Circumfix

thumb | right | alt=Examples of adverbial word formation in Albanian | Examples of adverbial word formation in Albanian A '''circumfix''' (abbr: '''{{sc|circ}}''')<ref>{{Cite web| last1 = Comrie| first1 = Bernard| last2 = Haspelmath| first2 = Martin| last3 = Bickel| first3 = Balthasar| title = Leipzig glossing rules: Conventions for interlinear morpheme-by-morpheme glosses| date = 2008| url = https://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/resources/glossing-rules.php| access-date = 2016-04-12| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190804103429/https://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/resources/glossing-rules.php| archive-date = 2019-08-04| url-status = dead}}</ref> (also '''parafix''',<ref>''The Oxford Handbook of Language Production'' (by Matthew Goldrick, Victor Ferreira, Michele Miozzo), Oxford University Press, 2014, ISBN 9780199393459, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yjg_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA159 p. 159] at Google Books: "Circumfixation (or parafixation) is the most sparsely attested type of affixation, [...]"</ref> '''confix''', or '''ambifix''') is an affix which has two parts, one placed at the start of a word, and the other at the end. Circumfixes contrast with prefixes, attached to the beginnings of words; suffixes, attached at the end; and infixes, inserted in the middle. Circumfixes are common in Malay<ref>{{citation |last=Tadmor |first=Uri |contribution=Malay-Indonesian and Malayic languages |editor-last=Strazny |editor-first=Philipp |title=Encyclopedia of Linguistics |pages=644–647 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |place=New York |date=2005}}</ref> and Georgian.<ref>{{citation |last=Colarusso |first=John | author-link=John Colarusso |contribution=Georgian and Caucasian languages |editor-last=Strazny |editor-first=Philipp |title=Encyclopedia of Linguistics |pages=380–383 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |place=New York |date=2005}}</ref>

Its related operation is called '''circumfixation''' (or '''parafixation''', '''confixation''', '''ambifixation''').

== Examples ==

{{circumfix|Angle brackets}} are used to mark off circumfixes.

===Germanic languages=== The circumfix is probably most widely known from the German past participle, which is ''ge-''{{circumfix|...}}''-t'' (ge- prefix + -t suffix) for regular verbs. The verb ''spiel-en'', for example, has the participle ''ge-spiel-t''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zingler |first1=Tim |title=Circumfixation: A semasiological approach |journal=Word Structure |date=15 March 2022 |volume=15 |pages=55–113 |doi=10.3366/word.2022.0199 |s2cid=247488121 |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/word.2022.0199?role=tab |access-date=29 November 2022 |language=en|url-access=subscription }}</ref> However, a number of so-called ''strong'' verbs display the suffix ''-en'' (''ge-sung-en'' 'sung'), while all verbs carrying non-initial stress come without the prefix part ''ge-'', as in ''telefonier-t'' 'telephoned'.

Dutch has a similar system (''spel-en'' → ''ge-speel-d'' in this case). In Dutch, the circumfix ''ge-''{{circumfix|...}}''-te'' (ge- prefix + -te suffix) can be used to form certain collective nouns (''berg'' (mountain) → ''ge-berg-te'' (mountain range)).

===East Asian languages=== In Japanese, some linguists consider ''o-{{circumfix|...}}-ni naru'' (o- honorific prefix + ni particle + verb naru) and ''o-{{circumfix|...}}-suru'' (o- prefix + -suru suffix/verb suru) to be honorific circumfixes;<ref>{{citation |last1=Boeckx |first1=Cedric |last2=Niinuma |first2=Fumikazu |title=Conditions on Agreement in Japanese |journal=Natural Language and Linguistic Theory |volume=22 |issue=3 |year=2004 |pages=453–480 |doi=10.1023/B:NALA.0000027669.59667.c5|s2cid=170936045 }}</ref> for example ''yom-u'' (′read′) ...→ ''o-{{circumfix|yom-i}}-ni naru'' (respectful), ''o-{{circumfix|yom-i}}-suru'' (humble).

In addition, Old Japanese had a prohibitive construction ''na-{{circumfix|...}}-so2(ne)'' (where the bracketed ''ne'' is optional), which at least one linguist (ja) considers to be a circumfixal word form; an example using the Old Japanese verb ′write′ (''kak-u'') would be ''na-{{circumfix|kak-i1}}-so2(ne)''. The form without the bracketed ''ne'' survived marginally into Early Middle Japanese, but has no equivalent in any modern Japanese dialect or any other Japonic language. Instead, all modern Japonic languages and dialects express the prohibitive with a ''suffixal'' particle ''na'' (which is probably related to the prefixal part of the Old Japanese construction) attached to a non-past form of the verb; e.g., Tōkyō Japanese ''{{overline|ka}}ku-na'', Kyōto Japanese ''ka{{overline|ku}}-na'', Kagoshima Japanese ''kaʔ-{{overline|na}}'' or ''kan-{{overline|na}}'', Hachijō ''kaku-na'', Yamatohama Amami ''kʰakʰu-na'', Nakijin Kunigami ''hḁkˀu:-{{overline|na}}'', Shuri Okinawan ''{{overline|kaku-na}}'', Irabu Miyakoan ''kafï-na'', Hateruma Yaeyaman ''hḁku-na'', and Yonaguni ''kʰagu-n-na'' (all ′don't write!′). In addition to the circumfixal forms, Old Japanese also had a suffixal form similar to the modern forms (e.g., ''kak-u-na''), as well as a ''prefixal'' form ''na-kak-i1'', which is also not reflected in any modern Japonic variety.

===Austronesian languages=== Malay has eight circumfixes: : ''per-''{{circumfix|...}}''-kan'' : ''per-''{{circumfix|...}}''-i'' : ''ber-''{{circumfix|...}}''-an'' : ''ke-''{{circumfix|...}}''-an'' : ''pen-''{{circumfix|...}}''-an'' : ''per-''{{circumfix|...}}''-an'' : ''se-''{{circumfix|...}}''-nya'' : ''ke-''{{circumfix|...}}''-i''

For example, the circumfix ''ke-''{{circumfix|...}}''-an'' can be added to the root ''adil'' "fair/just" to form ''ke-adil-an'' "fairness/justice".<ref>{{cite book |title=Morfologi dalam Ilmu Bahasa |last=Baryadi |first=I. Praptomo |year=2011 |publisher=Sanata Dharma University Publishers |location=Yogyakarta |language=id |pages=42–43 }}</ref>

===Other languages=== In most North African and some Levantine varieties of Arabic, verbs are negated by placing the circumfix ''ma''{{circumfix|...}}''š'' around the verb together with all its prefixes and suffixed direct- and indirect-object pronouns. For example, Egyptian ''bitgibuhum-laha'' "you bring them to her" is negated as ''ma{{circumfix|bitgibuhum-lahā}}š'' "you don't bring them to her".

In Berber languages the feminine is marked with the circumfix ''t''{{circumfix|...}}''t''. The word ''afus'' "hand" becomes ''t''{{circumfix|''afus''}}''t''. In Kabyle, ''θ''{{circumfix|''issli''}}''θ'' "bride" derives from ''issli'' "groom". From ''bni'', to build, with ''t''{{circumfix|...}}''t'' we obtain ''tbnit'' "thou buildest".

Negation in Guaraní is also done with circumfixes, ''nd''{{circumfix|...}}''i'' and ''nd''{{circumfix|...}}''mo'ãi'' for future negation.

In some Slavic languages, and in Hungarian, the superlative of adjectives is formed with a circumfix. For example, in Czech, the circumfix ''nej''{{circumfix|...}}''ší'' is used – ''mladý'' "young" becomes ''nejmladší'' "youngest". The corresponding circumfix in Hungarian is ''leg''{{circumfix|...}}''bb'', as in ''legnagyobb'' "biggest", from ''nagy'' "big". (In both cases, the comparative form is produced using the suffix without the prefix: ''mladší'' "younger"; ''nagyobb'' "bigger".)

In Gurmanchema and Wolof, noun classes are indicated by circumfix.

== See also == *Circumposition * Silent (''or'' magic) ''e'', a discontiguous digraph in English *Epenthesis

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links == *{{wti}} * Circumfixes by language on Wiktionary

Category:Affixes