Language / When is it appropriate to use the diminuitive form '+ek' (or +ka)? [2]

My parents are native Polish speakers, but I have a bit of a hard time getting them to explain grammar to me (for them it is something they never really analyzed and thus takes a bit for them to explain to me). I'm thinking of saving the trouble and just asking you guys:

When is it/isn't it appropriate to use -ek?

If you want specific questions:
-Do you use it in formal speech/writing (eg a speech, an essay, a snobby gathering?)
-Can it imply cuteness?
-Can you add -ek (or -ka) to an animal to make it a term of endearment (well, not all animals)?
-Would you do it if you already have 'mały' (small) in the sentence?
-What are the differences (if any) between the masculine -ek, -ciek, -uń, -eńki?
-What are the differences (if any) between the feminine -ka, -cia, -unia, -enka, -lka?
-Any other things you might want to clarify about diminutive usage.
BTW for English speakers wondering what a diminutive is, it is close to how we have 'Tom' and 'Tommy', the +my indicates a child or a term of endearment.

Language / Open Conversation - English/Polish [28]

I think that it would be nice to start a little conversation everyone can post in. You just respond to the person who posted before you. Then, you put in parentheses '()' what it means in English, breaking it up as much as possible. Also, are there are people learning English here that speak Polish predominately?

Let me attempt that in Polish before continuing:
Ja myślę że by było fajnie rozpoczynać rozmova w każdy może rozmawiać. Tylko musicie odpowiadać osoba który mówił zanim ty.

I'll stop there as translating Polish is a lengthy process for me.

Corrections are welcome, as I'm sure I made a 'błąd' (mistake).

Alright starting this conversation:
Jak się masz? Moje imię jest Adam, ja mieszkam w Kanadzie.
(How are you? My name is Adam, I live in Canada.)

Breaking it up:
Jak się masz - Common Polish greeting meaning literally "How have you?", used as "How are you?"
Jak: Like, How
Się: Reflexive article, eg "Play with yourself"
Masz: Have, conjugating with 'you'. Notice how the word 'you' is not present, it is common to leave it out in Polish.

Moje imię jest Adam - Straight-forward Polish, literally "My name is Adam".
Moje - My
Imię - Name
Jest - Is ('to be' conjugated with 'imię')
Adam - My name. The 'AdAm' is pronounced like 'fAther'.

Ja mieszkam w Kanadzie - Fairly simple, literally "I live in Canada"
Ja - I
mieszkam - 'mieszkać' conjugated with 'ja', 'live'.
w - In the context, 'in'. Can mean 'with', 'in', 'of'.
Kanadzie - Canada as a object. The 'zie' indicates that it is an object, while if it was the subject it would be "Kanada", eg "Kanada jest fajna" (Canada is cool).