A circumfix ( abbreviated ) (also confix or ambifix) is an

affix In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. Affixes may be derivational, like English ''-ness'' and ''pre-'', or inflectional, like English plural ''-s'' and past tense ''-ed''. They ar ...

which has two parts, one placed at the start of a word, and the other at the end. Circumfixes contrast with

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the Word stem, stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy'' ...

es, attached to the beginnings of words;

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

es, attached at the end; and

infix An infix is an affix inserted inside a word stem (an existing word or the core of a family of words). It contrasts with ''adfix,'' a rare term for an affix attached to the outside of a stem, such as a prefix or suffix. When marking text for int ...

es, inserted in the middle. Circumfixes are common in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

and Georgian.

Examples

are used to mark off circumfixes.

Germanic languages

The circumfix is probably most widely known from the German

past participle In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...

, which is ''ge-'-t'' (ge- prefix + -t suffix) for regular verbs. The verb ''spiel-en'', for example, has the participle ''ge-spiel-t''. Dutch has a similar system (''spel-en'' → ''ge-speel-d'' in this case). In Dutch, the circumfix ''ge-'-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--ni naru'' (o-

honorific prefix An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

+ ni particle + verb naru) and ''o--suru'' (o- prefix + -suru suffix/verb suru) to be honorific circumfixes; for example ''yom-u'' (′read′) ...→ ''o--ni naru'' (respectful), ''o--suru'' (humble). In addition, Old Japanese had a prohibitive construction ''na--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--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 ''ku-na'', Kyōto Japanese ''ka-na'', Kagoshima Japanese ''kaʔ-'' or ''kan-'', Hachijō ''kaku-na'', Yamatohama

Amami The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest of ...

''kʰakʰu-na'', Nakijin Kunigami ''hḁkˀu:-'', Shuri Okinawan ', 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

has eight circumfixes: : ''per-'-kan'' : ''per-'-i'' : ''ber-'-an'' : ''ke-'-an'' : ''pen-'-an'' : ''per-'-an'' : ''se-'-nya'' : ''ke-'-i'' For example, the circumfix ''ke-'-an'' can be added to the root ''adil'' "fair/just" to form ''ke-adil-an'' "fairness/justice".

Other languages

In most North African and some Levantine varieties of Arabic, verbs are negated by placing the circumfix ''ma'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 ''maš'' "you don't bring them to her". In

Berber languages The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber commun ...

the feminine is marked with the circumfix ''t't''. The word ''afus'' "hand" becomes ''t't''. In Kabyle, ''θ'θ'' "bride" derives from ''issli'' "groom". From ''bni'', to build, with ''t't'' we obtain ''tbnit'' "thou buildest". Negation in Guaraní is also done with circumfixes, ''nd'i'' and ''nd'mo'ãi'' for

future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

negation. In some Slavic languages, and in Hungarian, the

superlative Comparison is a feature in the morphology or syntax of some languages whereby adjectives and adverbs are inflected to indicate the relative degree of the property they define exhibited by the word or phrase they modify or describe. In languages t ...

of adjectives is formed with a circumfix. For example, in Czech, the circumfix ''nej'ší'' is used – ''mladý'' "young" becomes ''nejmladší'' "youngest". The corresponding circumfix in Hungarian is ''leg'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.

References