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-DIM (diminutive)

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The main function of attaching the diminutive suffix -DIM is to indicate something small. It is very productively attached to count nouns. There are three allomorphs: -tsje, -ke and -je, with is a complementary distribution between them, dependent on the final segment of the base. Certain phonological adjustments may be needed in order to obtain a correct output form. A final schwa, for example, is deleted before the correct allomorph is selected. Hence, we have skoaltsje small school, from the noun skoalle school. In addition to denoting something small, many derivations may have an affective (pejorative or meliorative) connotation. Moreover, in a small group of bird names the diminutive has the function of indicating the female bird. The diminutive suffix spread to other lexical categories as well, although not productively. The most important ones are mass nouns, verbs and adjectives. In these categories, diminuation primarily functions as a means to transpose the base to a count noun. Personal names may also have a diminutive form. The overall pattern applies to this category, too, but on the other hand it has its own characteristics, formally and funcionally.

Overview
Noun as base
Allomorphs
Phonological adjustments
Semantics and use
Lexicalized diminutives
The diminutive in peripheral dialects
Non-nominal bases
Verb as base
Adjective as base
Adverb as base
Numeral as base
Pronoun as base
Personal name as base
Morphological potentials

[+]Overview

The diminutive suffix, abbreviated as -DIM, derives nouns with neuter gender, i.e. they are accompanied by the definite article it. This is also the case if the base noun has common gender. For example, we speak of de beam the.C tree.C the tree, but with the diminutive suffix it turns into it beamke the.N tree-DIM the small tree.

The suffix is attached primarily to nouns. In the treatment below, an overview of derivations with a noun as base will be given first. Separate sections are devoted to the three allomorphs and their distribution, and to various phonological adjustments needed in order to create a correct output. The semantic and pragmatic aspects of the formations call for separate attention, as do formations that have become lexicalized. Moreover, we will dwell briefly on the peripheral dialects of Hindeloopen and the islands of Terschelling and Schiermonnikoog, which developed their own diminutive systems.

Like more very productive suffixes, -DIM can be attached to other base categories as well. Separate sections are devoted to verbs, adjectives, adverbs, numerals, pronouns and personal names. This topic on the diminutive closes with a short discussion of the morphological potentials of -DIM, and a characterization of the most important literature.

[+]Noun as base

The natural habitat of the diminutive is in the context of nouns, where it is very productive, indeed. In principle, it then denotes a small variant of the base noun. Thus a noaske is a small noas nose. The suffix is primarily attached to count nouns, and the result is also a count noun. As a consequence of this restriction, a noun like for example Kristendom Christianity cannot be followed by a diminutive suffix: *Kristendomke small Christianity.

There are, however, a few exceptions. Inherently countable measure nouns,, often resist diminuation. Examples like *wykje (from wike week), *kearke (from kear time, turn), or *mingeltsje (from mingel litre) are notably bad. Only measure nouns that invoke an affective connotation can be diminuated, like ûnske (from ûns ounce) or kertierke (from kertier quarter of an hour).

On the other hand, diminuation in the realm of mass nouns is not fully excluded, although the process is not productive. The semantic function is individuation; the diminutive form creates a unit of the material denoted by the base word, in other words, it forces the mass noun to transpose to a count noun. Examples are gerske grass-stalk (from gers grass), sûkelaatsje piece of chocolate (from sûkelade chocolate) and arkje tool (from ark equipment). On could argue that such formations are parasitic on standard diminutive formation, which operates on count nouns as a base. As will be shown in the section on non-nominal bases, diminutives with non-nominal bases show a similar behaviour. In all of such cases, diminutive formation is not productive. For example, from molke milk one cannot form *molkje. (Another means of creating of count nouns from mass nouns is to change gender; more information can be found in this table in the topic on Gender).

[+]Allomorphs

The diminutive suffix manifests itself in three different shapes: as -tsje, -ke or -je, depending on the final segment of the base form to which suffix is attached. Synchronically these variants are not phonologically derivable from each other. To refer to the diminutive in general, the shorthand -DIM is used.

The suffix -tsje, pronounced as [tsjə], follows the dentals /d/, /l/, /n/ and /t/. Examples are:

Table 1

Base	Derivation
hoed hat	huodsje small hat
bal ball	baltsje small ball
hân hand	hantsje small hand
rôt rat	rotsje small rat

Note that in the orthography one sees <sje> after stems ending in d or t. Superficially, this might lead to an option for a further variant -sje. However, this is not desirable in the light of a description that is as general as possible. It can be argued on phonological grounds that the initial [t] of the suffix -tsje merged with the final phonetic [t] of stems ending in /t/ or /d/ (the latter becoming [t] by final devoicing). Hence, this could be a case of degemination).

The suffix -je [jə] follows base forms ending in the velar segments /x/, /ɣ/, /k/ and /ŋ/. Examples are:

Table 2

Base	Derivation
eunuch eunuch	eunuchje small eunuch
laach /la:ɣ/ layer	laachje thin layer
dak roof	dakje small roof
ring /rIŋ/ ring	rinkje small ring

After /ŋ/ we see insertion of /k/ (see also diminutive formation in Frisian Phonology). Examples are wang [vaŋ] cheek > wankje [vaŋkjə] small cheek and ding [dɪŋ] thing > dinkje [dɪŋkjə] small thing. This k-insertion can also be noticed with the suffix -lik.

The suffix -ke [kə] is to be found in the rest of the cases, i.e. after (semi-)vowels, labials or labiodentals, and after the dentals /s/, /z/ and /r/. Here are some examples:

Table 3

Base	Derivation
kafee /kafe:/ café	kafeeke small café
triuw /trjo:w/ push	triuwke subtle push
aai /a:j/ egg	aike small egg
kraab [kra:b] crab	krabke small crab
aap monkey	aapke small monkey
beam tree	beamke small tree
siraf /siraf/ giraffe	sirafke small giraffe
skúf /sky:v/ bolt	skúfke small bolt
jas /jɔs/ coat	jaske jacket
faas /fa:z/ vase	faaske small vase
toer tower	tuorke small tower

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Dutch influence

The suffixes -je and -tsje can also be found in Dutch, although the latter without the sibilant, hence as -tje. However, -ke is exclusively Frisian. Now, apparently under the influence of Dutch, quite a number of Frisian speakers start to replace -ke by the suffix -tsje in those cases where the Dutch cognate word has -tje. Hence, we see this replacement especially after vocalic stems and after /r/. Examples are bijtsje instead of bijke (from bij bee) and fingertsje instead of fingerke (from finger finger). After the other stems, Dutch does not have -tje, and here Frisian original -ke stands its ground better, although formations like bedriuwtsje small company (from bedriuw company), with a stem ending in a vocalic element, have nevertheless been attested. All in all, the process can probably best be interpreted as an internal Frisian change, which, however, is supported by Dutch. This is confirmed by a questionnaire (Van der Veen (1984, question 2)), where the nonsense words splaa and splea received almost twice as many responses with -tsje than with -ke.

In a few lexicalized cases, a variant with the "Dutch" suffix -tsje has, so to say, already won the battle. Examples are nijtsje piece of news and sjoutsje temporary job, which seem to be translated directly from Dutch nieuwtje and sjouwtje. It must be noted, however, that these words have partly opaque meanings. Moreover, they are special in as far their bases are not nominal but adjectival (nij new) and verbal (sjouwe to drag), respectively.

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Historical note

The allomorph -ke was more widespread in the past than it is today. In the Middle Frisian period (1550-1800), it could also be found after the dentals /t/, /d/, /n/ and /l/. The suffix sometimes survived in these contexts in poetry, to create an atmosphere of tenderness. According to Versloot (2004), an ending -elke was used after /t/ and /k/, possibly to be analysed as the diminutive allomorph -ke plus a linking element -el-.

The ending -ke occurred in Old Frisian already. Examples are madeke maggot, honeke cock or tjaderke redshank. Apparently, there was no deletion of a final vowel of the stem in those days. A major difference with the current system was its transparency: the gender of the diminutive was the same as the gender of the stem. Several Old Frisian diminutives became fossilized; the ending, sometimes palatalized to -ts, became part of the stem, and the word did not act as a diminutive any longer. In this way, the Old Frisian examples mentioned above have been evolved in present-day language to maits, hoants ruff (Calidrix pugnax) and tjirk, respectively. Note also the semantic specialization in hoants. Another example is modern Frisian pylk arrow, which likewise has common gender (cf. Dutch pijl, German Pfeile). The old diminutive ending being part of the stem, these words can diminuated anew, for example as tjirkje small redshank.

Even more remnants of old diminutives can be found in East and North Frisian dialects (on this subject: Hofmann (1961)). These branches of Frisian did not develop a new productive diminutive system, however.

[+]Phonological adjustments

We saw above that an additional phonological operation may be necessary in diminutive formation in order to obtain the right output, such as degemination after stems ending in [t] and the insertion of /k/ between /ŋ/ and je-. These are, however, not the only adjustments.

First and foremost it appears that the final schwa of many Frisian nouns is deleted. Take the noun panne pan. If the final schwa remained, one would predict a diminutive *panneke. The correct form, however, is pantsje. This is obtained by truncating the schwa (panne > pan), and then, stem-final /n/ selects the diminutive ending -tsje. Other illustrations are seage [sɪ.əɣə] saw > seachje [sɪ.əxjə] small saw and skjirre [skjɪrə] scissors > skjirke [skjɪrkə] small scissors. For a phonological account of this operation, see the topic about schwa-deletion.

Another final segment that may be deleted is /t/, mainly in the west of the language area, and only after obstruents, i.e. after /f/, /s/ , /p/ or /x/. As with final schwa, the selection of the diminutive allomorph is performed after the deletion. For example, from skoft while we then get the diminutive skoftke little while, pronounced as [skofkə], where /f/ selects the ending -ke. Diminutive forms like kistke [kIskə] (from kiste box) and reseptke [rəsɛpkə] (from resept recipe) go a similar way. Stems ending in -cht /-xt/, like ljocht light or nacht night end in pronunciations like [ljɔxjə] small light or [naxjə] short night. After deletion of stem-final /t/, the remaining /x/ regularly selects the allomorph -je. Note that in in the realm of t-deletion the form of the stem remains intact in the orthography.

Diminutive formation after these clusters remains regular in the east. There we have skoft while > skoftsje little while or ljochtsje, as expected. Only after -st, which selects -tsje, a further simplification occurs, with the result that between the vowels of the stem and the diminutive only the consonant cluster [sj] is heard. An example is woarst [(v)ṷast] sausage > woarstje [(v)ṷasjə] small sausage. For a phonological account of these simplifications, see the topic on complex segments as single units.

Voiced obstruents become voiceless before the diminutive suffix. This is most evident with respect to stem-final /ɣ/, as the suffix -je can never cause the putative alternative of regressive assimilation. An example is baarch /ba:rɣ/ pig (cf. bargen [barɣən] pigs) > barchje [barxjə] piglet. Therefore, it must be the diminutive suffix itself that triggers this final devoicing. See for this issue also the phonological domain of Final Devoicing, where the suffixes -lik and -(e)nis are mentioned that bring about devoicing as well.

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Minimal pairs

The infinitive suffix -je does not normally bring about devoicing of the preceding fricative. A consequence is that minimal pairs ending in [-xjə] or [ɣjə] may arise, for example eachje small eye versus eagje to gaze, or barchje piglet versus bargje make a mess. More examples of such minimal pairs can be found in examples of minimal pairs of diminutives and verbs.

Finally, it should be mentioned that after diminuation also the stem vowel can be altered by the well known phenomena of breaking and shortening. In fact, diminutive formation is the most fruitful context for these irregular alternations. Examples of breaking are beam [bɪ.əm] tree > beamke [bjɛmkə] small tree and toer [tu.ər] tower > tuorke [tṷorkə] small tower. Shortening can be exemplified by aai [a:i ̯] egg > aike [ai ̯kə] egg or hân [hɔ:n] hand > hantsje [hɔntsjə] small hand. For a phonological treatment of these irregular alternations, and a wealth of data as well, see breaking and vowel shortening, respectively.

[+]Semantics and use

In the unmarked case, diminutives refer to a small entity. A blomke (from blom flower) is simply a small flower. As stated above, diminutives derive from count nouns. Diminutives themselves are also count nouns.

Something that is small often evokes feelings of endearment, or disdain. In addition, then derivations in -DIM can have an affective connotation, meliorative or pejorative. The example below shows two uses of the diminutive form autoke small car (base: auto car). Sentence (1a) has been said to a child and the derivation autoke small car is just neutral there. In (1b), on the other hand, autoke small car clearly has a pejorative connotation; the car does not necessarily need to be small.

Boartsje mar moai mei dyn autoke, Marijke

play but beautiful with your car.DIM, Marijke

Just play nice with your toy car, Marijke

No, dêr komt Piet wer oan, yn dat stomme autoke fan him

now, there comes Piet again on, in that stupid car.DIM of him

Well, there's Piet again, in that stupid car of his

Derivations in -DIM are relatively frequently used while addressing children. Here are two examples:

Doch dyn kleantsjes mar oan

do your clothes.DIM PTCL on

Just put your clothes on

Do moatst no op bedsje, hear

you must now on bed.DIM, well

Well, you have to go to bed now

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Child language

In the language spoken by and to children, one can observe a few special forms. In finkje (from finger finger) and hynke (from hynder horse) we see truncation of a final unstressed syllable. The same applies to ytsjes (from iten food) and drinkjes (from drinken drink), which moreover are transpositions from mass nouns. The diminutive form kijkes cow.PL-DIM-PL is special since it derived from a plural, although this plural kij cows is irregular in relation to the singular ko cow (as is also noted in the section on irregular plural formation).

In Frisian the affective use of the suffix -DIM is more frequent than in Dutch. Take for instance the noun fyts bicycle. In Dutch the diminutive form fietsje only means small bike, but in Frisian, the diminutive form fytske can have an affective meaning too. The example (a) below shows the ordinary use where the diminutive fytske refers to a small bike. In (b) the speaker does not say that he rides a small cycle. Here, the diminutive has been used merely to underscore that the speaker is content to use the bicycle, more than if he had used the base form op 'e fyts by bike (c).

It lytse famke pakte har fytske en naaide út

the little girl grabbed her bike and sneaked off

The little girl took her bike and sneaked off

Ik gean altyd op it fytske nei it wurk

I go always on the bicycle.DIM to the work

I always go to work by bike

Ik gean altyd op 'e fyts nei it wurk

I go always on the bicycle.DIM to the work

I always go to work by bike

Although it might be true that diminutives with an affective connotation are more frequent in Frisian than in Dutch, this statement does not apply to nouns indicating an amount of time or weight. In Dutch, these units can have diminutives with a special affective connotation. For example dag day can be diminuated in dagje uit a day out. As noted in the section on noun as base above, diminutive formation with such nouns is rare in Frisian; in such cases rather the base form of the noun is used: in dei fuort a day out.

Another minor difference with Dutch is the fact that plural diminutives of family names can only refer to the childeren of a couple. Thus the Hoekstrakes Hoekstra-DIM-PL are the children of Hoekstra and his wife. In Dutch, such a plural diminutive can also refer to the couple itself or the whole family. For this purpose, Frisian only uses the plural, without the diminutive form, hence de Hoekstra's Hoekstra-PL Hoekstra and his wife.

A very special but unproductive function of the suffix is to indicate a female variant of a bird. It occurs, for example, in ljipke female lapwing, the female realization of the ljip lapwing. (For the synonym sijke female lapwing, see the section pronoun as base below). Other female bird names that are formed by adding a diminutive suffix are eintsje female duck, guoske female goose (derived, with breaking, from goes goose) and doke female dove. An example of a female mammal is hûntsje bitch (from hûn dog).

Note that in the world of the homo sapiens other suffixes are used to derive a female variant from a noun. These are -e, -esse, -inne and -ske.

[+]Lexicalized diminutives

Apart from an affective connotation, diminutive formations may sometimes have an extra meaning which is not compositional and therefore must be lexicalized. Here are some examples:

ingeltsje, which can be the small variant of an ingel angel, but also has the specific meaning ladybug;
tomke, which can be the small variant of a tomme thumb, but also has the specific meaning robin;
karke, which can be the small variant of a karre chariot, but also has the specific meaning wheelchair;
húske, which can be the small variant of a hûs house, but also has the specific meaning toilet.

There are even nouns which are diminutives in a formal sense only, i.e. they have the characteristics of a diminutive, but there no longer is a synchronic base word which they can be related to. Examples are:

Table 4

Formal diminutive	Non-existent base
sechje say, tale	*sech
mearke fairytale	*mear
ferlechje excuse	*ferlech
touke one year old sheep	*tou
dúmke kind of biscuit	*dúm
baitsje jacket	*bait
krookje crocus	*krook

Semantically, the words above are monomorphematic, but they are formally complex. Not only do they show an ending that can be identified as a diminutive suffix, but they also have neuter gender and a plural in -s. The latter is telling, since monomorphemic words ending in -ke normally take the plural suffix -en, for example harke rake ~ harken rakes.

The kinship terms pake grandfather, omke uncle and muoike aunt go one step further. For one thing, these words also do not have an existing base (*pa), or the bases are not transparant anymore (omme uncle; muoie woman (mostly perjorative)) and basically have become obsolete. Moreover, these words have common gender: de pake the.C grandfather, etc. The reason for this is the circumstance that they function as personal names; if personal names are pressed to take a definite article, it is always common de. The girl's name Sytske, for example, takes the common article in an expression like de Sytske fan myn dreamen the Sytske of my dreams. An indication that these words are hardly felt to be diminutives any longer is the fact that pake grandfather may take an extra diminutive suffix, particularly in the expression in âld paakje an old man. In a certain sense, we have an instance of stacking here. On the other hand, these three kinship terms select the plural suffix -s, which might be an indication that they can still be considered diminutives to a certain extent, although the word pake grandfather also has the plural variant paken grandfathers, probably under influence of his wife beppe, who has an original plural ending in -en (although the pairing may also work in the other direction, with a duo pakes en beppes grandfathers and grandmothers as a result).

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Faam girl, a noun with two diminutive forms

The noun faam girl is exceptional in that it has two different diminutive forms. The first one is the regular (although with shortening) famke girl. The second diminutive form is fanke girl, which has a pejorative connotation. The following example illustrates the difference:

Dat famke mei graach pianospylje

that girl.DIM may with.pleasure piano-play-INF

That girl likes to play the piano

Dat fanke is altyd oan it krimmenearjen, ik wurd der net goed fan

that girl.DIM is always on the nagging, I become there not good of

That girl is always complaining, it's making me sick

[+]The diminutive in peripheral dialects

Apart from a few minor differences mentioned in the section on phonological adjustments above, Frisian diminutive formation has no further signs of dialectical variation. However, this does not apply to the peripheral dialects of the island of Terschelling, of the small western town of Hindeloopen and of the island of Schiermonnikoog. They all deviate from the common Frisian system, and increasingly so in the order just given.

The island of Terschelling has two Frisian dialects, a western and an eastern one, separated by a zone speaking Meslâns, a mixed Frisian-Dutch dialect. The eastern diminutive system resembles that of the mainland pretty much. It has the same array of allomorphs, also with the same distribution. A small difference is the fact that the ending after the front vowel /e:/ is -tsje, and not -ke. Furthermore, the schwa of the diminutive suffix palatalizes to /i/ in the plural if preceded by /j/. An example is bakje [bakjə] small bin > bakjys [bakjis]. The same phenomenon can be observed in the western dialect.

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A comparable transition on the mainland

In the light of the circumstance that the dialects on the island of Terschelling seem to have deloped in relative isolation, it is a striking fact that the north-western dialects on the mainland also show a change of schwa to /i/. However, it has gone farther there in the sense that the preceding /j/ has been deleted (or has merged somehow into the high front vowel /i/). Moreover, the distribution is much wider in these dialects. As to the diminutives, for example, also the singular is affected: standard Frisian spultsje small farm is pronounced as [spöltsi]. But also the sequence -je as it occurs in the paradigm of the weak verbs of class II underwent a change. It caused the verb wenje to live to be pronounced as [vɛni] in these dialects. More information on the north-western transition, which was probably signalled for the first time by Sipma (1913:41), can be found in Visser (1992).

In addition, western Terschelling shows more deviations. The suffix -tsje has been simplified to -tse (for a similar change in the paradigm of verbs of the weak class II, see assibilation). After back vowels, the ending after the velar nasal /ŋ/ is not -kje but -ke. The ending after /r/ is not -ke but -eke, for example in /pɔ:rəkə/ small pear. Finally, a phonetic detail to be noted is the fact that the underlying combination /xj/ is merged and palatalized to [ç]. It should also be noticed that a considerable number of stem alternations can be observed, as a result of historical processes, especially shortening.

The Hindeloopen dialect shows a number of allomorphs, which, however, have in common that they do not end in a schwa but in the sequence /ən/. The final /n/ is dropped in the plural before the plural suffix -s. This results, for example, for singular -tjen in a plural ending -tjes. Final /n/ also deletes if the diminutive is the first part of a compound, for example in hudjemekster hat-DIM-make-SUFF hatter (female), which contains the diminutive hudjen small hat, irregularly formed from hoed hat.

The various surface forms are the following:

-tjen after a vowel and after /r/, /l/ and /n/.
-jen after the dentals /t/d/ and /s/z/, after the velars /x/ and /k/, and the labials /f/v/ and /p/b/.
-kjen after the velar nasal /ŋ/.
-pjen after /m/.

In addition to these, there are a number of irregular diminutives, mostly resulting from historical changes like shortening.

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Possible influence from Dutch

It is striking that the Hindeloopen system of diminutive forms resembles the Dutch one more than the Frisian system. This does not necessarily have to be a coincidence. In particular in the 17th and 18th centuries, the small town had intensive contacts with the Hollandic cities on the other side of the former Zuiderzee, especially with Amsterdam. Most skippers sailed for Amsterdam shipowners, and the women of Hindeloopen went shopping in Amsterdam in the autumn, at the end of the sailing season.

The property that the Hindeloopen diminutive forms end in /n/ (-tjen, etc.) is probably a Frisian feature that once existed in a wider area. See also De Vries (1927) and Brouwer (1969:197).

The most peculiar of the peripheral dialects is that of Schiermonnikoog, since it does not show productive diminutive formation at all. Small objects are referred to periphrastically by way of the adjective lytj small. Thus the islanders call their home ground Lytje Pole small-INFL territory islet. Diminutive suffixes do exist, but only in a few lexicalized formations, for example in mutjen aunt or petjen cap. Notwithstanding its form, the latter is a cap of normal proportions. To refer to a small specimen, the adjective is used, as in in lytj petjen a.INDF small.SG.N.INDF cap.SG.N a small cap. As is the case in mainland Frisian, the diminutive suffixes make the noun neutral. An exception is mutjen, which is a kinship term, and acts as a personal name; its mainland cognate muoike aunt likewise lacks neuter gender, as we have seen in the section on lexicalized diminutives above.

[+]Non-nominal bases

Nearly all derivations ending in -DIM have a count noun as base, but the suffix is so productive that other categories may sometimes function as a base as well. Among them are non-count nouns, as has been seen in the section Noun as base above. Other lexical categories that may play such a role are verbs, adjectives, adverbs, numerals, and, depending on one's analysis, personal pronouns. None of the relevant patterns is productive; this applies particularly to adverbs, numerals and pronouns, with which the diminutive formations are quite rare. The main function of the suffixation is to realize a transposition to the category 'noun', although it is true for all derivations that the diminutive aspect is still present in one or the other way. That is to say, the objects referred to by the derivation usually have a restricted size, and/or have pejorative or meliorative connotations. Also in common with the productive diminutive formations from count nouns is the fact dat the derived nouns all show neuter gender. Likewise, formal properties, like the distribution of the various allomorphs, are the same, as is the suffix -s to mark the plural form.

As was also the case in the diminuation of mass nouns, the semantic function of diminutive formation from non-canonical categories is one of individuation, in keeping with the count noun character of the resulting diminutive.

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Diminutives with a non-nominal output

The diminutive suffix is also used in other parts of word formation, hence without deriving nouns. A suffix -k forms iterative verbs. It is possibly related to the older diminutive suffix -k, which was mentioned in the historical note above. It may take adjectival, verbal and nominal) bases. In the latter case, an allomorph -tsj also exists.

We also find diminutive forms in the field of adjectives and adverbs. Here, -DIM is obligatorily followed by /s/, resulting in the suffix -DIMs. The attachment to an adjective results in another adjective, and the same transparency applies to adverbs. A striking feature is the fact that the allomorph -ke is lacking in this pattern. More information can be found in the topic on -DIMs forming adverbs from adverbs, and particularly in the topic -DIMs forming adjectives from adjectives.

[+]Verb as base

Diminutives may be derived on the basis of a verb, but this is unproductive. Some examples are shown below:

Table 5

Base form	Derivation
klieme to knead	kliemke slow person; sorehead
fertelle to tell	ferteltsje story
priuwe to taste	priuwke sample, taste
knipperje to take a nap	knipperke nap
betankje to thank	betankje word of thanks

In general, derivation results in a count noun that may refer to one of the various roles that are involved in process of V-ing. It can therefore result in different noun types. In the table above, kliemke is an agent noun, ferteltsje and priuwke are examples of the category of a patient noun, and the categorie of action nouns is represented by knipperke and betankje.

[+]Adjective as base

Adjectives may also be input for diminutive formation. The result is a noun that refers to an object, often a person, that carries the property of the adjective. In this way, the plurale tantum Readsjes red-DIM-PL are the football players of the village of De Westereen, who wear a shirt that is predominantly red. The derivations referring to persons often have an affective connotation, which can be negative or belittling:

Table 6

Base form	Derivation
sleau negligent	sleauke negligent person
kreas handsome	kreaske fashion plate
bretaal cheeky	bretaaltsje cheeky person
swart black	swartsje negro

The derivations can also indicate things, then often without an affective connotation. These derivations are lexicalised in having a specific meaning:

Table 7

Base form	Derivation
nij new	nijtsje bit of news
heal half	healtsje half a loaf
inkeld single	inkeldsje one-way ticket
koel cool	koeltsje (gentle) breeze
brún brown	brúntsje soft breeze; brown horse; brunette; piece of unexpected luck

[+]Adverb as base

Only two adverbs can be input for suffixation with -DIM. These are út out, away > útsje trip and foariten before dinner > foaritentsje starter.

[+]Numeral as base

A few derivations are based on cardinals. They indicate a unity of the amount that is given by the base numeral. A twake two-DIM is a set of two eggs of the lap-wing. Banknotes are a favorite category: fyfke five Euro note or tsientsje ten Euro note.

[+]Pronoun as base

We must assume that the diminutive suffix is attached to pronouns in two cases, both in the realm of lapwings. The male lapwing hijke could have been derived from the personal pronoun hy he and his female counterpart sijke from the personal pronoun sy she.

However, although this development is not excluded beforehand, it is possibly more appropriate to assume that the forms hijke and sijke derive from the nouns hij and sij, which likewise refer to the male and female lapwing (see also the entries in Veen (1984-2011). These nouns can then be seen as conversions from the respective pronouns. If this analysis holds water, then an alleged pronominal base for diminutive formation could be discarded.

extra

Another possible pronominal base

Tamminga (1993) points at a third diminutive form that could be related to a pronoun. It is the jokje [jɔkjə], another word for the female lapwing, occurring in the northwest. Tamminga suggests that it is derived from the historical word for the third person female nominative pronoun, which survived in a reduced form as hju [jə] in a small area in the northeast, and as hja in the written language (see also female and plural pronouns). A problem for this idea is the strange ending *-kje after a vowel. Tamminga assumes that a regular -ke is reanalysed as *jok, thereby dropping the final schwa, a segment which is often subject to variation. After *jok the diminutive suffix -je is attached, resulting in jokje. Although there may be some sense in this derivation, it cannot have any synchronic status, as the relevant pronominal base form has now become obsolete in the area where the word jokje is still in use.

[+]Personal name as base

Diminutive suffixes extensively show up in the system of Frisian first names. The system of diminuation in first names closely resembles the one of ordinary nouns. We have the same allomorphs -ke, -tsje and -je, and their distribution is by and large the same. Originally, the suffixes may possibly have had a diminutive function in as far as they had a connotation of endearment. However, their main function now is to derive a female name from a male name. Here are some examples:

Table 8

Base form (male name)	Derivation (female name)
Jelle	Jeltsje
Jan	Jantsje
Bouke	Boukje
Klaas	Klaske
Geart	Geartsje

Next to deriving a female name from a male name, the diminutive suffix can also be found in the same sex category. For example, the man's name Poppe can become Popke, which is still a name for a man, and the woman's name Sybrich can become Sybrichje, which is also a name for women.

Although diminuation of names closely resembles that of nouns, there are also some differences, which can probably be ascribed to the circumstance that names have a peripheral status within the language system, and to the fact that the endings do not have a standard diminutive function. A deviating feature that stands out is the possibility of stacking, which we did not find up till now (with the exception of the word paakje, which had an non-existing base anyway; see the section lexicalized diminutives above). An example is the man's name Poppe, which can turn to the man's name Popke. This can feminize to Popkje. This name contains a stacking of two suffixes, -k and -je. A comparable example is Feie > Feike > Feikje. The pattern of such triples is always that the base is male and the second derivation is the woman's name. The first derivation can vary. It can be a man's name, as in the examples above. However, a woman's name is also possible, as in Rinse (male) > Rinske (female) > Rinskje (female), or Sape (male) > Saapke (female) > Saapkje (female).

Another deviation from ordinary nominal diminutive formation is the formal context. The suffix -ke may also operate after /t/, /d/, /l/ and /n/. Examples are Atke, Ruerdke, Jelke and Nynke. This is a remnant of an older situation, as has been pointed in the historical note above. Moreover, the suffix -tsje occasionally attached to non-canonical segments, notably /k/, but also /r/ and vowels, as shown by attestations like Sjouktsje, Piertsje or Jaatsje. Possibly, for the latter environments some influence from Dutch is imaginable; note that the registration of names always occurred in a Dutch setting.

A further difference is the fact that a final schwa is often (see the phonological domain of Final Devoicing), but not always deleted. This led to names like Pabeke (from Pabe or Tineke (from Tine). This may have evolved to a new suffix -eke, for example in Gearteke, which is related to the man's name Geart.

Not only the type of base can differ from nominal diminutive formation, we also find some additional suffixes, next to this -eke. Most of them are old, and have survived in the conservative world of naming. Worth mentioning are -se (Ealse, Bjinse), -te (Jelte, Joute), -ele (Oebele, Sibbele) and -tse(n) (Atse, Sweitse; Doutsen, Lútsen). After the second world war, a booming popularity of names ending in -y is attested. The habit of naming one's children after the names of one's parents remained, but at the same time the old Frisian names became old-fashioned. The compromise was to take the existing stem, and attach to it the suffix -y. The pattern was used both for boys and girls. So, Jakob or Jabik became Jappy, and Willemke (female) turned to Willy. The suffix could also be applied to form a woman's name (e.g. Sippy) from a man's name (Sibbele).

[+]Morphological potentials

As diminutive formation creates count nouns, the output can be pluralized. The diminutive suffix takes the plural suffix -s, for example knyn-tsje-s rabbit-DIM-PL small rabbits, ai-ke-s egg-DIM-PL small eggs, etc. This feature can be a distinguishing mark in identifying the existence of the suffix, as has been argued in the section on lexicalized diminutives above.

Diminutives themselves cannot act as the basis for suffixation, except for a few lexicalized formations: mearke-eftich fairy-like or famkes-eftich girlish. The same applies to compounds: knyn rabbit > *knyntsjehok hutch for small rabbits. Instead, the base noun will be used, as in kninehok rabbit hutch. Again, lexicalized diminutives are an exception. An example is: húske toilet > húskepapier toilet paper.

However, the diminutive suffix is available as a linking element in compounds with a noun as first component. In such cases, that member is not necessarily something small. Some examples are boekjefrysk book-DIM-Frisian written Frisian, rychjewent row-DIM-house terraced house or fuotsjefrije foot-DIM-pet play footsie.

extra

Literature

A good overview of many aspects of Frisian diminutive formation is Hoekstra (1998:81-86, 94, 103). For a short introduction, see also(Folkertsma 1949) and Tamminga (1982). Hoekstra (1984) also contains important general information, but its main virtue is its calling attention to the use of the various non-nominal bases.

Hoekema (1965) is important for its overview of vowel alternations in the stem that are concomitant with the attachment of the diminutive suffix. (Tsjepkema 1969) takes a semantic perspective in that it mentions important areas where diminuation is frequent.

This topic does not take a historical point of view. However, it is worth mentioning that De Vries (1927) provides a lot of data from older sources. In this respect, also Hofmann (1961) is worth mentioning.

The early generative literature shows attempts to derive the various allomorphs from one underlying form. This is -kje in Riemersma (1979:96-97). De Haan (1990:109) assumes two underlying suffixes, -ke and -tje.

Visser (1989) offers two alternative phonological analyses, an abstract and a concrete one, for the final devoicing of the final obstruent and the insertion of /k/ after /ŋ/. In a reaction, Van der Meer (1990) prefers an historical explanation by assuming that an earlier suffix -tje left its marks of regressive assimilation, thereby stressing the morphological conditioning of the processes.

On the simplification of the clusters -st + tsje, see Visser (1993). The deletion of stem final /t/ after obstruents has been an item in a dialect survey in Van der Veen (1984, question 3), resulting in a wealth of data. The deletion of /t/ in the final cluster /-xt/ is observed already in Tamminga (1963:221).

For the influence of Dutch, see (Tamminga 1985)Tamminga (1985:125) and Breuker (1982) and, with a broader perspective, Breuker (1984). For the view that the change in its essence is internal, see De Haan (1990:108-110) and De Haan (1995). An investigation of child language, performed by Ytsma (1995:65-75), confirms De Haan's position. Child language, although from a different angle, is also the subject of Boelens (1987), who presents acquisition data from children grown up in Dutch-speaking families.

The affective connotation of many diminutive formations is briefly touched on by Tamminga (1985:126). A short treatment of the resistance of Frisian measure nouns to diminuation with a concomintant affective connotation can be found in Hoekstra (2000).

The data concerning the dialect of Schiermonnikoog are drawn from Fokkema (1969:22-23) and Visser and Dyk (2002:xxxii). The grammar of the Hindeloopen dialect, De Boer (1950), is notably poor on information about diminutive formation, but more data will be found in Blom and Dyk (to appear). An overview of the diminutive of the eastern dialect of Terschelling can be found in Roggen (1976:91), and to a certain extent also in Knop (1954:157-165), although the latter is far more extensive (and possibly also more reliable) about the western dialect of the island.

Derivations with bases other than count nouns are the subject of Hoekstra (1984), who claims that their semantics is derivable from the transposition itself and from the Frisian morphological system in general. He is attacked by Van der Meer (1988), who sticks to the view that the suffix in these cases adds a diminutive element, too.

The seminal paper of diminuation in the realm of first names is Visser (2002). General introductions to Frisian personal names are Brouwer (1963) and Ebeling (2001). An indispensable source for Frisian personal names still is Winkler (1898). A more recent source, and particularly devoted to first names, is De Haan (2002). The suffix -y, and its phonological ramifications in particular, is the subject of an in-depth study by Visser (2016).

References

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Author(s): Siebren Dyk, Truus de Vries

Category: Frisian Morphology

Keywords: suffixdiminutiveallomorphystackingpersonal name

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