De relatie tussen verkleinwoorden en verkortingen: een vergelijking tussen drie West-Germaanse talen

In this paper clipping in Dutch, English and German is discussed. In English there exist three different processes of clipping. The first results in monosyllabic CVC-forms, the two others in disyllabic trochaic forms, the first of this pair with final -o , the last one ending in -i. In Dutch there are mainly two processes of clipping. The first one resulting in monosyllabic CVC-forms, the second in trochaic forms ending in -o. German also has disyllabic clipped forms but mainly ending in -i. This paper shows how the co-occurrence of a diminutive or hypocoristic suffix -i in German and the absence of a similar suffix in Dutch can explain the non-occurrence of -i clipped forms in Dutch and at the same time of -o clipped forms in German.