Simulfix

In linguistics, a simulfix is a type of affix that changes one or more existing phonemes (usually vowels) in order to modify the meaning of a morpheme.[1]

Examples of simulfixes in English are generally considered irregularities, surviving results of Germanic umlaut. They include:

  • manmen, womanwomen
  • louselice, mousemice
  • footfeet, toothteeth

The transfixes of the Semitic languages may be considered a form of discontinuous simulfix.

In Indonesian, simulfixation productively occurs, for example, in ngopi, nyapu, nyuci, nongkrong and macul, which are verbs derived from the noun bases kopi, sapu, cuci, tongkrong and pacul.

See also

References

  1. "Simulfix". SIL Glossary of Linguistic Terms. 2015-12-03. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.