Concept in Definition ABC

At the behest of theGrammara diminutive it's a derivative affix that modifies the meaning of a term, usually from a noun, with the mission of attributing to the expression in question a hue that refers, either: small in size, a loving and affectionate expression or of little importance, as appropriate.

It should be noted that depending on the context in which it is used and the orientation that is being given to it, the diminutive is often used with a derogatory aim, from discrimination, for something or someone.

Although diminutives appear in many linguistic families, they are more common and typical of the Romance languages, as Romance or Neo-Latin languages ​​are known, which appeared as a form from evolution from vulgar Latin.

In our language, Spanish, there are countless diminutives and they are made up of the addition of a suffix (morpheme or affix that is added after the lexeme, root or subject of the word) at the end of the word. Of course, the use of suffixes will vary by word, country, and region. Although as we pointed out lines above, they are mostly added to nouns, they can also be added to adverbs (

we'll see each other tomorrow) and adjectives (you are a genie).

Common types of diminutives include: -ito / -ita (the most common and used by Spanish speakers: pig - little pig, nice-sympathetic), the –Ico / -ica (it is the most common in the eastern part of Spain: cat - kitten), -illo / -illa (it is widely used in Andalusia, Spain and less frequent in America: fish - minnow), -ete / -eta (used at the request of Catalan and Valencian: friend - buddy), -in / -ina (mostly used in Asturias, Extremadura, Western Andalusia and in Castilla y León: hair - tad).

And some other less common and localized are: -uco / -uca, -uelo / -uela, -ino / -ina, -ino / -iña, -ucho / -ucha, -ujo / -uja, -ejo / -eja, -ajo / -aja, among others.

Likewise, it is often said that the diminutive is a type of appreciative derivation, that is, a type of derivation that will semantically alter a base in a subjective emotional way, although without modifying its category, for example: dog - puppy.

On the contrary, augmentatives, are those affixes that are also used to qualify the meaning of a term, although, in cases in which you want to account for a larger size, something large or of great importance.

Themes in Diminutive