Emphatic Repetition in Spoken Arabic

Abstract

This paper identifies and explains Arabic emphatic repetition in ethnographic interviews against the general backdrop of an understanding of non-pragmatically motivated repetition in Spoken Arabic. It also considers the basic linguistic resources for expressing intensity in the lexicon and syntax and the significance of repetition as one of these resources. The latter part of the paper explains how these resources are drawn on in interaction and what other types of spontaneous immediate emphatic repetition occur. This approach allows for a nuanced interpretation of the salience of emphatic repetition in this spoken Arabic genre. The discussion contributes to our general understanding of the essence of repetition that allows it to be used as a productive interactive resource.