BILLY COLLINS AND LANGUAGE TICS

 

You may have noticed that I am fond of the poetry of Billy Collins, Poet Laureate from 2001-2003 (he loves saying that!), and last night I was once again on YouTube listening to one of his readings. In "After the funeral" he mocks, in his very kind way, a language tic or crutch that is used often to emphasize something. After the funeral, Billy goes with a friend, a friend friend, not just an acquaintance, to a bar, a bar bar, a real bar, to have a cocktail cocktail, a proper one. And he goes on doubling the word. Spanish uses this also, "un amigo amigo", "María es una mujer mujer", and John lives in a "casa casa", a real home. This reinforces my conceit that both languages have more in common than meets the eye.