Feature GB187: Is there any productive diminutive marking on the noun (exclude marking by system of nominal classification only)?

Patrons: Jeremy Collins and Jay Latarche

Description ⇫

Summary

Diminutive marking encodes smaller size. This marker must be phonologically bound to the noun. The marker may also encode other meanings but needs to minimally encode smaller size. Reduplication and stem changes count. This needs to be a productive pattern.

Procedure

  1. Code 1 if there is a phonologically bound morpheme on nouns that denotes small size that is not also a noun class marker.
  2. Code 0 if the only diminutive marker(s) is/are phonologically free.
  3. Code ? if the source is not comprehensive and may have missed a bound diminutive marker.

Examples

Nend (ISO 639-3: anh, Glottolog: nend1239)

Nend is coded 1. Diminutives are marked by reduplication (Harris 1990:135).

a. iliv ‘bow’           iliv iliv ‘toy bow’
b. olam ‘house’         olam olam ‘shelter/blind’
c. alaz ‘flying fox’    alaz alaz ‘small bat’
(Harris 1990: 135)

Ainu (ISO 639-3: ain, Glottolog: ainu1240)

Ainu is coded 1. The diminutive marker -po attaches to words referring to small or trifling things. It may also express a nuance of affection or familiarity (Tamura 2000: 221).

cep-po
fish-DIM
‘small fish’ (Tamura 2000: 221)

Awa-Cuaiquer (ISO 639-3: kwi, Glottolog: awac1239)

Coded 0. Diminutive meaning in Awa-Cuaiquer is expressed by means of the word for ‘child’ (Curnow 1997: 89).

Further reading

Nieuwenhuis, Paul. 1985. Diminutives. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh. (Doctoral Dissertation.)

References

Curnow, Timothy. 1997. A grammar of Awa Pit (Cuaiquier): An indigenous language of south-western Colombia. Canberra: Australian National University. (Doctoral dissertation.)

Harris, Kyle. 1990. Nend grammar essentials. In John R. Roberts (ed.), Two grammatical studies, 73–156. Ukarumpa: Ukarumpa: Summer Institute of Linguistics.

Tamura, Suzuko. 2000. The Ainu language. (ICHEL Linguistic Studies, 2.) Tokyo: Sanseido.


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0 absent 813
1 present 661
? Not known 720
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Values ⇫

Name Glottocode Family Macroarea Contributor Value Source Comment