Diminutives

For those of you who have not experienced Russian culture up close, I'd like to share some very endearing rituals that I just love. First and foremost there's the use of diminutives for names or nicknames. For example adding a diminutive to a proper name, such as Theodore becoming "Theodorchik" is common, and not just for people. Many Russians refer to their mobile phones as "telefonchik." nBut my favorite example is how Julia and her mom refer to Theo by using a string of increasingly shorter diminutives of the Russian word for little, маленький (pronounced ma-lin-key).