DIMINUTIVES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN PORTUGUESE AND ENGLISH

Abstract

Diminutives, expressed by either the synthetic or analytic form, constitute a common phenomenon across the languages of the world. Considering the morphological formations, however, the properties of the evaluative affixes may vary depending on the particularities of each language. This article analyzes comparatively the expression of the synthetic diminutive both in Portuguese and in English. It is assumed, therefore, that both languages possess diminutive suffixes even though it is unquestionable that the productivity of morphological constructions is higher in Portuguese than in English. The investigation is focused on the suffixes predominantly employed in the formation of diminutives: -inho/-zinho and –ie/y, respectively. One of the main issues that have promoted debates about the theme is the attempt of classification of evaluative morphology in relation to the inflectional and derivational categories. Basing on diverse linguistic studies about the phenomenon produced on varied perspectives in the literature, the comparison of the diminutive of the two languages is aimed at generating discussions on the nature of this process.

Keywords

• Diminutives
• Evaluative morphology
• Inflection/derivation