Abstract

Although the Portuguese diminutive has been analyzed for centuries, there is a lack of descriptive experimental data regarding how native speakers form the diminutive including participants from each state in Brazil. For this study, 1,053 native speakers from each of the 26 states and the federal district of Brazil filled out an online survey, providing information about their age, gender, birth state, and current state of residence in Brazil. Participants selected the form(s) of the diminutive which they would use for 60 test words. Results indicate that the most influential factors in the formation of the diminutive are the age and state of origin of the participant, in addition to the final phone and stress of the word being diminutized. An apparent time shift in diminutive formation is seen in the diminutive endings of -inho and -zinho.

Degree

College and Department

Humanities; Spanish and Portuguese

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