Chapter 6. Diminutive formation in Modern Greek

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to investigate variation in Modern Greek diminutive derivational means (affixes and affixoids) by focusing on their selectional restrictions (e.g. phonological, morphological, semantic) and their competition (e.g. psilo.xondrós ‘dim.fat’ vs. xondr.oúlis ‘fat.dim’). Given that the use of all Greek diminutive morphemes (affixes or affixoids) is subject to selectional restrictions, it is shown that the variation found in diminutive derivational morphemes can be explained with reference to their particular restrictions and their multifunctional character. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the domain of Modern Greek diminutive morphemes can be thought of as a complex ecosystem structured around a fairly complementary distribution (rather than competition).