[Lexicog] Diminutive suffixes (pejorative or endearing)

[Ron Moe]

Yes. Very good. Nobody ever said metaphors have to be consistent.

Ron
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Fritz Goerling [mailto:Fritz_Goerling at sil.org]
  Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 12:29 PM
  To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
  Subject: RE: [Lexicog] Diminutive suffixes (pejorative or endearing)


  Ron,

  How about an appendix "Being good (lovable)  is being small"?

  That would fit terms of endearment: sweetie, baby, kitty, cutie.

  Fritz Goerling



    One of the semantic phenomena that we must grapple with in lexicography
is extended metaphor. If we can define a diminutive suffix as "a small X",
then it would be subject to the extended metaphor "Good is big, bad is
small." From these metaphors we have such expressions as "small minded" and
"big hearted." It would stand to reason, then, that any diminutive could be
pejorative. A good dictionary should note whenever an idiom or derivative is
based on an extended metaphor. I also recommend that we include an appendix
of metaphors:

    Being bad is being small:
    feel small, little courage, little imagination, small fry, small minded,
smalltime, small wonder, weakling

    Ron Moe

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