4 ms·
-ette is still productive but collides with the female sense -kins (I've only heard it with an s) is arguably still productive, but in very limited contexts -
by o11c 2y ago
-ette is still productive but collides with the female sense
-kins (I've only heard it with an s) is arguably still productive, but in very limited contexts - unlike other diminutives, it seems to only be used when an actual small baby is involved, not for mere endearment, though in this context it can be used either for the baby or for the people around the baby.
-let is still productive (applet = small app; even Aplet = candied apple is only documented a century back); only takes ordinary nouns.
-ling feels still productive, but new archetypes are rare so it's mostly used with preexisting words.
-ole and variants might be productive in science but are otherwise not even recognized.
-poo is apparently productive but not something I ever reach for
-ses I'm not convinced is actually correctly analyzed; it appears to just be a redundant plural, similar to how "bestest" is a redundant superlative
-sies is actually just -s (diminutive/filler) + -ie/-y (diminutive) + -s (plural). Usually the first -s is required for a word that ends with a vowel (but also after n (including nd/nt with the d/t weakened), m, ng, r, l, p, or b; the need for disambiguation is also relevant)
But -y/-ie remains by far the dominant diminutive. It shouldn't be confused with several other uses of the suffix though (such as with the meaning of -ish).
Influence from Romance languages is strong enough that foreign diminutives are now more common than some of the traditional English diminutives.
- t-3 2y ago> But -y/-ie remains by far the dominant diminutive. It shouldn't be confused with several other uses of the suffix though (such as with the meaning of -ish). I think the -y meaning of ish is very closely related to if not identical to the diminutive use.
- ouchjars 2y ago-o is most characteristic of Australian English but English speakers over the world are familiar with "kiddo", "psycho", and now "doggo".
- mjd 2y agoMy own kiddo, at the age of two or three, decided that -o was a productive suffix and started calling me and her mother "Daddo" and "Mommo".
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- o11c 2y agoI don't think that's actually a diminutive (meaning shifts to add smallness or endearment), just a colloquializer (meaning doesn't change, just becomes less formal; dialects may adopt a particular informal word as standard).
- wink 2y agonot sure psycho counts, as it works in every language that uses the greek? latin? base. Also I kinda liked learning about smoko, even as a non-smoker.
- secondcoming 2y ago-een is there but probably more common in Ireland/Scotland than in other places.