In exclusively prefixing languages, if symmetrical reduplicative compounds exist, they will be overwhelmingly of the alliterative type.
Standardized
IF bound morphology is exclusively or predominantly prefixing, THEN symmetrical reduplicative compounds (provided such complex forms exist) will be overwhelmingly alliterative rather than rhyming or ablauting.
1. symmetrical reduplicative compounds, aka binomial coordinate compounds, akairreversible binomials, aka natural coordinations.Formal marking:(a) rhyme: identity at right margin (e.g. English ‘hum drum’);(b) vocalic ablaut: identity at right and left margins (e.g. English ‘sing song’);(c) alliteration: identity at left margin (e.g. English ‘spic and span’, also German: ‘Kind und Kegel’, ‘Haus und Hof’, ‘Mann und Maus’).2. Explanation, or rather generalization:prefixing languages are iambic, i.e. WEAK (backgrounded, low information content before STRONG (salient, highlighted, focused, high information content):weak (prefix) + strong (root),strong (root) + weak (suffix);in parallel structures, identical material is weak and non-identical material strong;hence: Identical + DIFFERENT, i.e. alliterative structures.
1. symmetrical reduplicative compounds, aka binomial coordinate compounds, akairreversible binomials, aka natural coordinations.Formal marking:(a) rhyme: identity at right margin (e.g. English ‘hum drum’);(b) vocalic ablaut: identity at right and left margins (e.g. English ‘sing song’);(c) alliteration: identity at left margin (e.g. English ‘spic and span’, also German: ‘Kind und Kegel’, ‘Haus und Hof’, ‘Mann und Maus’).2. Explanation, or rather generalization:prefixing languages are iambic, i.e. WEAK (backgrounded, low information content before STRONG (salient, highlighted, focused, high information content):weak (prefix) + strong (root),strong (root) + weak (suffix);in parallel structures, identical material is weak and non-identical material strong;hence: Identical + DIFFERENT, i.e. alliterative structures.