic phonological changes that occur in the second element of Malay reduplicated words, each class retaining the usual semantic function of reduplication (p. 259).
Summary
Winstedt identifies eleven classes of change, each illustrated with examples and glosses. The most productive patterns involve: (I) initial consonant mutation to b (e.g., halai-balai); (II) initial mutation to m (e.g., sayur-mayur); (III) vowel alternation in which u/o of the first syllable becomes a and a of the second becomes e/i (e.g., bolak-balek, porak-parek); and (IV) a rarer o/u → a shift (e.g., huru-hara, gopoh-gapah). The remaining classes (V–X) concern final-syllable vowel changes, including a → i, -ang → -ok, -ang → -ek, -ang → -ut/-it, -ok → -al, and a → u (p. 259–260). Class XI collects isolated or irregular usages that do not fit the preceding patterns (e.g., lauk-pauk, selang-seli). The note is purely descriptive, offering no etymological or historical explanation for the changes.