Ana Franco Hume (asker) Aug 6, 2017:

Gracias! Gracias a todos por sus sugerencias.
Estoy de acuerdo al 100% con Robert con su explicación. No tiene nada que ver con el tamaño y tampoco es un niño.
Me han sugerido "dearly departed" también, que creo que podría servir.

Mónica Hanlan Aug 3, 2017:

@ Robert Just read your comment and what you say completely makes sense... Perhaps we need someone from Paraguay to confirm the meaning in this case.

Robert Carter Aug 3, 2017:

Diminutive use There appears to be a fair amount of confusion regarding how the diminutive is used in countries other than Spain.
In Mexico at least (I'm not sure about Peru), the best way I can think of to describe its use in general, i.e., when not actually referring to something small, is to "soften" the tone. This often leads to its use when asking for something, e.g. "pásame la salsita, por favor", "me das un vasito, por favor". In neither of these cases would I expect to receive anything particularly small, in fact it would be facetious of somebody to give me a tiny glass or a tiny bit of salsa were I to ask in those terms.

"Muertito" is a word I have sometimes heard my mother-in-law use when referring to her "ofrenda" for the day of the dead. For example, she might call upon someone to "comprarme flores de cempasúchil [sic] para mis muertitos". This wouldn't mean "little cadavers", "dead guys", "stiffs", "minuscule corpses", or anything of the sort; quite the opposite, it's a way of softening the word "souls" or "dead" and a term of endearment towards the deceased she's planning to honour.

Mónica Hanlan Aug 2, 2017:

Una opinión distinta... A mí me dio la sensación de que al estar hablando de su trabajo, no demuestra mucha simpatía o "affection". Por eso elegí una respuesta más informal... como que al ser su trabajo, no puede sentir mucho, sino estaría deprimido todo el tiempo...
Saludos

Juan Jacob Aug 2, 2017:

Cierto... ...a pesar de ser diminutivo, puede perfectamente tratarse de cualquier persona... en este sentido, tiene carácter "de simpatía" por el fallecido. Estoy de acuerdo.

Cecilia Gowar Aug 2, 2017:

Hi Phil! It seems the author is talking about his job in general, not about a particular deceased. And I do not believe he's talking about a dead infant.

philgoddard Aug 2, 2017:

Ana Could you just confirm that this is not about children? I think Cecilia is probably right, it's an affectionate, respectful term for any dead person.