Pre-Basque Phonology

[Rick Mc Callister]

[ moderator re-formatted ]

[snip]

	Nicknames beginning with Mari- seem considerably more popular in
Spain than in Latin America. Maribel, Marisol, Mariluz, Marilu, Maricarmen
seem almost stereotypically Peninsular. Maritza & Marisa [Maria Isabel]
seem to be exceptions, in that they are quite common in Latin America.
	Chema, Chepe [Jose], Pepe, Charo, Chayo [also < Rosario], Pancho
and Paco are common in Latin America.
	It makes me wonder if Mari- names didn't become nationally popular
in Spain relatively recently

>I am very surprised at Prof. Pineros' puzzlement: We have Murcian friends
>(Murcian Spanish is very close to Andalusian) : one is called Maite, short for
>Maria Teresa, the other one called Maica, short for Maria del Carmen. I do
>know what their real given name is, I'm not guessing. The reduction is of
>course the dropping of the intervocalic r of Mari.  By the way, Maica's
>daughter is also a Maria del Carmen, but they call her Mai (probably a
>reduction of Mari)! I'm quite sure she never intended a Basque name, because
>she and her family strongly dislike the idea that Spain is plurilingual. They
>even object to Spanish being called Castilian.

	Mai [or May] is also a nickname for Margarita in Latin America

[snip]

>I am not surprised at all at these extreme reductions: just think about Paco
>from Francisco, Chema from Jose Maria via Josema, Charo from Rosario, Concha
>from (Inmaculada) Concepcion, Chalo from Gonzalo. The remarkable thing is that
>they obey rules that look rather Basque than Castilian : F > P,
>diminutivization by palatalization of the sibilant,...

[snip]

Rick Mc Callister
W-1634
Mississippi University for Women
Columbus MS 39701