Affix terminology (was: Naming the conlang)

On Monday, July 12, 2004, at 07:10 , Philip Newton wrote:

> On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 15:24:59 +1000, Tristan Mc Leay
> <kesuari@...> wrote:
>> In Modern Etábnanni, the _e--nanni_ had been
>> re-analysed as an outfix
>
> More commonly known as a "circumfix", I believe.
Correct.

> At any rate, I'd never heard "outfix" before.
Nor have I. AFAIK all the -fixes have Latin derived forms:

AFFIX - a bound morpheme which can occur only when it is attached to the
root, base or stem of another word;
PREFIX - an affix which precedes the root, stem or base to which it is
bound, e.g. un- in 'unclear', pre- in 'prefix';
SUFFIX - an affix which follows the root, stem or base to which it is
bound, e.g. -s in 'cats', -ness in 'happiness';
CIRCUMFIX - an affix which is realized as a prefix-suffix combo, e.g.
Chukchi _e-....-ke_ 'recessive' affix, realized in _e-tejkev-ke it-ek_
"not to fight" <-- _tejkev-ek_ "to fight" (Trask's example).
INFIX - an affix which occupies a position that actually interrupts
another morpheme, e.g. -n- is infixed in the morpheme *tag in Latin
_tang-o_ "I touch"; Trask gives the example of the Tagalog infixes -um-
and -in- which may be infixed in the free morpheme _sulat_ "write" to give
_sumulat_ and _sinulat_.
SUPERFIX (also known as SURPAFIX) - an affix realized as a suprasegmental
feature, i.e. stress or tone, e.g. the contrast between English 'record'
(noun: stressed on first syllable) and 'record' (verb: stressed on second
syllable)

Trask notes, quite rightly, that 'infix' is commonly used by some to label
an morpheme that comes between two other morphemes, e.g. the -n- in
Turkish _yenmek_ "to be eaten" <-- ye "eat" + n 'PASSIVE' + mek
'INFINITIVE'.  But, as Trask says, this is indefensible; -n- is merely a
suffix (it follows the root _ye_) which precedes other suffixes. An
_infix_ is fixed inside the morpheme to which it is affixed (like -n- in
*tag in the Latin _tang-o_).

I assume 'outfix' is due to mistaken analysis of 'infix'.

Ray
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