On the shi- evaluative prefix in Lamnsoꞌ

This paper examines the evaluative features of the shi- nominal prefix in Lamnsoꞌ. The paper takes advantage of the literature on shi- as the noun class marker for Class 19 nouns in Lamnsoꞌ to introduce it as a diminutive prefi x with the general semantic interpretation of ‘small’/’little’ (for the same language). The shi- prefix is identified here as a polysemous category with varying semantic values. The paper reveals that the shi- diminutive introduces pragmatic features yet unstudied for languages like Lamnsoꞌ. When the shi- prefix combines with the phonological process of reduplication, the limitative rather than the multiplicative interpretation is derived. Shi- combines with adjectives to introduce scales of the properties denoted by the adjective. The paper claims that the study of evaluative diminutives across language groups has the potential of revealing affixed valued features that bring to bear the linguistic significance of size and the pragmatics of evaluation.