-chan [was Re: Is "ma" Proto-World?]
| From: | Garth Wallace <gwalla@...> |
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| Date: | Thursday, January 23, 2003, 6:35 |
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Nik Taylor wrote:
> Josh Roth wrote:
>
>>I don't know what comes first, but since when do we derive our words from
>>babies' babbling anyway?
>
>
> We sometimes "borrow" children's words into our languages. For example,
> in Japanese, -chan, a childish pronunciation of -san, has become part of
> the standard language as an affix indicating affection.
Technically, "-chan" is a diminuitive suffix. It can indicate affection,
but does not necessarily. It can be insulting.
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