A circumfix (

abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

) (also 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 and

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Examples

are used to mark off circumfixes.

Germanic languages

The circumfix is probably most widely known from the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

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 In linguistics, a collective noun is a word referring to a collection of things taken as a whole. Most collective nouns in everyday speech are not specific to one kind of thing. For example, the collective noun "group" can be applied to people (" ...

(''berg'' (mountain) → ''ge-berg-te'' (mountain range)).

East Asian languages

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, some linguists consider ''o--ni naru'' (o- honorific prefix + ni particle + verb naru) and ''o--suru'' (o- prefix + -suru suffix/verb suru) to be

honorific 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 ...

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 ''kʰakʰu-na'', Nakijin

Kunigami is a village in Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It occupies the north tip of Okinawa Island, with the East China Sea to the west, Pacific Ocean to the east, and villages of Higashi and Ōgimi to the south. As of 2015, the village ...

''hḁkˀu:-'', Shuri Okinawan ', Irabu Miyakoan ''kafï-na'', Hateruma Yaeyaman ''hḁku-na'', and

Yonaguni , one of the Yaeyama Islands, is the westernmost inhabited island of Japan, lying from the east coast of Taiwan, between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean proper. The island is administered as the town of Yonaguni, Yaeyama Gun, Okin ...

''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-'-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 The varieties (or dialects or vernacular languages) of Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family originating in the Arabian Peninsula, are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. There are considerable variati ...

, 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 Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

''bitgibuhum-laha'' "you bring them to her" is negated as ''maš'' "you don't bring them to her". In Berber languages 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 Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guaraní language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...

is also done with circumfixes, ''nd'i'' and ''nd'mo'ãi'' for future negation. In some

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the ...

, and in Hungarian, the superlative of adjectives is formed with a circumfix. For example, in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * 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 general linguistics, the comparative is a syntactic construction that serves to express a comparison between two (or more) entities or groups of entities in quality or degree - see also comparison (grammar) for an overview of comparison, as well ...

form is produced using the suffix without the prefix: ''mladší'' "younger"; ''nagyobb'' "bigger".) In Gurmanchema and Wolof, noun classes are indicated by circumfix.

References