How does Ablaut reduplication work? So, to explain the rule: if you have three words, then the vowel order has to be I, A, O. In the case of two words, the first is almost always an I and the second is either an A or O.

What is the rule of ablaut reduplication?

Ablaut reduplication is the pattern by which vowels change in a repeated word to form a new word or phrase with a specific meaning, like wishy-washy or crisscross.

What is ablaut in German?

The term ablaut (from German ab- in the sense "down, reducing, gradated" + Laut "sound", thus literally meaning "sound gradation") was coined in the early nineteenth century by linguist Jacob Grimm.