Startseite Linguistik & Semiotik Spanish diminutive markers -ito/-ita in Mesoamerican languages: a challenge for acceptance of gender distinction
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Spanish diminutive markers -ito/-ita in Mesoamerican languages: a challenge for acceptance of gender distinction

  • Claudine Chamoreau
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Morphologies in Contact
Ein Kapitel aus dem Buch Morphologies in Contact

Abstract

This paper explores patterns in the borrowing of the Spanish diminutive markers -ito/-ita in some languages of Mesoamerica. These borrowings are particularly interesting because they encode two different categories: the diminutive category, and the grammatical gender category which distinguishes between a masculine form -ito and a feminine form, -ita. In Mesoamerican languages that have adopted the Spanish diminutive marker, the first category is already attested while the second is absent from all languages except Yucatec Maya. The primary aim in this paper is to establish the reasons why these languages have borrowed these markers even though they possess a device for expressing the diminutive category. The relevant factor seems to be structural, that is, the adoption of a morphological mechanism. The second purpose of this paper is to explain how these languages borrowed a marker encoding gender distinction. Typological features of the replica languages are relevant for the acceptance of grammatical gender.

Abstract

This paper explores patterns in the borrowing of the Spanish diminutive markers -ito/-ita in some languages of Mesoamerica. These borrowings are particularly interesting because they encode two different categories: the diminutive category, and the grammatical gender category which distinguishes between a masculine form -ito and a feminine form, -ita. In Mesoamerican languages that have adopted the Spanish diminutive marker, the first category is already attested while the second is absent from all languages except Yucatec Maya. The primary aim in this paper is to establish the reasons why these languages have borrowed these markers even though they possess a device for expressing the diminutive category. The relevant factor seems to be structural, that is, the adoption of a morphological mechanism. The second purpose of this paper is to explain how these languages borrowed a marker encoding gender distinction. Typological features of the replica languages are relevant for the acceptance of grammatical gender.

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Front Matter 1
  2. Preface 9
  3. Part I: Amerindia
  4. Part I: Amerindia
  5. Morphologies in contact: form, meaning, and use in the grammar of reference 13
  6. Part I: Amerindia
  7. Borrowing of a Cariban number marker into three Tupi-Guarani languages 37
  8. Part I: Amerindia
  9. Spanish diminutive markers -ito/-ita in Mesoamerican languages: a challenge for acceptance of gender distinction 71
  10. Part II: Austronesia
  11. Part II: Austronesia
  12. Survival in a niche. On gender-copy in Chamorro (and sundry languages) 91
  13. Part III: Balkan (and beyond)
  14. Part III: Balkan (and beyond)
  15. Verb morphologies in contact: evidence from the Balkan area* 141
  16. Part III: Balkan (and beyond)
  17. Romani in contact with Bulgarian and Greek: replication in verbal morphology 163
  18. Part III: Balkan (and beyond)
  19. Morphology in language contact: verbal loanblend formation in Asia Minor Greek (Aivaliot)* 177
  20. Part III: Balkan (and beyond)
  21. Mood meets mood: Turkic versus Indo-European 195
  22. Part IV: Romance
  23. Part IV: Romance
  24. Contact-induced change in personal pronouns: some Romance examples* 205
  25. Part IV: Romance
  26. The influence of loanwords on Sardinian word formation 227
  27. Part IV: Romance
  28. Swinging back the pendulum: French morphology and de-Italianization in Piedmontese 247
  29. Part V: Slavic (outside the Slavic core area)
  30. Part V: Slavic (outside the Slavic core area)
  31. Contact phenomena in the Slavic of Molise: some remarks about nouns and prepositional phrases* 263
  32. Part V: Slavic (outside the Slavic core area)
  33. Language contact, language decay and morphological change: evidence from the speech of Czech immigrants in Paraguay* 283
  34. Part VI: Africa
  35. Part VI: Africa
  36. Roots and patterns in Beja (Cushitic): the issue of language contact with Arabic 309
  37. Part VI: Africa
  38. Back Matter 327
https://doi.org/10.1524/9783050057699.71

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Front Matter 1
  2. Preface 9
  3. Part I: Amerindia
  4. Part I: Amerindia
  5. Morphologies in contact: form, meaning, and use in the grammar of reference 13
  6. Part I: Amerindia
  7. Borrowing of a Cariban number marker into three Tupi-Guarani languages 37
  8. Part I: Amerindia
  9. Spanish diminutive markers -ito/-ita in Mesoamerican languages: a challenge for acceptance of gender distinction 71
  10. Part II: Austronesia
  11. Part II: Austronesia
  12. Survival in a niche. On gender-copy in Chamorro (and sundry languages) 91
  13. Part III: Balkan (and beyond)
  14. Part III: Balkan (and beyond)
  15. Verb morphologies in contact: evidence from the Balkan area* 141
  16. Part III: Balkan (and beyond)
  17. Romani in contact with Bulgarian and Greek: replication in verbal morphology 163
  18. Part III: Balkan (and beyond)
  19. Morphology in language contact: verbal loanblend formation in Asia Minor Greek (Aivaliot)* 177
  20. Part III: Balkan (and beyond)
  21. Mood meets mood: Turkic versus Indo-European 195
  22. Part IV: Romance
  23. Part IV: Romance
  24. Contact-induced change in personal pronouns: some Romance examples* 205
  25. Part IV: Romance
  26. The influence of loanwords on Sardinian word formation 227
  27. Part IV: Romance
  28. Swinging back the pendulum: French morphology and de-Italianization in Piedmontese 247
  29. Part V: Slavic (outside the Slavic core area)
  30. Part V: Slavic (outside the Slavic core area)
  31. Contact phenomena in the Slavic of Molise: some remarks about nouns and prepositional phrases* 263
  32. Part V: Slavic (outside the Slavic core area)
  33. Language contact, language decay and morphological change: evidence from the speech of Czech immigrants in Paraguay* 283
  34. Part VI: Africa
  35. Part VI: Africa
  36. Roots and patterns in Beja (Cushitic): the issue of language contact with Arabic 309
  37. Part VI: Africa
  38. Back Matter 327
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Heruntergeladen am 12.10.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1524/9783050057699.71/html
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