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Just adding a little (edited)
That -erl ending is distinctively Austrian or Bavarian. You won't usually find it in Berlin or Hamburg! (Large parts of Austria speak a Bavarian dialect. Bavaria is a region in the Southeast of Germany.) (I wonder whether the -el/ -l diminutive isn't a Southern German thing too, but I'm not sure. Maybe Satu or Rene know more.)Nanni is a general German pet form of Anna/Anne and Marianne (though just as rare as Nannerl).My name book tells me, French has Nannette as a pet form of Anne. Maybe that's how Nanni entered German - but I'm speculating!(edited for clarity)*****

This message was edited 1/13/2007, 3:41 PM

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austrians don´t speak a "bavarian" dialect!! there are many different dialects in austria as well as in germany, and it´s right that bavarian and austrian dialects belong to the same linguistic group, but f.e. the dialect spoken in Vorarlberg, the region next to switzerland in the west of austria, doesn´t belong to the same group BUT... guess what? right: swiss dialects. don´t spread pseudofacts
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-erl, -l, elYes, those diminutive endings on -el and -l are south German as well. South German diminutive endings include-l
-el
-erl
-le
-liNorth German diminutive endings include-ke
-ken
-tje
-je
-ing
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English has Nan- forms as nicknames for Anne as well: Nan and Nancy.:-)
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