For example in names: John becomes Johnny, Joan becomes Joni, Alexia becomes Lexy. Also when talking to young chidren, you'll often hear 'doggy', 'birdie' and so forth.
2006-11-14 02:17:41 · 3 answers · asked by Noodle 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
The "ee" sound at the end is a diminutive. Diminutives are common in many different languages, so it was apparently developed early in the evolution of language.
In English, diminutives include words ending in -ey/-ie/-y, such as dearie, doggy, kitty, cookie, or any number of similar words. Such an ending slightly alters the meaning, generally to refer to something a little smaller in size. It may show that you like that thing.
There are diminutives in lots of other languages, too. In French, they use the ending "-ette", which carries over to English as well. In Scottish, diminutives are used much more frequently than in English, with the ending "-ie".
2006-11-14 02:51:35 · answer #1 · answered by Tom A 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Alexia becomes Lexy
that there is the reason why.. what an ugly name
2006-11-14 02:27:15 · answer #2 · answered by blur b 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don'ty knowee
kinda like that new nintedo machine wee wee
2006-11-14 02:21:36 · answer #3 · answered by the one and only robertc1985 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋