a powerful attraction to the idea of miniaturisation. We seem to love dollhouses, teddies, train

縮小的概念著迷也不是沒有原因。我們喜歡娃娃屋、泰迪熊、火車模型

sets, bonzai trees, model airplanes and tiny cups and saucers sitting on the sides of miniaturized

盆景植物、模型飛機、小杯子和小小廚房

kitchens.

中的鍋碗瓢盆

These please us by symbolising a taming and humanising of the gigantic dimensions of much

這些在巨大無比人生面向中有歸順富含人性的象徵意義

of life. By far the easiest and fastest way to miniaturise

目前最簡易且快速的縮小模式

the world is not by making models of it, but through the use of what linguists call:

並非製作模型，而是語言學家稱作的

DIMINUTIVES A diminutive is a word that has been modified

小稱詞。小稱詞是指改變後的詞彙

to suggest the smaller version of itself - usually through a tweak to its ending.

指的是它更小的狀態，通常都是在後面加些東西

Interestingly, the moment we’re tempted to use a diminutive is often the moment we

有趣的是，當我們想要用小稱，都是在我們快要愛上

start to love someone or something. The more we feel drawn, the more we want to possess

人事物的時候。我們越受吸引，就越想要擁有它

them, to tame their otherness and intimidating scale, and therefore to shrink them down to

想要馴服他們迥異且可怕的尺度，因此想縮小他們

something more manageable, something that might slip into our pocket.

使它更好管控，像是可以放到口袋中

When a couple, let’s call them Emma and Brad get together, they might swiftly add

當一對情侶，假設 Emma 和 Brad 在一起時，他們可能很快地

some diminutives to their burgeoning relationship. His vagabond footloose sides can be tamed

在快速發展的戀情中使用小稱。他放浪的特性可以用一個 y 馴服

by a little y, so that he becomes Brad-y. And Emma might shrink by being called Emm-ie.

所以變成 Brady。而 Emma 可能縮小為 Emmie

It’s particularly interesting to find that not all languages use diminutives to the same

有趣的是不同語言使用小稱的程度不一樣

extent. The champion is Spanish, especially as spoken in Latin America. Latin Americans

西班牙文為冠軍。特別是拉丁美洲的西文。拉丁美洲人喜歡

are constantly trying to shrink everything. In Mexico “ahora” (in a minute) becomes

把所有東西縮小。在墨西哥 ahora（等一下）變成

“ahorita”, in just a little second. “Un poco”, a little, gets changed in “un poquitín”,

ahorita，再等一下下。Un poco，一點，變成 un poquitin

just a smidgeon. A coffee, “un café”, is constantly changed into “un cafelín”

一丁點兒。一杯咖啡 un cafe，常常變成 un cafelin 或

or “un cafelito.” That doesn’t make your coffee any smaller, but it brings you

un cafelito。這不會讓你的咖啡變少，但是

into a more intimate relationship to it. Italian is another language very keen on diminutives,

增加你和它的關係。義大利文也很常用小稱

usually with the addition of an “ino” or “ina”.

通常在後面加個 ino 或 ina

An old man: in Italian un vecchio becomes un vecchietto

一個老人：un vecchio 變成 un vecchietto

A little boy ragazzo → ragazzino A woman (donna → donnetta)

一個男孩 ragazzo 變成 ragazzino 女人 donna 變成 donnetta

A small car (macchina → macchinetta) German, often seen as a formal, harsh language, also

小車子 macchina 變成 macchinetta。德文看似正式一板一眼，也有

has a flair for diminutives. The suffixes “-chen”, “-lein” can be added to many

不少小稱。字根 chen -lein 常加進很多字

words. A sausage, “ein Wurst”, can be turned into “ein Würstchen”, which isn’t

香腸 ein Wurst 可以變成 ein Würstchen，並不是香腸變小

necessarily a smaller sausage but one that is particularly irresistible. Likewise “ein

而是難以抗拒的香腸。同樣地，ein

Hündchen” isn’t necessarily a smaller dog than “ein Hund” but it’s probably

Hündchen 並不比 ein Hund 小，但可能是你特別喜愛的

one you have a soft spot for. The major language notable for its lack of diminutives is English:

其中有很少小稱的語言是英文：

at best, we can add a “-y” or a ‘let’, very poor moves compared the great richness

我們至多加個 y 或 let，與其他語言相比之下

of diminutives in other languages. We might wonder why this is. Perhaps English, the global

小稱的使用算少。為什麼會這樣呢？可能因為英文為世界語言

language, the language of conquest and Empire, resists the accommodation with the modest,

是征服和帝國的語言，與日常生活的謙遜和溫柔

the everyday and the tender which other languages pave the way for. We may lack diminutives

互不相容。我們或許少了小稱

because it is that little bit harder to be tender in English - or, more importantly,

因為在英文中，就是有那麼一點難變得溫柔，或更重要的是，對英國人來說

as an English person. Diminutives do the valuable job of rehabilitating

是困難的。小稱的價值在於使甜蜜茁壯

sweetness. They remind us that we have come from childhood and that when we love, we want

它使我們想到童年，當我們愛的時候，會想要

to shrink the world back down to a more manageable and loveable scale. We know that we are the

把世界縮小到可以管理的尺度。我們知道自己是

objects of someone’s affection when they start to shrink us down - and we shouldn’t

其他人的愛，當他們把我們縮小的時候。對於縮小世界其他可愛角落

hesitate to shrink down the bits of the world we have begun to care for. This has been a

也不用猶豫。這是德國人的訊息

message from what the germans might term The School of Life-lein (german) or the Italians

德國或義大利人可能將 The School of Life 縮小成

The School of Life-etta.

The School of Life-etta

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