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Would it be "Innusha or Innushka?

On the one hand, the diminutive of Katya is Katyusha. I'm writing a poem to the tune of that song, likening her to the "rocket launchers" of the same name that won World War II for Russia.

On the other hand, I see words like korobushka.

When do you have diminutives with or without the "k?"

CocoPop
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Tom Au
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    Иннусик, Нусик, Инчик! – shabunc Jan 07 '19 at 11:13
  • @shabunc: Those sound "masculine." Don't women's names usually end with "a?" – Tom Au Jan 07 '19 at 11:43
  • it's all indeed legit, Натусик, Ольчик, Cветик, Людок, Нинок, names do end with -а/я but these are suffixes on top of the names – Баян Купи-ка Jan 07 '19 at 11:51
  • @TomAu nope, it would be oversimplification – shabunc Jan 07 '19 at 14:56
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    Be careful. You can't say for sure the lady likes all that. Нусик can be really annoying. – Elena Jan 07 '19 at 18:55
  • @Elena I'm not sure who's lady and who not but you definitely can not say any diminutive to somebody you are not in a close relationships with. – shabunc Jan 07 '19 at 21:15
  • @shabunc, I have diminutives I hate, and I am not sure anybody knows that. They simply have not picked the wrong ones. Besides, it is possible to use Russian diminutives even with colleagues. You should just know which will suit the situation. – Elena Jan 07 '19 at 21:20

4 Answers4

6

Инночка. Innochka. Иннушка is also possible.

Btw, asking someone what their preferred diminutive is is a win-win strategy. )))))

CocoPop
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Elena
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  • I am writing a poem to her, likening her to the song "Katyusha," and the "rocket launchers" of the same name that won World War II for Russia. That's the context of the question. – Tom Au Jan 07 '19 at 19:11
  • A really flattering comparison. ))))) But it reminds me of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8L64j_xvJE And... do you think it was katyusha that won the War? I'm never tired to be surprised at ideas about that, but it's another matter. – Elena Jan 07 '19 at 19:16
  • IMHO, one or both of two "Katyushas" won Russia the war. n the original song, Katyusha waits for, and inspires her soldier boy, kind of like Germany's Lili Marlene. In my version, the "Katyusha," (actually Innusha) rocket launcher follows behind her Russian infantry, and fires on the same targets as the soldiers do. – Tom Au Jan 07 '19 at 20:26
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    @Tom In case of a song/poem I'd srtongly suggest to not use "Innusha" of course. For a non-native speaker it may sound like Katyusha but in fact personally when I saw your question I first thought of words like "копуша", "горбуша" etc. Very awkward. For the song I'd go with Иннушка (Инночка is a bit more childish) though as I understand this will probably make you to start from scratch due to the different stress point. – seven-phases-max Jan 07 '19 at 23:18
  • @seven-phases-max: Why don't you turn your excellent comment into an answer that I would probably upvote and possibly accept. – Tom Au Jan 07 '19 at 23:22
  • @Tom Thanks, but I guess this would be just another "personal opinion" answer if compared to the excellent (from a strict language point of view) Баян Купи-ка answer. Maybe Elena will just edit her answer to accommodate the new information of the song/poem context. – seven-phases-max Jan 07 '19 at 23:30
  • seven phases has just "passed the buck" [ball, in American English] to you. Your thoughts on his comment? – Tom Au Jan 07 '19 at 23:32
  • I tend ho hear mostly Инночка, but neihter Инночка, nor Иннушка will pass to your rhyme, as they are stressed on the first syllable. So, I guess, you have made up your mind, as you choose the allusion to the battle theme. For me, rather Иннушка sounds mocking that Инночка does seem childish. Maybe, it is local. That's why, ir you just want to call a person a diminutive, it is better to ask. – Elena Jan 08 '19 at 04:49
  • @Elena: This Quora post seems to support my theory about the Katyusha. quora.com/Is-Katyusha-a-key-weapon-in-defeating-the-Nazi. I also read just today that 65% of the casualties in Europe were caused by artillery or mortar fire. Russia had no great preponderance of artillery against the Germans, so the difference "must" have been the Katyushas. – Tom Au Jun 03 '20 at 23:29
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I've never heard Иннуша, but it sounds totally natural to me, and I wouldn't bat an eyelid hearing it for the first time.

When do you have diminutives with or without the "k?"

The stressed suffix -уша/юша/иша I'd call endearing rather than diminutive. Diminutives, more often than not. would be words having the stressed suffixes -ушка/юшка/ишка.

I. So for Катя, the endearing form is Катюша, but the diminutive is КатюшКа
Валя - ВалЮша - ВалЮшка
Ваня - ВанЮша - ВанЮшка
Андрей - АндрЮша - АндрЮшка
Ира - ИрИша - ИрИшка
Марина - МарИша - МарИшка

II. However words suffixed with -ушка/юшка in which the stress falls not on the suffix, but on the immediately preceding syllable, do have an endearing connotation and not a diminutive one, e.g. бАтюшка, мАтушка, бАбушка, дЕдушка, тётушка, дЯдюшка, дЕвушка, сосЕдушка, Иннушка, Аннушка, Олюшка, Марьюшка, Глебушка, солОвушка, корОбушка, пОлюшко, нЕбушко, вОлюшка, голОвушка, зИмушка, сИлушка, also сОлнушко (dialectal variant of сОлнышко).

A shift in the stress within the words of the 1st group also gives them an endearing rather than diminutive connotation, e.g.

ВанЮшкаdimin vs ВАнюшкаendear
АндрЮшкаdimin vs АндрЕюшкаendear
КатЮшкаdimin vs КАтюшкаendear

The suffix-stress pattern in which the stress immediately precedes the suffix, as in the words of the second group, seems to not be productive any longer — it's an indicator of antiquated language.

To me it's obvious that the applicability of these suffixes depends on the morphology of the base word, but it's not easy to pin down and systematize their determinative morphological features.

Существительные с ударным суффиксом -ушк(а) могут иметь уменьшительно-уничижительное значение: комнатушка, избушка, кладовушка, пивнушка. Слова этого типа относятся к женскому роду, в том числе и мотивированные словами мужского рода: зверь – зверюшка, амбар – амбарушка, сараюшка. Тип продуктивный.

От этого типа следует отличать существительные с безударным суффиксом -ушк(а)/-юшк(а), -ушк(о) / -юшк(о), посредством которого образуются существительные со значением ласкательности: дедушка, дядюшка, вдовушка, женушка, зимушка; горюшко, морюшко, полюшко; pluralia tantum детушки, козлятушки. Сюда же относится суффикс -ушек: воробушек, соловушек (вариант соловушка), камушек, хлебушек (вариант хлебушко).

Source: ZDROBNĚLINY V RUŠTINĚ (Уменшительно-ласкательные суффиксы в русском языке) by Josefína Marchevková, p. 28
Тж. "Суффиксы субъективной оценки в русском языке и в русской разговорной речи" by Оути Пухакка, pp. 18, 19
Русская грамматика §§ 420, 421

CocoPop
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Баян Купи-ка
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    Наша радость была бы неполной... ) I think, we should add -очка, -ечка for Танечка, Ванечка, Леночка, Ирочка, Инночка, Анечка, Юрочка, Димочка, Вовочка, and -енька for Катенька, Оленька, Петенька, Алёшенька, Серёженька, Володенька. – Elena Jan 07 '19 at 10:22
  • i only focused here on specific suffix mentioned in the question because it's impossible to encompass the unencompassable – Баян Купи-ка Jan 07 '19 at 10:24
  • But really the most frequient are the variants with -чка and -енька, than all the rest. – Elena Jan 07 '19 at 10:32
  • not sure what the argument here is – Баян Купи-ка Jan 07 '19 at 10:33
  • It is seen from the heading of the question, that the author just needed a correct diminutive for a name. Correct is a variant which will be recognized and accepted by the name-holder. – Elena Jan 07 '19 at 10:36
  • besides the title i've also considered the actual content of the question – Баян Купи-ка Jan 07 '19 at 10:39
4

If it's suitable for your poem, "Иннуся" is also possible. I think this variant may also be suitable for the tune. By the way, ladies with this name are, for the most part, ok with this kind of diminutive, but it's personal.

CocoPop
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Olek K
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    Just recalled from my memory one more variant - "Иннуля" is also widely used. – Olek K Jan 11 '19 at 08:18
  • When you say "...it's personal", do you mean that it's a personal choice, or that it's a bit personal/intimate? – CocoPop Jun 20 '22 at 13:34
3

I know an Inna. She goes by Иннушка or Инночка.

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Iroda Urazova
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