[Lexicog] Circumfixes

[John Roberts]

Andy Black asked:

> I'm wondering what the standard ways are to show circumfixes in lexical 
> entries.
>
> For example, does one create only one entry with the circumfix or does one 
> create, say, three entries:
>
>  1.. The left member (presumably a prefix)
>  2.. The right member (presumably a suffix)
>  3.. A combination of the two members.
> In the entry for the circumfix, how does one typically indicate its form?
>
> What does one do if either or both members of the circumfix have 
> allomorphy?
>


Here is an example I pulled out of one dictionary:
An affix consisting of a prefix and a suffix, such as the progressive 
present marker a- . -ing in dialectal English I'm a-going or the past 
participle marker y- . -t in archaic English yclept.

Since a circumfix functions as a unit I think it should be entered as such 
in a dictionary. The ... indicates the connection. For allomorphs you would 
treat them the same as for any other affix.

On a technical point, since circumfix is defined as "an affix made up of two 
separate parts which surround and attach to a root or stem", an arrangement 
of infix + suffix functioning as a unit is not a circumfix. But it would be 
interesting to know if such things exist.

John Roberts





 
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