Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the suffixes –er and –zi as encountered in modern Mandarin. What it aims to explore are the semantic and grammatical aspects of these two suffixes...Show moreAbstract: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the suffixes –er and –zi as encountered in modern Mandarin. What it aims to explore are the semantic and grammatical aspects of these two suffixes. The analyses touch upon questions such as: (1) What kind of word classes can –er and –zi be suffixed to? (2) Do –er and –zi imply diminutive meaning? (3) Is there a difference in meaning when a word allows for both –er and –zi suffixation? These and other questions are investigated with the help of two dictionaries, namely Wei (2005) and Jia (1990), on the basis of which a database of words suffixed with –er and –zi will be created.Show less
