Circumfixation: A semasiological approach

Abstract

This paper investigates what kinds of meanings are expressed by circumfixes cross-linguistically, with an eye toward explaining this rare formal phenomenon. Based on the study of several hundred languages, it shows that circumfixes express negation relatively more often than other functions, followed by a wide array of TAME and derivational meanings and some more specific functions such as adjectival degree or the formation of ordinal numerals. While circumfixes are found in many unrelated languages and in all macro-areas, they nevertheless cluster in specific families, which suggests that it is their diachronic emergence that is rare rather than their synchronic distribution per se. The semantic contributions of circumfixes are explained by different diachronic mechanisms. Negative circumfixes are argued to ultimately follow from the negative cycle, whereas circumfixes encoding other functions are claimed to emerge from the cumulation of functionally compatible morphs, as in the case of certain aspectual and temporal markers. In addition, there is also some evidence that empty morphs may be reinterpreted as parts of circumfixes. All these processes are further constrained by the fact that one half of the developing circumfix has to be a prefix. Since prefixes are relatively rare overall, this necessary condition for circumfixation often is not met. On the other hand, prefixes express negation relatively frequently, and this helps to further explain why circumfixes have strong ties to this particular semantic domain.