The Diminutive in Naim Frashëri’s Poetry and Ismail Kadare’s Works

The works of Naim Frashëri and Ismail Kadare have had a great impact in the Albanian literature. We will not, however, discuss their literary value, but rather we will dwell on the linguistic impact and the gradual enrichment of the language by these authors. In this context, it is sometimes impossible to separate literature from language. This paper aims at explaining some of the aspects of the usage of the diminutive by the above-mentioned writers in their works. Therefore, in Frashëri’s poetry, we find it to be used for the purpose of derision or endearment of something or somebody, whereas in Kadare’s works we see it used only for derision and contempt of a thing or a person. The paper is divided into three parts, the first dealing with the usage of the diminutive by the authors, the second consists of examples of diminutive words, and the last section compares the words used by the former and latter of the authors in question