Conceptual interaction and spanish diminutives

Abstract

In this paper, we will treat the conceptual interaction between Spanish diminutive suffixes and lexemes from the perspective of cognitive semantics. We will review the analysis based on the ICM of size, first developed by Ruiz de Mendoza, and we will contrast its explanatory adequacy with that of other recent accounts of diminutives, such as Inchaurralde’s emotional spaces and the morphopragmatic approach by Dressler and Merlini. We will show how diminutive suffixes provide the guidelines prompting us to activate a given mental space out of our knowledge of the lexeme. This interplay is a conceptual phenomenon that takes place at the semantic level; pragmatic effects are thus mediated by semantic constraints. Finally, we shall show that diminutive categories lie at the crossroads between grammatical and lexical categories, by pointing out a similar cognitive pattern in other morphological processes, such as noun/noun compositional expressions in English.