The diminutive of Ángel
I just noticed this on this thread.
Ángel is angel, but the diminutive seems to be angelito. Why does it lose the accent on the á? Is this something that happens with diminutives in general, specifically this word, or is this a mistake?
3 Answers
No, name, this is because it ends in l, the accent would naturally fall on the end, so it gets an accent.
But when you add something to it, the accent falls naturally on the second last syllable. No written accent required.
Two other examples of where the stress is not preserved when forming the diminutive:
botón ? botoncito / botonote
mamá ? mamita, mamacita
Thinks - - - is nametaken asking about the placement of the diacritical symbol (accent to most of us, including me) or about where the emphasis goes when you say the word?
The first is a whole lot easier of course, fixed by neat rules which one can read up.
But why do we say "angelita" with the emphasis on the "i" when it's derived from "ángel" with the accent on the "a". For me, I find this much more interesting.
PS Please excuse me if I've drifted off to "angelita" rather than "angelito"; my only excuse is that the only young one I have around is a grandaughter.
