Yags

[Kevin Tuite]

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Dear colleagues,

Uninformed as I am about English historical linguistics, this query may be
more a reflection of my ignorance of the literature than of the novelty of
the phenomenon that motivated it. In the sports section of the newspaper
this morning were excerpts from an interview with hockey star (and team
owner) Mario Lemieux. He recounted a phone call to another player, in which
he told him "You've got to get in here and play with me and Yags". Yags,
the sportswriter explains, is the nickname of Lemieux's linemate Jaromir
Jagr. My question is, where does this final -s come from? I have the
distinct impression that I've heard other examples of nicknames in -s in
(North American) English, but a search through Mencken's "The American
Language" turned up no mention of this usage. Has anything been written on
the addition of -s to names, and if so, has any linguist speculated on its
origins?

Thanks in advance for your help,

Kevin Tuite





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Kevin Tuite                         514-343-6514      (bureau)
Département d'anthropologie         514-343-2494 (télécopieur)
Université de Montréal
C.P. 6128, succursale centre-ville
Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7               tuitekj at anthro.umontreal.ca
Notre site Web:            http://www.fas.umontreal.ca/ANTHRO/
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