Why are most American (and I assume, English) nicknames formed by omitting everything but the first syllable, then adding "ie" or "y"? And why are some "ie" and some "y"?
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ANSWERS: 1
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The y or ie endings are the diminutive, so a boy who was called Johnny would probably be called John when he's grown up. The same thing happens in other languages, for example in Spanish Juanito would be called Juan when he was grown up. I think the ie ending is more common for female names, like the jazz singer Billie Holiday.
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