<p>In article, "上世紀五六十年代年代" is a word processing mistake.</p>

<p>It is either "上世紀五十年代六十年代" or "上世紀五六十年代". The author might be try to shorten the sentence but forget to remove the redundant "年代".</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-21T23:43:09.220Z
2019-10-21T23:43:09.220Z
OmniBus
<p>It’s just a typo.</p>

<p>We have the, original, <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-demonstrating-climate-leadership-by-stephen-s-roach-2019-09" rel="nofollow noreferrer">English</a> for comparison:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>This energy-efficient mode of long-distance rail connectivity stands in sharp contrast to the carbon-intensive US interstate highway system created for motor vehicles in the 1950s and 1960s.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Along with the <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-demonstrating-climate-leadership-by-stephen-s-roach-2019-09/chinese" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chinese translation</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>这种节能高效的长距离连通模式，同上世纪五六十年代年代美国州际公路系统，形成了鲜明的对比。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The original text contains zero hints of duplication for 年代. It seems to just be a straight up mistake.</p>

<p>It is also clearly marked as a translation on the <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-demonstrating-climate-leadership-by-stephen-s-roach-2019-09/chinese" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chinese page</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Translated by Congyi Shi</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So we know it's not original text from the writer themselves.</p>

<hr>

<p>The only real time you’d see double nouns is when talking to a baby or an infant:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>(吃)饭饭 </p></li>
<li><p>(喝)水水 </p></li>
</ul>

<p>I doubt the translators intent was to patronize a young one.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-20T00:02:01.417Z
2019-10-20T01:55:15.247Z
2019-10-20T01:55:15.247Z
Mou某
<p>I know that classifiers, verbs, and adjectives can be duplicated. However, the expression <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-demonstrating-climate-leadership-by-stephen-s-roach-2019-09/chinese" rel="nofollow noreferrer">五六十年代年代</a> seems to contain a duplicated noun instead. The meaning is clearly "the decades of the 50s and the 60s", but what's the grammar behind this construction? Google does not seem to find any further instance of 年代年代.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-22T06:26:19.347Z
五十年代**到**六十年代 or 五六十年代 are right.
xenophōn
<grammar>
Reduplication in 五六十年代年代
# Reduplication in 五六十年代年代

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-10-19)

I know that classifiers, verbs, and adjectives can be duplicated. However, the expression [五六十年代年代](https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-demonstrating-climate-leadership-by-stephen-s-roach-2019-09/chinese) seems to contain a duplicated noun instead. The meaning is clearly "the decades of the 50s and the 60s", but what's the grammar behind this construction? Google does not seem to find any further instance of 年代年代.

**Tags:** grammar

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 五十年代**到**六十年代 or 五六十年代 are right.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-10-21. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

In article, "上世紀五六十年代年代" is a word processing mistake.

It is either "上世紀五十年代六十年代" or "上世紀五六十年代". The author might be try to shorten the sentence but forget to remove the redundant "年代".


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### Answer by username_3 on 2019-10-20. Score: 4

It’s just a typo.

We have the, original, [English](https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-demonstrating-climate-leadership-by-stephen-s-roach-2019-09) for comparison:

> This energy-efficient mode of long-distance rail connectivity stands in sharp contrast to the carbon-intensive US interstate highway system created for motor vehicles in the 1950s and 1960s.

Along with the [Chinese translation](https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-demonstrating-climate-leadership-by-stephen-s-roach-2019-09/chinese):

> 这种节能高效的长距离连通模式，同上世纪五六十年代年代美国州际公路系统，形成了鲜明的对比。

The original text contains zero hints of duplication for 年代. It seems to just be a straight up mistake.

It is also clearly marked as a translation on the [Chinese page](https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-demonstrating-climate-leadership-by-stephen-s-roach-2019-09/chinese):

> Translated by Congyi Shi

So we know it's not original text from the writer themselves.

---

The only real time you’d see double nouns is when talking to a baby or an infant:

* (吃)饭饭
* (喝)水水

I doubt the translators intent was to patronize a young one.


---

