# diminutive (personal names)



## Encolpius

Hello, I do not speak Finnish, only know some basics, but I am interested in foreign languages, mostly in diminutives. I wonder how common it is in Finnish to use diminutives with personal names. I am not sure if you know other languages but I personally classify languages where diminutives in that specific case are rare (English, German, French), common (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish) or very common (Slavic languages, Hungarian). I have the feeling it is rare in Finnish. Could you say some examples? Thanks.


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## Ansku89

It's definitely not common. Can't give any examples because this really isn't done at all... Of course it would be grammatically possible to make such a version of someone's name but it would be just a theoretical exercise.


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## Encolpius

Wow, what an interesting answer. I did not expect "not at all". There is at least something like Elisabeth - Betty etc in English, but nothing in Finnish. I wonder if there is another similar language. 
Is it linguistically possible at all? And any reason? Or something in older Finnish?
But you use diminutives in general, right?


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## jazyk

I've never seen Finnish diminutives, but this is what I found: -kki - Nordic Names Wiki - Name Origin, Meaning and Statistics


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## Spongiformi

Diminutives are rather common in the Finnish language in general and they certainly exist in family names. One of the most common family names in Finland is "Virtanen", which is a -nen diminutive of "virta", which means a stream/current.

However, if you are asking if Finns regularly twist a person's given name into a diminutive to create a sense of intimacy or for some other purpose, then I'd hesitate to answer yes. Maybe the name of a very small child might be altered by the parents when calling the kid. Perhaps with a -(u)kka ending. Such as "Jussi" -> "Jussukka". Might be a form of infant directed speech. -kka as such is one of the Finnish diminutive endings.


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## Encolpius

Spongiformi said:


> However, *if you are asking if Finns regularly twist a person's given name* into a diminutive to create a sense of intimacy or for some other purpose, then I'd hesitate to answer yes.



Yes, that's what I wanted to know.



Spongiformi said:


> Maybe *the name of a very small child* might be altered by the parents when calling the kid. Perhaps with a -(u)kka ending. Such as "Jussi" -> "Jussukka". Might be a form of infant directed speech. -kka as such is one of the Finnish diminutive endings.



How could I forget. Yes, children. You write: "might be altered" so it is uncommon as well. Just like in German. Now I am getting unsure about English.


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## Armas

Familiar forms are commonly used. Some examples of male names:
Markus -> Make
Tomi, Tommi -> Tomppa
Patrik -> Pate
Lauri -> Late
Henri -> Henkka
Simo -> Sipe
Juhani -> Jussi (Jussi is considered a name of its own though)
Pertti -> Pera, Pertsa
Pentti -> Pena
Martti -> Mara
Matti -> Masa, Matu, Matukka
Tapani, Tapio -> Tapsa
Sakari -> Sakke


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## Encolpius

Interesting, I forgot you can create familiar forms in a different way as well, not only with diminutives.


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## Marko55

The diminutive suffix -nen:
-nen - Wiktionary

This suffix is sometimes used in given names as well. In the same way as:
kulta (_gold_) *→ *kultanen *→ *kultase*ni* (_my darling_) [-ni = possessive suffix]

Examples:
1) Leena *→ Leenaseni*
Mainiota Leenaseni!

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/4368631266851020802) Matti *→ Mattiseni*
Maailma muuttuu Mattiseni
Maailma muuttuu Mattiseni
3) Erkki *→ Erkkiseni*
Maailma muuttuu, Erkkiseni
Lukijalta: Valmiuslain käyttö ja velanhoito eri asioita
4) Tiina *→ Tiinaseni*
Kiitos Tiinaseni!
Joulukuusen koristeet - Sisustusvalmentaja Riitta Bergman


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## Encolpius

Marko, very inteersting, thank you very much. But do you agree it is uncommon?


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## Marko55

Encolpius said:


> Marko, very inteersting, thank you very much. But do you agree it is uncommon?



It is more common in the written language. It is very easy to find many more examples on the Internet:
*Katjaseni* (Katja), *Minnaseni* (Minna), *Markkuseni* (Markku), *Sepposeni* (Seppo), *Irjaseni* (Irja), ...

A common quotation from Nummisuutarit written by Aleksis Kivi says:
*Maailma muuttuu, Eskoseni* (_The world is changing, my dear Esko_).
Nummisuutarit: Heath Cobblers - Wikipedia

It is not common in the spoken language. For example this sentence sounds strange:
Huomenta, Leenaseni! (_Good morning, my dear Leena!_).
You have to know the person very well, if you use these forms in the spoken language.


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## Encolpius

Marko55 said:


> It is not common in the spoken language. For example this sentence sounds strange:
> Huomenta, Leenaseni! (_Good morning, my dear Leena!_).
> You have to know the person very well, if you use these forms in the spoken language.



Thanks.


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## Spongiformi

If you ask me, that only sounds condescending, at least if the preceding sentence is more or less anything but a greeting.


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## Hakro

Spongiformi said:


> Diminutives are rather common in the Finnish language in general and they certainly exist in family names. One of the most common family names in Finland is "Virtanen", which is a -nen diminutive of "virta", which means a stream/current.


It's a very common misunderstanding about the family names ending -nen, as there is also a diminutive form ending -nen. In fact, the family name Virtanen means a person or a family living near a river.


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