A Desc ip i e Analysis o Basque
Hypoco is ics
PATXI SALABERRI ZARATIEGI / IKER SALABERRI IZKO
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doc men a
Año XLVI • Núme o 117 • 2014
SEPARATA
FONTES
LINGVÆ VASCONVM
s dia e
doc men a
Año XLVI
Núme o 117
2014
Xaho en Ai o Hegoaldeko XIX. mendeko na a iban
Ana M. Toledo 5
A ziba ko aldae a dei u izana en ingu uan
(8 – Elkanoko aldae a ekiko zenbai elkake a)
Koldo A ola 25
Oina izko emozioen ezauga i akus ikoez
Iñaki Gaminde / U za Ga ay / Ain zane E xeba ia / Asie Rome o 101
Euskal hi z-o dena en no abidea: idealismo ideologiko ik
p agma ismo komunika ibo an z
Julian Maia 121
Juan A in Do onso o en «Ma e ial Toponímico» a gi a agabea en
25. pape -zo oa
Luis Ma i Zaldua 169
A Desc ip i e Analysis o Basque Hypoco is ics
Pa xi Salabe i Za a iegi / Ike Salabe i Izko 187
117
2014
FONTES LINGVÆ VASCONVM
A Desc ip i e Analysis o
Basque Hypoco is ics
PATXI SALABERRI ZARATIEGI*/ IKER SALABERRI IZKO**
FOREWORD
This pape aims a p o iding a desc ip ion o he means a ailable no-
wadays o hypoco is iza ion in Basque, al hough i is no ou in en ion
o limi ou in es iga ion o p esen -day pe names. We ha e conside ed i
ele an o go back o he o igins in which he mode n sys em is oo ed.
Wi h his aim in mind, we ha e analyzed his o ically common hypoco is ics
and he pa e ns ha hese ollow as well. One o ou indings is ha he his-
o ical and p esen -day pa e ns o o ming hypoco is ics a e he same, al-
hough i is no longe he case ha hei p oduc i eness and li eliness has
emained unal e ed. We he e o e claim o p o ide a panch onic iew o
Basque hypoco is ics in his pape .
In o de o each ou aim, we d aw ou da a om medie al published do-
cumen s, ga he ing and analyzing he pe names ha a e p esen in hese. We
also ex ac addi ional da a om old Basque ex s, li e a y wo ks and o he
documen s ound in a chi es and which a e da ed om he 16 h cen u y on-
wa ds. Finally, we ha e conduc ed many o al su eys wi h he aim o inding
ou he hypoco is ics ha a e used in p esen -day Basque. Mos o he sub-
jec s who unde wen hese su eys we e «quali ied» speake s, meaning ha
hey had g ea knowledge o Basque and a g ea sensi i i y owa d ha lan-
guage (see Salabe i, 2009:3-6). We would like o hank all o hem om
he e.
In he las p e ious yea s hypoco is ics ha e been qui e common ele-
men s o in es iga ion in phonology s udies, o en om he poin o iew o
p osodic mo phology. Tho n on (1996:82) claimed he ollowing, along he
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* UPNA/NUP.
** UPV/EHU.
lines o McCa hy and P ince: «Recen ly McCa hy and P ince ha e cha ac-
e ized P osodic Mo phology as “mo phology ha is p osody-go e ned”,
whe e “phonological cons ain s ake p ecedence o e mo phological ones”».
A ew yea s la e ha A am (2010:47-48) de ines his a ea in he ollowing
way: «P osodic mo phology is he e unde s ood b oadly as he heo y o how
mo phology and phonology in e ac in he g amma ical sys em o langua-
ges».
Some o he au ho s w i e wi hin he heo e ical ame o Op imali y
Theo y in o de o explain he wo kings o hypoco is ics. E e e (1996:3)
claims ha « he e a e only iolable cons ain s» and ha his «means ha
s uc u es canno be uled ou as ung amma ical in an absolu e sense, bu
only as less op imal han a compe ing o m». C ys al (2008:343), on his side,
asse s ha «Op imali y heo y [...] aims o accoun o a wide ange o phe-
nomena by speci ying he in e ac ion o a small numbe o UNIVERSAL cons-
ain s, which apply a iously ac oss languages in p oducing phonological
ep esen a ions». D iscoll (2013:76), inally, says ha «OT p oposes a me-
chanism o gene a ing a lis o candida e ou pu s, a lis o o de ed cons-
ain s, and an e alua ion me ic o choose be ween he candida es based on
he cons ain s. The candida e ha iola es he ewes highes - anking cons-
ain s is gene ally chosen».
These au ho s, howe e , d aw only on p esen -day da a; hey do no pay
much a en ion o he pas 1. Ou in en ion is, as claimed abo e, o in es i-
ga e no only synch ony bu also diach ony, since pe names cons i u e an in-
di isible con inuum. I is ue ha a conside able numbe o names om he
pas ha e died o , and mos ly as well, ha names a e used nowadays which
would ha e been unconcei able a ew decades ago. Howe e , he means o
de i e he pe names o said names ha e emained he same. An undeniable
con inui y is p esen in his a ea, and i is e y impo an , in ou iew, o po -
ay his con inui y in clea e ms and o unde line ha he p esen hypoco-
is ica ha e no eme ged ou o hin ai . I we only s udied p esen -day pe
names, we would see bu he las s ep o he sys em, he deadline pic u e, and
no he pic u e o he whole ace. We hus gi e g ea impo ance o he his-
o ical de elopmen o he Basque hypoco is ics sys em, ob iously wi hou
lea ing p esen o ms and hei cha ac e is ics aside. In sho , we wo k wi -
hin he ame o onomas ics, and no wi hin he ame o phonology2.
Depending on old documen s has i s p oblems, since o en he adminis-
a i e language in ques ion p e en s us om going deepe in o he da a, gi-
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1A ew ac ually do his, o ced by he da a: see Van de Weije (1989). P ie o (1992b: 176) claims
ha cons uc ing he eminine e sion o And és as compa ed o o he names such as Inés o Ca los « e-
eals a di e ence in he s a us o he inal pa o each wo d; while Ca los o ms he eminine Ca l +
a,And és o ms he eminine And e + a». Had his in es iga o aken a look a he men ioned names’
his o y, he would ha e no iced ha And eo has o en been he masculine e sion o And ea, and ha
And esa is also a es ed al eady by he medie al pe iod. In sho , a diach onic pe spec i e would ha e
allowed P ie o o unde s and p esen -day da a in a be e manne .
2I is ue ha onomas ics plays a g ea ole in he s udy o he his o y o he language, bu only
a a diach onic le el, no a a synch onic le el. Bakken (2002:25) claims ha «usually he phonologi-
cal de elopmen o a language is es ablished in language his o ies, and mo e o en han no , names
cons i u e pa o he ounda ion on which hese language his o ies a e buil [...]. So he in e depen-
dence be ween onomas ics and gene al phonological his o y is ob ious and impo an ». In he case o
Basque, he alidi y o his asse ion becomes ob ious jus by eading Mi xelena’s wo k.
en he ac ha some linguis ic cha ac e is ics o Basque appea obscu ed.
This is he case, o example, whene e place and pe sonal names a e decli-
ned acco ding o he La in pa e n. In many o he cases he sibilan s o
Basque a e no p ope ly ep esen ed in documen s w i en in Spanish, i.e.
hey a e ep esen ed acco ding o Spanish spelling con en ions. Wi h ega d
o p esen -day da a, no he Gascon language ha Basque has had as a neigh-
bou o cen u ies, bu he phone ically much mo e dis an F ench has been
he dominan language in he No he n Basque Coun y o he pas wo
hund ed yea s o so. This has a di ec impac on he speech o Basque spea-
ke s in ha egion, whe eby e en aged local na i es p onounce he Basque
al eola ill as a u ula ill, as in F ench. This is by no means a his o ical
phenomenon: acco ding o one o he in o man s o he s udy, who was bo n
in he bo de ing illage o Luzaide3, his g andmo he , M s. Ani a E xega ai
E xebe i, bo n in he la e 19 h cen u y in A negi (F ench Basque Coun y),
could speak only Basque, and she used o p onounce [ ], no [R], as did mos
o he pie s in he same a ea.
This las piece o in o ma ion is e y ele an o he analysis o p esen -
day pe names in he F ench Basque Coun y, since one migh some imes be
lead o hink, unless one knew abou he his o y o he language, ha he
u ula ills o F ench and he al eola ills o Basque, ega dless o hei
conside ably dis inc phone ic a icula ion, esul ed in equal o ms in hypo-
co is ics. We do no conside his o ha e been he case. In ou iew he hy-
poco is ics ha a e cu en ly used in he F ench Basque Coun y, a leas
mos o hem, can be aced back o he ime in which he ill was p o-
nounced in he same way as i is in he Spanish Basque Coun y. Tha is why,
o example, F ench And é [andRé] and Spanish And és [and éś] ha e allen
oge he in Basque (Andde /Anddex), wi h espec o he clus e ha is no-
wadays p onounced in wo di e en ways.
Ano he ele an ma e is he one ha conce ns allonyms, especially in
bo de ing illages. Wha is mean by his is ha he hypoco is ic in ques ion
does no always co espond o a pe son’s o icial name, bu o one o hei
allonyms. Fo he sake o compa ison, some o he inhabi an s o he abo e
men ioned illage Luzaide a e known by he hypoco is ics Be i,Ge(h)axan,
Gaxan,Ge(h)axina,Gexina, whe eas Ped o,G acián,G aciana a e hei o i-
cial names. Likewise, a pe son called Lau en can be called Lau en x in he
F ench Basque Coun y, aking he o iginal Lau en z as a s a ing poin .
1. TERMINOLOGY ISSUES, DEFINITION AND OTHER MATTERS
In Basque hypoco is ics can be de ined as sho ened, pala alized and su -
ixed a ian s o neu al pe sonal names ha commonly o igina e in a ami-
lia con ex , and which la e a e o en used among iends, in mos cases
because he name bea e himsel wan s i ha way. In his case hypoco is ics
a e easy o dis inguish om nicknames, he la e o which a e used o call
he nicknamee whe he i is hei wish ha i be so o no . I is mo eo e a
well-known ac ha some nicknames (which ha e occasionally been called
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF BASQUE HYPOCORISTICS
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3Tha would be M . Peio Kamino Kaminondo.
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behind- he-back nicknames in English) may no be o a e usually no used in
on o he pe son being nicknamed, unless one has he in en ion o c ea-
ing a qua el. We ha e se led he dis inc ion be ween hypoco is ics and
nicknames o he simple eason ha some in es iga o s, pa icula ly
Ame ican ones, ha e included unde he label o nicknames wha we would
call pe names, oge he wi h some name-like elemen s ha we would label
as nicknames in Basque.
Pe sonal names, an h oponyms, a e uni e sal. They a e ound in e e y
single language and cul u e, and he e is no a ie y ha we know o ha has
no made use o hem. This does no mean, howe e , ha he same o a si-
mila sys em o p oduce an h oponyms and a simila o ganiza ion exis in
e e y case. Languages p ominen ly c ea e hei own pa e ns, which hen
sha e a conside able numbe o cha ac e is ics wi h he pa e ns o o he lan-
guages4.
Rega ding he na u e o hypoco is ics, we can claim ha hese a e ende-
a men a ian s used du ing childhood, which change as he bea e g ows
up, especially when he hypoco is ic con ains a su ix5. On he o he hand,
in many cases i is common o he name bea e and he people su ounding
hem o con inue using he hypoco is ic, in spi e o he g owing up o he
o me . I is e en common o pe names o be used in he bea e ’s wo king
en i onmen and in o he o mal con ex s, which would a p io i be a eas
om which hei use is excluded. We could b ing up many de ini ions o hy-
poco is ics, bu le i su ice o quo e he one p o ided by F ank (1975:514):
«Die Kose o m is eine “aus Zä lichkei abgewandel e Fo m eines Namens”.
Beg ünde mi seine Zä lichkei s endenz e niedlich , e kleine e seh o ,
wo ü bes imm e Su ixe symp oma isch sind. Abe auch Namen o men ohne
Su ixe, Voll o men, Kon ak ionen und Ku z o men können im Sp achgeb auch
als Kosenamen ungie en»6.
The pala aliza ions ha a e so common in Basque a e missing om his de-
ini ion. Mo eo e , we do no conside o ms ha lack a su ix o be pe na-
mes, unless hey unde go sho ening o pala aliza ion. E iden ly his can
po en ially change, acco ding o he a ie y in ques ion. Fo example, in Akan,
which is a language spoken in Ghana and in he I o y Coas , eduplica ion and
compounding a e common mo phological p ocesses in o ming hypoco is ics.
So a e he mo phonological p ocesses o elision, change in onal pa e n, p o-
longa ion o syllabic and phonic uni s and owel ha mony (Obeng, 1997:39,
42). In Hausa, spoken in Nige ia and Nige , he mos equen ly used esou -
ces a e su ixa ion and eduplica ion, occasionally accompanied by one
(Newman & Ahmad, 1992, see also Salabe i, 2009:34-35).
4«Each language hus has an an h oponymic sys em bu wha sub-sys ems i is comp ised o is
language –and cul u e– speci ic» (Ainiala, Saa elma, Sjöblom, 2012:125).
5Ano he eason o s op making use o a hypoco is ic can lie on disag eemen o disapp o al:
«Disapp o al o o ange wi h he o he can lead o a e ea om pe name o o mal name. This hap-
pens ou inely in amilies, as well as in hose g oups whe e pe names ma k adul ela ions o in imacy
and a ec ion» (Mo gan, O’Neill, Ha é, 1979:31).
6«A hypoco is ic is he o m o a name has has been al e ed due o endea men . Based on i s en-
dency o be used as a ma ke o endea men , he hypoco is ic is educed e y o en, o which speci-
ic su ixes a e equen . Bu o ms wi hou su ixes, ull o ms, con ac ions and sho ened o ms can
unc ion as hypoco is ics in e e yday language».
In he Noo ka o Nuuchahnul h language spoken in Canada he means
o hypoco is iza ion is by unca ing he base name be o e he second o-
wel, changing he emaining owel o middle and leng hening i i no al e-
ady long, and adding he a ix -Ɂis (S onham, 1991:119,2004:196; see Kim,
1999 o a di e en pe spec i e on he ma e ). On he o he hand, in
Japanese he mos ma ked hypoco is ics a e cons uc ed by adding he su ix
-[
ʧ
]a[N] o he sho ened e sion o he name, which is usually wo mo as
long (Pose , 1984). O he su ixes can be used in his language, such as (-kun,
-san o -sama), in addi ion o a ce ain p e ix (o-) o a combina ion o one o
he o me and he la e (o- and -san) (Kozasa, 2000; A am, 2010).
Howe e , Mes e (1990) claims ha he hypoco is ics ha bea he su ix -ko
equi e no only a wo-mo a name, bu also a monosyllabic one as a base
name, and A am (2010:52) a gues ha he unca ed e sion o unca um
mus be monosyllabic, be i one o wo mo as long. Finally, in Ko ean (Lee,
1991:135) a hypoco is ic is c ea ed by d opping he las syllable o he base
name and adding he su ix -ya/-a, depending on whe he he unca ed
name ends in a owel o a consonan . In addi ion o his, he owel in he
i s syllable is leng hened wi h he aim o adding a mo a, so ha he mo aic
empla e equi ed by his language is ul illed: Sunhi Hi-ya Hi:ya, Yumi
Mi-ya Mi:ya, SunchәlChәl-a Chә: a.
In addi ion o linguis ic usage, social usage also can a y: o he sake o
compa ison, in he abo e-men ioned Akan language he exp essi e alue o
he hypoco is ic a ies acco ding o he social ela ionship be ween add esse
and add essee ( he decisi e ac o s usually being age and socioeconomic s a-
us; Obeng, 1997:39,52-53 and u he ). A w ong use o he hypoco is ic on
he pa o he add esse «is ace- h ea ening and can esul in a con on a-
ion» (ibid.,2001:115). Hypoco is iza ion is a language-speci ic sys em, and
has usually a speci ic s uc u ing; his is why how a name is pe cei ed is a ma-
e o language7and wi hin each language i can be ela ed o gende 8.
A his poin we wan o make clea ha in Basque, as is usual in o he
languages, no all pe names a e used on he same le el. Fo example, Joxe,
Pa xi o Pello a e a ian s op ionally used in o mal si ua ions9, whe eas he
use o Fe nanddo o Ixia migh be mo e doub ul in an iden ical si ua ion,
he e being no doub ha hypoco is ics o he kind o Kexuxin,Ke u in,
Koxpa,Mox o,Nune,Papax,T a in,T a an o Eñau iko a e app op ia ely
used in amilia o iendly en i onmen s, bu no in mo e o mal si ua ions.
In ce ain cases a hypoco is ic has unde gone a p ocess o neu aliza ion;
his is wha has happened in examples like Johannes Johan /Hans,Kon ad
Ku and Nikolaus Klaus in Ge man. We p opose ha he same hing is
aking place in he men ioned examples o Pa xi o Pello in Basque.
Mo eo e , in he case o Basque pe names, he usual a ian o a name o ap-
pea in documen s in he las wo cen u ies o so was one ha we migh call
«neu e » o «non-hypoco is ic», whe eas ano he a ian o endea men and
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF BASQUE HYPOCORISTICS
7In any case, i mus be aken in o conside a ion ha in a language as widesp ead as English hy-
poco is ic-cons uc ing uses a y egionally, compa e e.g. he Uni ed S a es s. Aus alia (Wie zbicka,
1992:225 and o he s, Simpson, 2001, Lappe, 2007:35).
8See Lawson & Roede (1986) o mo e on his ma e .
9In Pléna ’s (2003:79) line o hough , one could say ha hese hypoco is ics a e «lexicalized».
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ondness was used a home, among iends, in own, e c. as a consequence o
he diglossic si ua ion unde gone by his language. This si ua ion s ill exis s
o a ce ain ex en in he Spanish Basque Coun y, and o a g ea e ex en in
he F ench Basque Coun y, e en hough he si ua ion is changing in bo h a e-
as. In o me imes, howe e , hings we e unlike now, since many documen s
–which show a ia ion as well, depending on he in en ion and kind o do-
cumen and who i was mean o – appea ull o pe names, c . he ollo-
wing quo es: «Michelco ijo de Cha iquo» (Be a, Na a e, 1366), «Cha ico de
a e o e Johanco su cuñado, Johan o ijo de Johan de a zoz; sus ijos Choanco,
Choane o, Cha ico» (Be elu, Na a e, 1520).
In he p esen pape we conside only he hypoco is ics which a e based
on i s names, and no he ones ha a e based on su names (e.g. Lasa e
Laxa e,Salabe i Xala,Suspe egi Xuxpe o Zubi i Xubi i). Nei he
do we conside hypoco is ics whose o igin may lay in place names, be hey
common oponyms (Ezku a Exku a,Goizue a Goixu , see Salabe i,
2009:86-87) o denomina ions oo ed in oyconyms (wha we call «house
nicknames–, such as A osenea [ he house] A oxene [ he owne o he hou-
se] in I u en, Pe ala s Pe ala x in A izkun o Aldún zìn Aldùn xín in
Goizue a, all ound in Na a e; see Salabe i & Zubi i, 2009).
Uni e si y names a e conside ed in o he languages (in Japanese, see
Milam, 2006), as well as names o ibes (in Noo ka o Nuuchahnul h, see
S onham, 1991), o place names (e.g. A mas [1974:195] o Gua emalan
Spanish, o Simpson [2001] o Aus alian English)10. Fo o he languages
«hypoco is ics o common names» a e men ioned, in Ge man (Wiese,
2001)11 and English (Simpson, 2001) o compa ison12.
On he o he hand, in o de o know whe he a hypoco is ic is male o
emale in Basque, one mus ake he whole neu e name, he non-hypoco-
is ic o m in he base in o conside a ion, as is he case in o he languages.
Su ixes, excluding he ew ones which display gende ma ke s13 (i.e. emini-
ne -a, as a way o explana ion -nda in he olde hypoco is ics, -i ( )a in he
newe ones, like O sanda,Paki a,Pan xi a), a e gene ally speaking used o
cons uc bo h male and emale names, as is he case in Czech (Be hin, 2003:
63). By way o compa ison: Be i,Pe i,Pe i i Be iko,Pe iko, Pe i iko s.
Juana,Ma i(a) Juanako,Ma i(a)ko, all o which a e o med using he su -
ix -ko.
10 In Ame ican English as well; c . he examples Cincina i Cincy,Philadelphia Philly, o he
example ha Simpson does no men ion, San F ancisco F isco. No such phenomena a e a es ed o
Basque, ha we know o . We collec ed examples (Salabe i, 2009:8) such as La Rochapea La Rocha
(A o xapea, a neighbo hood in I uñea/Pamplona) o Po ugale e Po u (a own in Bizkaia) among
o he s, bu hese a e common only in Spanish. Howe e his may be, we a e no su e whe he edu-
ced illage names (I un ‘I u en’, Olaz i ‘Ola zagu ia’ and O sagi ‘O sagabia’ in Na a e, o ins ance)
can be conside ed o be, some imes a leas , hypoco is ics o place names.
11 He claims hus in a oo no e (p. 135): «Phoni is hypoco is ic o Phonologe ‘phonologis ’, a o -
ma ion English speake s a e pa icula ly ond o ».
12 On he o he hand, Tho n on (2006) and Halicki (2007) use he e m hypoco is ic o e e o he
i s name o a pe son, and he I alian e m acco ciamen i o e e o he sho enings o so-called clip-
pings ha happen in his language, which in ou iew is he co ec manne o name hese elemen s.
13 In Basque g amma ical gende does no exis , bu in he ield o onomas ics male and emale
names ha e been explici ly gende ed, since he Middle Ages a leas .
2. PET NAMES IN BASQUE: FORMATION PATTERNS AND
CHARACTERISTICS
We ha e had a well-o ganized hypoco is ics sys em in ou language, and
we s ill ha e i . By his is mean ha h oughou he his o y o he language
ce ain pa e ns ha e been used o o m pe names, and al hough some o
hese pa e ns ha e changed o a ce ain ex en , hey s ill apply in he p oduc-
ion o hypoco is ics, e en i some o hem a e no as p oduc i e as hey used
o be: a ew ha e made hei way «sa e and sound» o ou day (which is he
case o mos pa e ns consis ing o pala aliza ion) whe eas o he s a e no so
much in o ce (e.g. su ixa ion). In his pape we de ine he so-called «hypo-
co is ics sys em» along he lines o he «naming sys em» ha Ainiala,
Saa elma and Sjöblom (2012:21) men ion: «When speaking o a naming sys-
em, we a e e e ing o a sys em ha is o med by ce ain ypes o names
whe e ce ain s uc u al o unc ional p inciples a e dominan ».
In he case o Basque pe names, a ew names such as Joanes14,Ma ia,
Ma i(n),Pe i, e c. we e commonly used as a base, and he e exis ed a ew
main pa hways ha lead o he o ma ion o hypoco is ics. Nowadays names
ha e changed, especially among he younge gene a ions in he Spanish
Basque Coun y (see Go o xa egi, 2000). One ini ial cause o his change
is he naming e olu ion lead by A ana‘s wo k du ing he i s hi d o he
20 h cen u y, and a la e cause a e he eno a ions suppo ed by Sa us egi.
As a consequence hypoco is ica ha e changed as well, since he bases a e un-
like he o me ones, al hough he pa e ns o he o ma ion o pe names
con inue o be he same ones. These a e he ollowing ou (Salabe i, 2009):
2.1. Pala aliza ion
This i s pa e n is ali e and kicking among Basque speake s, al hough
some subpa e ns ha his o ically exis ed ha e come o disappea . The ollo-
wing a e he sounds ha can unde go pala aliza ion15:
/ś/:Añes Añex,Dolo es Dolo ex,Nikolas Nikolax,San e
Txan e*16,Sin o iano Txi u iano,So kunde Xo kun. In some cases we
obse e ha he pala alized sound has changed i s quali y a e pala aliza ion
o he al eola apical has aken place: Jose a Joxe a Ko e a,Sebas ián
Xax ian T a an.
/s/:Anize Anixe ,Bizen e Bixen e,Gaizka Gaixka,Luzia Lu xi,
Luxia;Zip iano Txipano17,Zuma Xuma .
/ć/:Al on so Al on xo,Alpon xo;U sula U xula.
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF BASQUE HYPOCORISTICS
14 This was he mos equen and ex ensi ely used name in Eu ope du ing he la e Middle Ages
and he Renaissance pe iod (Ainiala, Saa elma, Sjöblom, 2012:152).
15 May i be no ed he e ha Basque p onuncia ion has o be he s a ing poin when in e ing pa-
la alized a ian s. Fo example, i is necessa y o p opose Ado azion when explaining he e olu ion
om Ado ación o Ado axon, i.e. i is necessa y o p opose a middle s age wi h [s].
16 I no hing else is speci ied in he ex , we ma k hypoco is ics ha a e only his o ical wi h an as-
e isk placed behind.
17 Piano,Chano and Yano a e his name’s hypoco is ics in Mexico (Boyd-Bowman, 1955:340),
Chano in Hondu as (Van Wijk, 1964:304), and Cip ia and Pano in Bogo a (U awa, 1985:60). Anohe
Basque hypoco is ic o his name is Xip i, al hough his can be based as well on he F ench o m
Cyp ien.
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2.3.4. Reduc ion o consonan clus e s
In he language unde s udy, as is he case wi h o he s26, he simpli ica-
ion and e en occasional b eaking o consonan clus e s is no a i y:
1.[d V] > [ɟV]:And é Andde,And és Anddex.
2.[ lV] > [ V] > [pV]:Flo encio Flo en zio Fon xo,Pon xio.
3.[ V] > *[ V] > [pV],[mV]:F ançois Pan xoa,F an ziska
Main xika,Pan xika;F an zisko P an xi o Pan xi o,Pa xi,Pan xo,
Man ziku,Pa ziku.
4.[g V] > [gV. V] (> [gV.hV]): G acianne Ge exina,Gehaxina.
5.[g V] > [gV]:G aciosa,G acieuse Gaxuxa. Ano he e olu ion o his
s uc u e is [ʧV], he one we ind in he his o ical example o G azia
Txaxi. I Xaxi de i es om he same name as i seems o do, a u he esul
o he consonan clus e [g ] would be [ʃV]. The e may ha e been a middle
s age in he o m o *Gazi(a).
6.[k V] > [kV]:Juan C uz [x]wanku x Kanku x;Ma ía C uz
Ma ik uz Maiku z.
7.[n.ʧV] > [Ø.ʧV]: (Jwan xo,Jwan xu )Txan xo, *Txan xu Txa xo,
Txa xu (see abo e). This is an old de elopmen ha is no longe p oduc i e.
8.[p jV] > [pV]:Zip iano Txipano.
9.[p V] > [pV]:P uden zio P oen xio Poen xio.
10.[ .dV] > [Ø.dV]:Bena din Beñadin.
11.[ .lV] > [Ø.lV]:Ka los Kalox.
12.[ .lV] > [Ø.λV]:E lande Ellande Allande; (Ka los )Ka lin
Kallin.
13.[ .nV] > [Ø.ɲV]:Be na do Beña do,Be na( ) >Beña ;Fe nan
Feñan.
14.[ . V] > [Ø.cV]:Be an(d) Pe an.
15.[ .ʧV] > [Ø.ʧV]:Ga xo Ga xo *, Ma xelo Ma xelo,Pa xelo.
16.[ . V] > [Ø.cV]:Ba olo Ma olo,Ma in Ma in.
17.[ . V] > [Ø.ʧV]:Ma i Ma xi. This is old.
18.[ . V] > [Ø. V]:Joxema iñ Joxema iñ,Ma ina Txa ina*
Txa ina*.
19.[ .xV] > [Ø.kV]:Bi [x]inia Bi [x]i Biki (Vi gi in I alian and
Spanish, U awa, 1985:77; Tho n on, 1996:88, e en hough he p onuncia-
ion is di e en in each o hose languages).
20.[śil.bV] > [ʧi.li.bV]:Sil es e,Sil es a Txilibis o,Txilibis a.
21.[śin. V] > [ʧi. V]:Sin o iano Txi u iano.
22.[ V] > [cV]:Ca he ine [ka Rín] Ka in,Ka ina,Ka i;Pa izia
Pa i;Be i Be i,T is an T i an .
26 An example om English would be And ew Andy, no *And y, since he second syllable ne-
e displays a complex onse , e en i his is he case in he base name. In ligh o his he pe names
And é,And és Andde,Anddex o Basque come o mind because he p ocess is seemingly he same.
Fo he e olu ion o consonan clus e s in hypoco is ics in English see Lappe (2007:245 and successi-
e pages), and o Ge man see Wiese (2001). In dealing wi h Czech, Be hin (2003:64) claims « ha
ma kedness/well- o medness cons ain s on p osodic s uc u e o a la ge ex en de e mine he shape o
hypoco is ics. Cons ain s on syllable s uc u e en o ce he p esence o an onse and limi he ypes o
pe missible codas», and in a oo no e his au ho adds: «... syllable s uc u e cons ain s, which in ge-
ne al a o no complex clus e and homo ganic codas, al hough he e a e excep ions [...]». In any case,
educ ions a e sca ce among he examples p o ided by his au ho .
In o he ins ances, howe e , consonan clus e s a e no educed, bu p e-
se ed:
23.[ V] > [ V],[p V]:F an zisko F axku,P an xisko,P an xi o,
P an xo, e c.
24.[m.b V] > [m.b V]:Amb osio,Amb osia Anb oxio,Anb oxi.
25.[m.bV] > [m.bV]:Janba iz (Jean-Bap is e)Janba i ,Janba i .
26.[n. sV] > [n.ʧV]:Benan zio,Benan zia Benan xio,Benan xi.
27.[p iV],[p jV] > [p V]:Cip iano,Cyp ien Xip i.
28.[p V] > [p V]:P uden zio,P uden zia P uden xio,P uden xi.
29.[ .dV] > [ .dV]:Bena din Beña din,Bena dine Beña dina.
30.[ .lV] > [ .lV]:Ka los Ka lox.
31.[ .nV] > [ .ɲV]:Be na do Be ña do.
32.[ .sV] > [ .ʧV]:Ga ze(a) +-o >Ga xo ;Ga zio Ga xio;Ga zo
Ga xo. This e olu ion is old.
33.[ . sV] > [ .ʧV]:Ma zelo Ma xelo.
34.[ . V] > [ .cV]:Albe o Albe o,Ba olo Ma olo.
35.[s (.V)], [ś. V] >[ʃ. V]:Ba iz ,Bau is a Ba ix a,Bau ix a;T is an
T ix an.
36.[ V] > [cV], [ʧV]:An onia An oni;An onio An on An on,An xon.
In one case he consonan clus e is no educed, bu i is changed in
some way:
37.[ lV] > [p V]:Flo encio P on xio.
The ollowing being a single example, i could be ha he ill is d opped
due o a dissimila ion and no due o he hypoco is ic s a us o he wo d, sin-
ce we would o he wise expec a CV syllable, no CCV:
38.[ . V] > [Ø. V]:Ge udis Ke uxa. In his case he hypoco is ic
displays a owel -a ha he o iginal o m does no , in he same way as hap-
pens wi h Spanish Ma ía Jesús (Ma ía)Jesusa. This migh sugges he s a -
ing poin om which he hypoco is ic is de i ed o be *Ge udisa, i.e. o
-a o be a gende ma ke . In some a eas i is common o [k] o appea in s e-
ad o [x], especially in hose a eas in which he ela sound [x] om Spanish
is pe cei ed as a o eign sound27:Jesús Kexux,José and Jose Ko e (and
using his as a s a ing poin , T o e), e c.28.
We belie e ha he ollowing is an example o assimila ion:
39.[m.bV] > (*[m.mV] >)[mV]:Janba iz (Jean-Bap is e)Jama i ,
Jama i .
2.3.5. Consonan d opping
I is necessa y o in es iga e, a some poin , wha he ela ionship be we-
en owel d opping and accen ua ion is: in some ins ances, in he case o
Zaca ías Xaká i o example, he s ess seems o ha e shi ed, al hough his
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF BASQUE HYPOCORISTICS
27 Le i be poin ed ou , in any case, ha he change [x] > [k] occasionally also occu s in Spanish
(Piñe os, 2000:82), and ha he e exis a ew examples o his change in he Basque spoken in he
No he n Basque Coun y as well.
28 Boyd-Bowman (1955:339) picked up on he occu ence o Augus o‘s hypoco is ic Cuxo in
Yuca an, México, and Pléna (2003:83) ecei ed his occu ence om him and included i in his wo k
hal a cen u y la e . We do no know, howe e , wha he language en i onmen is in which said pe
name is ound, and in such a si ua ion i is di icul o w i e abou i wi hou being mis aken.
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migh be a me e illusion i i u ns ou ha he name was p onounced
Zaká ias. Howe e his may be, d opping o inal -sis also well known: Jesus
Kexux Ke xu, e en i his phenomenon is no necessa y ( he o m Ke xus
exis s as well). We could also be dealing wi h d opping o he inal sibilan in
he his o ical example Txape i, i i we e de i ed no om *Juanpe i, bu
om Juanpe i( )z* (which was o iginally a s uc u e name +pa onymic).
We o en obse e a ian s ha ha e unde gone loss o a ap, occasionally
nex o he o m ha con ains ha sound: Dolo es Doloex (also Dolo ex),
E a is o Ebaix o (also Eba ix o), Juanma i Juanmaiko,Lo enzo Loen xo
(also Lo en xo), Ma ía Jose a Maixepa (also Ma iajoxepa). This phenomenon
is e y widesp ead among names ha con ain Ma ía as a i s membe (see he
examples men ioned abo e). An in e ocalic oiced ica i e can also be d op-
ped, be i a bilabial (Es eban Ex ean), den al (P udencia P oen xi) o ela
(Agus in,Augus in Aux in,Segunda Xeunda,Segundino Xeundino).
These consonan d oppings o en cause owels (o makes i easie o
hem) o use oge he : Flo encio Fon xo,Pon xio;Lo en za,Lo en zo
Loen xa,Loen xo Lon xa,Lon xo;P uden zio P oen xio P oon xio
P on xio. They can also cause diph hongs o a ise: Es eban Ex wan,Ix wan.
In ancien imes he d opping o a consonan could be caused by he addi-
ion o a su ix: Miguel Mi xel Mi xe o (bu Mi xelko).
I is wo h no ing a his poin ha in some a ie ies o Basque i is com-
mon o he sounds [ɾ], [δ], [ɣ] o be d opped ([β]conside ably less e-
quen ly) and, o a ce ain deg ee a leas , o he d opping o hese sounds o
be a consequence o he p e iously men ioned dialec al a ia ion. In o de o
ind ou he implica ions o hese phenomena, howe e , we should be ami-
lia wi h he a ie ies o Basque ha a e spoken in all he illages om which
we ha e collec ed he pe names. In any case, i is clea ha hypoco is ics
con ibu e o he loss o ce ain sounds, e en i his does no happen o en
in common speech. We can hink ha when bo h endencies mee ( he dia-
lec al one and he hypoco is ic-induced one) he men ioned ica i e sounds
a e d opped mo e easily in in e ocalic posi ion.
2.3.6. Use o ce ain consonan s in hypoco is ics
The endency o Basque hypoco is ics o use [p] ins ead o [ ] is no e-
wo hy, e en in hose illages whose local a ie y does no commonly display
such a change in daily speech: Al on so Alpon xo, F an ziska Pan xika,
F an zisko Pa xi (which is a es ed in Za ai zu / Salaza in he 16 h cen u y),
Ma in Ma in Pa in; Ma zelo Ma xelo Ma xelo Pa xelo. This
endency is p esen in he Spanish spoken by child en as well, acco ding o
Boyd-Bowman (1955:356-357): Boni acio Pacho,Sin o osa Polocha. In
any case, i seems ha such a change is p esen in pe names ha appa en ly
a e no ela ed o he speech o child en: F ancisca Paca,F ancisco Paco29.
29 In dealing wi h English, Coa es (2008:326) men ions some o he names ha p esen a numbe o
phonological changes du ing and a e he Middle Ages ( he hypoco is ics Ki ,Gib,Wa ,Heb and Phip,
om he names Chis ophe ,Gilbe ,Wal e ,He be and Philip). This au ho claims ha Ki could be «an
adop ion by adul speake s o ju enile p onuncia ion», bu ha his is no ce ain in he case o he o he
hypoco is ics. Tho n on (1996) obse es as well he in luence o child speech in some pe names in I alian.
In he No he n Basque Coun y we obse e he same change: Be an(d)
Pe an, bu his ime s emming om [b]. We can conside hese de elopmen s,
ollowing Piñe os (2000) and Pléna (2003), as he consequence o he «op i-
mizing» o he «a aques» o «onse s» o he hypoco is ics, since no all conso-
nan s ha e he same alue when appea ing in he onse o a syllable30.
I would seem ha [m] gi es he same esul , i.e. ha his sound adds a -
icula o y p ominence o he hypoco is ic: F ancisco Man ziku;Juanes,
Juanis Juanex, Juanix Manex, Manix; Nicolás Mikolax. We conside
ha he a ian s Ganex,Ganix o his name in he ecen pas mus be ex-
plained di e en ly, and he same mus be said abou he pe names Fanex,
Fanix.
We some imes ind [l] in place o he o iginal [ɾ]:Bi o io Bi olo,
Te esa *T e esa T ele. The endency, on he o he hand, o use ano he
pala al sound, [c], ins ead o [ʃ]o [ʧ]is no ewo hy: Ma ía Isabel Mai-
xabel, Maxabel Ma el, Pa xi o Pa i o (assimila ion?), Sebas ian
Xax ian T a an. This las name is an example o eduplica ing hypoco is-
ic and, in such cases, [c] can appea ins ead o ano he consonan : Joxe
Ko e T o e, Ma in T a in.
2.3.7. Consequences o assimila ion and dissimila ion
Assimila ion and dissimila ion a e also ela ed o occu ences o owel-
d opping and changes in he quali y o owels: Flo encio Flo en zio
*Fo on zio *Fon xio (c . Pon xio)Fon xo. This is also he case in gene al
in ela ion o consonan loss and consonan change: Jose Fe mín
[x]oxepillin;Juan José [x]wan[x]oxe [x]wanxe; Juan Ignacio [x]wan
Inazio [x]waninaxio [x]wainaxio [x]waníxjo.
The occu ences o so-called « eduplica ion» mus also be included he e;
he ollowing a e some ins ances o such phenomena in Basque: Allande
Allalle,Dominica *Domi Momi,Edu ne Nune,Fe nando Menano;
Izaskun Kakun;Jean-Pie e Xanpie *Panpie Panpi;Joana Maña
Ñaña;Joanes Ñañes,Josune To une To u;Ma ipaz Papax, e c.
These o ms may be ela ed o he speech o child en31. This being said, le
us deal wi h some clea name-sho enings:
2.3.8. Elision o ini ial syllables, wi hou pala aliza ion
Examples o non-pala alized unca ed names a e ex emely in equen in
Basque, since mos occu ences p esen pala aliza ion. Among he ew exam-
ples ha we ound, Ga bikunde Kunde is wo h men ioning.
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF BASQUE HYPOCORISTICS
30 The ollowing quo e by Pléna (2003:84) in which he au ho explains he hie a chies es ablis-
hed by Op imali y Theo y can help unde s and he da a p o ided in his pape : «P ince & Smolensky
(1993:129) on inco po é ce e idée [ he ela i e sono i y o he elemen s in he segmen chain] dans O.T.
en p oposan deux sous-hié a chies uni e selles de con ain es, la HIÉRARCHIE DES MARGES e la HIÉRARCHIE
DES NOYAUX [...]. La HIÉRARCHIE DES NOYAUX pénalise l’associa ion des segmen s aux noyaux syllabiques en
onc ion de leu posi ion su une échelle de sono i é. Plus un phonème es sono e, moins la pénali é qu’il en-
cou en jouan le ôle de noyau d’une syllabe es sé è e. La HIÉRARCHIE DES MARGES [...] u ilise la même
échelle de sono i é, mais en sens in e se: elle pénalise l’associa ion des phonèmes à l’a aque e à la coda de
la syllabe d’au an plus lou demen qu’ils son plus sono es».
31 The analysis o eduplica ed o ms in Spanish ha Pléna (2003) ca ies ou is e y in e es ing.
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2.3.9. Elision o name-in e nal phonological ma e ial, wi hou pala aliza ion
These a e no e y equen ei he , al hough hey a e in ac mo e e-
quen han hose in he p e ious sec ion: Eu emia U emia U i,F ancisco
F aisko,P aisko;Je ónimo Jolmo,Ma ía Dolo es Maloles, e c.
2.3.10. Elision o inal syllables, wi hou pala aliza ion
These come up conside ably mo e o en han hose in he wo p e ious
sec ions, al hough pala alized ins ances a e mo e equen in any case. The
ollowing a e some non-pala alized ins ances32:Agus in Agus,Begoña
Bego,Es íbaliz Es i,Gabina Gabi,Ga azi Ga a,Ga ikoi z Ga i,
Iñigo Iñi,Izaskun Izas,Izia Izi.
2.3.11. Elision o ini ial and inal syllables, wi hou pala aliza ion
These a e e y sca ce as well, in addi ion o occasionally p esen ing some
o he change: Ai zibe Tzibi,Hipóli o Poli.
2.3.12. O he s
Some imes, in compound names, he hypoco is ic seems o o igina e by
aking a piece om each name; mo eo e , occasionally an addi ional change
is o be seen: Ma ia Azen zion Mazin zi,Ma ia Lu des Malu,Ma ia
Pila Ma ipi.
2.4. Pa e n combina ions
2.4.1. Pala aliza ion and su ixa ion
Su ixes o en display a pala alized base. We ind many examples in w i-
en documen s; he ollowing a e some old ins ances: Azea i Axea iko,
G azi(a) G axiko,G axi ;Joanes Xoanexko,Ka alin(a) Txa alingo;
Lope Txopiko,Txopin,Txopino;Ma ia Mallia o,Txa iako;Ma ina
Txa ingo;Ma i Ma xiko e,Txa iko;Ma in Ma xingo,Ma xiniko;
Ma ina Txa ingo,Pe u Txe uko, e c.
Nowadays we ha e Felixin,Felix o (Felis),Iñaxi a,Iñaxi o (Inazio),
Jexuxin,Jexuxi o,Jexux o,Ke u in,Kexuxin (Jesus),Jexuxi a (Ma ia Jesus),
Laxa i o (Laza o),Lo en xi o (Lo en zo),Pa xikin (F an zisko),Paxi a (Paz),
Pe i o (Ped o), e c.
We ind a ew cases o so-called «back- o ma ion» o « e og ade o ma-
ion». This means ha he ending o a hypoco is ic has been eanalyzed as a
su ix (and has consequen ly been some imes eplaced by ano he su ix), and
hen, in a numbe o cases, i has been elided: F an zisko P an xi o
Pan xi o Pan xo,Pa xi o F an zisko Pan xiko Pa xiko Pa xi.
32 These can be pu on he same le el as he so-called «Type-A hypoco is ics» men ioned by Piñe os
(2000) (Ja ie Ja i,Mau icio Mau i). On he o he hand, in he so-called «Type-B hypoco is ics»
sound elision has aken place in a di e en manne , and pala aliza ion is o en p esen (Albe o Be o,
Cecilia Chila,Fede ico Fico,G ego io Goyo,Susana Chana, e c.).These las examples a e qui-
e simila o many Basque hypoco is ics.
2.4.2. Pala aliza ion and sho ening
2.4.2.1. Names a e some imes sho ened om he beginning: Anas asio
Taxio, Boni azio Faxio, F an zisko F an xixku Xixku, Gon zalo
Txalo33.
2.4.2.2. Ins ances o elision o name-in e nal phonological ma e ial a e
e y equen : F an zisko F axko, F axku;Inazio Ixio, José Fe min
Joxe min;Ma gue i e *Ma ge i a Ma gi a,Ma ín José Ma ioxe.
Some imes, howe e , i is no clea whe he his in e nal sho ening is a con-
sequence o he hypoco is ic s a us o he example o a de elopmen o he
local a ie y: Me cedes Me zedes Me xedex Me xex [me ʧé∫].
2.4.2.3. In some o he names elision has aken place name-in e nally and
name- inally: And es Ma ía Apalli,José An onio Jox on,Kox on;Ma ía
Dolo es Maloles *Mallolles Mallo.
2.4.2.4. In a numbe o cases he inal pa o he name disappea s: Asie
Axi, F an ziska F an xiska F an xixka F an xix, Manuel Mañu,
Paskuala Paxku, Teles o a T eles.
2.4.3. Sho ening and su ixa ion
Such a de elopmen is well known in some names, bu i can be said ha
we a e no dealing wi h a p oduc i e pa e n in Basque: A i okie a A i
A i xu, Baka ne *Baka Baka xo, Es ibaliz Es i Es i xu. In lan-
guages like Japanese, howe e , sho enings a e equen , when he hypoco-
is ic akes he su ix34.
2.4.4. Sho ening, pala aliza ion and su ixa ion
Fe nando Fe ando Fe an(d, ) Txe an35 Txe an xe. This i-
ple pa e n is no common, and we p e e o hink ha Fe an(d, )
Txe an is he basis o Txe an xe. I his we e he case we would only ha e
a case o pala aliza ion and su ixa ion, i.e. a double, and no iple, pheno-
menon.
2.5. Augmen a i e pe names
In addi ion o he ou pa e ns men ioned abo e (pala aliza ion / su i-
xa ion / sho ening / a combina ion o wo ou o he p e ious h ee) he e
exis s a i h pa e n, a leas in he eas e n Basque Coun y. This pa e n is
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF BASQUE HYPOCORISTICS
33 Chalo is he hypoco is ic o Gonzalo in he Spanish o Mexico (Boyd-Bowman, 1955:339) as
well as in Hondu as (Van Wijk, 1964:304).
34 This language p esen s a hand ul o hypoco is ic a ixes as shown abo e. Among o he s, -chan
(colloquial egis e ), -san (gene al) and -sama ( o mal egis e ). Fo example, i we ake he pe sonal
name Masako we can de i e om i he o ms Masako-chan,Masako-san and Masako-sama, al hough
he i s o hem can unde go a numbe o modi ica ions in i s use among he name bea e ’s close
iends and amily membe s. The ollowing a e i s possible a ian s: Masa-chan, Mako-chan, Sako-chan
and Maa-chan (Kozasa, 2000:2).
35 Knö (2007:97) de i es he hypoco is ic Txe an om A agonese-Ca alan Fe an ‘Fe dinand’,
mis akenly in ou iew, since Fe ando (Fe ando de Badoz ain, Pamplona, 1350,Fe ando de Yndo,
Deba, 1465), Fe and (Fe and Semeneiç, Pamplona, 1267), Fe an Gomez (Na a e, 1282) and o he s
ha e long been well known in Basque (c ., especially, O doño Txo don Txo on). Those inhabi-
an s o Luzaide (Na a e) who a e named Fe nando a e called o may be called by means o he hy-
poco is ic Fe anddo.
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qui e special because i is used when con eying a despec i e meaning o
when he hypoco is ic bea e p esen s an ou s anding cha ac e is ic ela ed o
hei cha ac e o physical looks (e.g. all, o e weigh , ill-humou ed...). In
such cases [s] o [ s] a e used ins ead o [ś],[ʃ]o [ʧ]:And es And ez,
Basilio Bazilio,Felix Feliz,Fe min xo Fe min zo,Gaxan Gazan36,
Isid o Izid o,Jabie xo Jabie zo,Jose Luis Joselu Jozelu,Manex
Manez,Paxkal Pazkal;Ximon,Ximun Zimon,Zimun;Xalba Zalba ,
e c.In such cases we ind sound-d oppings and simpli ica ions as well,
exac ly in he way hey happen in he o he s: Jexux Ke zu, Juanjoxe
Kankoze. The e a e also o he kinds o sho ening: Joxean onio Jozean onio
Za on. The depala aliza ion o o he pala al consonan s is he same kind
o phenomenon (i.e. i is used o he same pu pose): [λ] > [l](Pello Pelo),
[ɲ] > [n] (Beña Bena ), [c] > [ ] (Ba i a Ba i a, Pe an Pe an).
I would seem ha in hese cases he closes o igin o he depala alized
a ian s is he o m ha con ains he pala alized elemen , and no he neu-
al base name. Fo he sake o compa ison, we conside ha in o de o ge
o Izid o, we should no ake Isid o as a e e ence, bu i s hypoco is ic Ixid o.
Likewise, in o de o ge Joze we whould s a wi h Joxe, no Jose. This expla-
na ion is encompassing and i comp ises all he a ailable da a, and we he e-
o e conside i o be he mos app op ia e.
The speake s eel i ha way oo: in he Na a ese illage o Amaiu 37
he e used o exis he hypoco is ic Jezuz, bu only because he hypoco is ic
Jexux (Jezuz A xekoa / Jexux Ba bain) had p e iously exis ed as well.
Likewise, Zan i is used nowadays, because Xan i was p e iously used (Zan i
Salabe i / Xan i E dikobo da). In he same line o hough , Paskal iki used
o be in use in Amaiu , appa en ly because Pazkalaundi was used in he i-
llage o U dazubi, no a away. The e o e, i seems ha a p e equisi e o
he e o be augmen a i e hypoco is ics is ha common hypoco is ics ha e o
be used i s , al hough he in e se is no necessa ily implied by his, meaning
ha he e can exis common hypoco is ics wi hou he e being augmen a i-
e hypoco is ics.
A his poin i mus be aken in o accoun ha he augmen a i e Mizel
is based on he name Mixel in he F ench Basque Coun y, and also ha he
la e o m, in spi e o i s appea ance, is no hypoco is ic, bu a neu e o m.
The same can be held o Pazkal, since his o m e lec s no hing mo e han
he Basque p onuncia ion o F ench Pascal, a leas in mos o he cases. I is
a well-known ac ha he p onuncia ion o F ench <s> and Basque <z> is
close in a icula o y e ms. Howe e his may be, i is clea ha he Pazkal
used in U dazubi, he one o which -aundi ‘big’, ‘ all’ is o used o be added,
is an augmen a i e when compa ed o Paskal iki ( iki ‘small’, ‘sho ’). In he
F ench Basque Coun y as well, [s] can be used o con ey a big size, as can
be seen in examples such as Xalba Zalba .
36 In some cases, unless we know he bea e o he hypoco is ic, i.e. whe he he o she is big, o e -
weigh , e c., i is no easy o de e mine he de elopmen o he hypoco is ic in ques ion.
37 We owe hese da a o Paskual Rekalde.
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3. CONCLUSIONS
The ollowing conclusions can be d awn om ou claims, among o he s:
3.1. In o de ha a pe name can be conside ed Basque i is su icien ha
i s e olu ion be he p oduc o a Basque pa e n. The neu e name, he non-
hypoco is ic, does no need o be a Basque o m (Ma ie o ins ance), le
alone o be o Basque o igin (Ha i z o example).
3.2. Wha p oduces he hypoco is ic can be a phonological p ocess (i.e.
pala aliza ion), a mo phological p ocess (sho ening, su ixa ion, o , in a ew
o ms, a combina ion o bo h) o a mo phonological p ocess (i.e. pala aliza-
ion + sho ening / pala aliza ion + su ixa ion). The ma e he e is ha pho-
nology (p osody) and mo phology a e closely ela ed, as p osodic
mo phology clea ly shows.
3.3. Rega ding he leng h o pe names, i would seem ha hypoco is i-
ca o single names, hose which con ain no su ixes, ha e a endency o be
wo o h ee syllables long nowadays, as i he e we e an unde lying o ce (a
empla e) ha leads hypoco is ica in ha di ec ion. Howe e , he e a e some
hypoco is ica ha a e ou syllables long, as a consequence o he leng h o
he o iginal name.
3.4. One-syllable hypoco is ics ha e no exis ed p e iously, o a leas
he e a e no ins ances o such in he documen s ha we ha e been examining.
The e exis a ew monosyllabic hypoco is ics a p esen , whose o igin lies in
eduplica ed o ms, bu hese a e ex emely in equen and a e used in e y
amilia en i onmen s.
3.5. Nowadays i is qui e common o owel-d oppings o ake place in
o de o ge di- o isyllabic hypoco is ics, o o he owel o become a
glide, e en o be abso bed, when he e is a pala al consonan lying nex o i .
Some imes hese phenomena seem o ha e aken place wi h he aim o achie-
ing isyllabic hypoco is ics.
3.6. In p esen -day Basque he simpli ica ion o consonan clus e s is e y
equen , so ha he end-p oduc is a syllable wi h a CV s uc u e (a «ligh »
syllable, in P ie o’s [1992:144] e ms). This happens whene e he consonan
clus e is au osyllabic, bu also when i is he e osyllabic, i.e. when he con-
sonan belongs o he coda o he p e ious syllable. This coda, which is
usually elided, is always a sono an consonan , a ill in mos o he cases, and
a nasal o la e al occasionally. The e o e, he esul ing s uc u e is CV.CV.
The e is much o in es iga e abou his, howe e .
3.7. Ra ely, in o de o achie e he same aim, an anap yc ic owel is in-
se ed, as was he case a long ime ago o La in loanwo ds (c uce(m) gu u-
ze, lib u(m) libu u).
3.8. In any case, in some consonan clus e s we ha e wo op ions: sim-
pli ica ion o p ese a ion o he clus e . The sociolinguis ic en i onmen o
he language p esumably plays a ole in he p ese a ion o consonan clus-
e s, since Basque is in ou days opp essed by he wo main su ounding lan-
guages (Spanish and F ench).
3.9. Su ixa ion has been a e y common esou ce in he c ea ion o
Basque pe names in he las cen u ies, o en accompanied by pala aliza ion.
The su ixes ha we e once used we e o en compound su ixes, i.e. hey con-
sis ed o wo o h ee subpa s.
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3.10. Nowadays su ixa ion is qui e weakened, only a ew su ixes a e
used.
3.11. A p esen , pala aliza ion is used abo e all in Basque o o m hypo-
co is ics, o en alone and o en accompanied by sho ening o he name.
3.12. Sho ening is also equen in ou days, and i can ake place name-
ini ially, medially o inally, o in mo e han one place a he same ime, es-
pecially medially and inally (-ia > -i in emale names in he Sou he n Basque
Coun y) o , when i is a compound name, in bo h elemen s.
3.13. Some imes i is ha d o see he eason o he sho ening as well as
o explain he e olu ion o he name i sel . I is possible ha child speech has
had a special in luence on his a ea.
3.14. As is he case in many o he languages, in Basque he e exis edu-
plica ing hypoco is ica. I would seem ha hese, oo, o igina ed in child
speech.
3.15. Mo eo e , he «augmen a i e hypoco is ics» used in he eas e n
Basque Coun y a e qui e special and cha ac e is ic o Euska a, o Basque.
These usually o igina e due o he size, o e weigh , allness o oughness o
he name bea e , and hey consis o using he non-pala al coun e pa s o
o he wise pala al sounds (usually ins ead o pala al sibilan s), in he same way
as happens in common speech (goxoa ‘swee ’ / gozoa ‘ e y swee ’, ‘ oo swee ’;
xexena ‘small bull’ / zezena ‘common o big bull’). Tha is why we conside
ha he exis ence o common hypoco is ics is a sine qua non condi ion o
he use o augmen a i e hypoco is ics, i.e. ha he la e o igina e and o ga-
nize on he basis o he o me .
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