Spanish is a language that encourages the use of diminutives. Diminutives connote smallness, or familiarity or affection. Examples of diminutives in English include words like lambkin, kitty or piglet and nicknames such as Robbie and Wills.
This attraction to diminutives makes for some strange combinations. The other day in the grocery story, I was offered a "pie-cito," which turned out to be a sample of pie, but which, in my head, translated into a "cute little pie."
I get the impression that it's a useful language tool to have. A civil disturbance can be the Spanish equivalent of a "riot-cito." A taxista refers to a traffic jam as an "atasco-cito", meaning, "Relax and don't get your pantyhose in a bunch."
Very often, I am greeted as "Hermanita," "little sister." I love it. I don't know whether they're referring to me as being physically small, cute, or with affection. No importa! It doesn't matter! I'll be "little sister" every day of the week.
Diminutives
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4 comments:
taxcito - a new promotion by the IRS to make us think we are getting a good deal.
tuxcito - the amount of clothing actually worn by a penguin, our annual feeling of nakedness after filing our tax return.
If Dan and I ever had a shot at the "cito" thing, we'd probably spend 20 minutes rolling on the floor.
Love it, Doug. Keep it coming.
Kim
Hey, being the little sister isn't all bad!
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