Tautology

Tautology is the repetition of the same or a cognate word within an utterance. As a linguistic error, tautology testifies to carelessness of style ("butter-buttery"); yet as a deliberate artistic device it becomes a means of reinforcement, intensification or rhythmic organisation of speech. In folklore tautological phrases ("to think a thought," "to shout a shout," "early-early in the morning" — literal translations of the Ukrainian «думу думати», «криком кричати», «рано-вранці») lend a folk-poetic colouring, melodiousness and intonational fullness. Artistic tautology emphasises a key concept, slows the tempo, creates an impression of thoroughness or emotional insistence. It is often distinguished from pleonasm, where redundancy arises through words close in meaning but of different roots, though the boundary between these concepts is drawn inconsistently in linguistics. Tautology is a subtle stylistic device whose effectiveness depends on artistic motivation.