Tautology (language)

In literary criticism and rhetoric, a tautology is a statement that repeats an idea, using near-synonymous morphemes, words or phrases, effectively "saying the same thing twice".^[1]^[2] Tautology and pleonasm are not consistently differentiated in literature.^[3] Like pleonasm, tautology is often considered a fault of style when unintentional. Intentional repetition may emphasize a thought or help the listener or reader understand a point.^[4] Sometimes logical tautologies like "Boys will be boys" are conflated with language tautologies, but a language tautology is not inherently true, while a logical tautology always is.^[4]

^ Fowler, Henry Watson (1 April 1983). Gowers, Sir Ernest (ed.). Modern English Usage (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-281389-3.
^ Bryson, Bill (29 July 1999). The Mother Tongue: The English Language. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-014305-8.
^ Szymanek, Bogdan (2015). "Remarks on Tautology in Word-Formation". In Bauer, Laurie; Körtvélyessy, Lívia; Štekauer, Pavol (eds.). Semantics of Complex Words. Studies in Morphology. Vol. 3. pp. 143–161. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-14102-2_8. ISBN 978-3319141022.
^ ^a ^b Bascom, John (1866). Philosophy of Rhetoric. Boston, Crosby and Ainsworth. p. 241. OL 1853537W – via Internet Archive.

[Fowler-1] Fowler, Henry Watson (1 April 1983). Gowers, Sir Ernest (ed.). Modern English Usage (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-281389-3.

[2] Bryson, Bill (29 July 1999). The Mother Tongue: The English Language. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-014305-8.

[3] Szymanek, Bogdan (2015). "Remarks on Tautology in Word-Formation". In Bauer, Laurie; Körtvélyessy, Lívia; Štekauer, Pavol (eds.). Semantics of Complex Words. Studies in Morphology. Vol. 3. pp. 143–161. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-14102-2_8. ISBN 978-3319141022.

[bascom-4] Bascom, John (1866). Philosophy of Rhetoric. Boston, Crosby and Ainsworth. p. 241. OL 1853537W – via Internet Archive.

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