View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

[Facts] Just adding a little (edited)
That -erl ending is distinctively Austrian or Bavarian. You won't usually find it in Berlin or Hamburg! (Large parts of Austria speak a Bavarian dialect. Bavaria is a region in the Southeast of Germany.) (I wonder whether the -el/ -l diminutive isn't a Southern German thing too, but I'm not sure. Maybe Satu or Rene know more.)Nanni is a general German pet form of Anna/Anne and Marianne (though just as rare as Nannerl).My name book tells me, French has Nannette as a pet form of Anne. Maybe that's how Nanni entered German - but I'm speculating!(edited for clarity)*****

This message was edited 1/13/2007, 3:41 PM

vote up1vote down

Replies

austrians don´t speak a "bavarian" dialect!! there are many different dialects in austria as well as in germany, and it´s right that bavarian and austrian dialects belong to the same linguistic group, but f.e. the dialect spoken in Vorarlberg, the region next to switzerland in the west of austria, doesn´t belong to the same group BUT... guess what? right: swiss dialects. don´t spread pseudofacts
vote up1vote down
-erl, -l, elYes, those diminutive endings on -el and -l are south German as well. South German diminutive endings include-l
-el
-erl
-le
-liNorth German diminutive endings include-ke
-ken
-tje
-je
-ing
vote up1vote down
English has Nan- forms as nicknames for Anne as well: Nan and Nancy.:-)
vote up1vote down