Affrication Diminutive Marker (Re: butterfly)

[Catherine Rudin/HU/AC/WSC]

LOVE the joke!  If this doesn't show productive use, I don't know what
could.
Catherine


It's also true that Ponca makes use of affrication of dental stops for a
diminuative effect, or "baby talk" (what John calls "grandmother speech"),
as in "Dha?e'c^hewadhe!" 'You poor thing!' (said to a child) compared to
"Dha?e'thewadhe!" (said to an adult), with the same meaning.  This brings
to
mind a "xuube" joke that I was told:

A woman sees a little nest of baby mice and says to the other people
nearby,
"J^u'ama j^NaN'baia!" ("Du'ama
daNaN'baia!") 'Look at these!'  To which her husband replies, "J^am!"
'Damn!'