This feature targets the existence of affixation that is stem-internal, productive, and dedicated to one or more specific grammatical functions. If the only infixation process described for a language involves reduplication, please code 0 but be sure to note in the comments field that infixing reduplication is present. For the purposes of this feature tonal alternations are not considered to be a form of infixation, nor are 'vocalic melodies' as in Semitic languages; these phenomena should be disregarded in coding this feature. Note that the terms 'stem' and 'infix' may be used differently across some grammar writing traditions, so care must be taken to examine the structure of relevant forms rather than relying on the use of these terms. Here we are interested in infixes that occur internal to the base form of a verb that is held in common across inflected forms (called the 'stem' here), rather than affixes that occur between a verb's root or stem and some inflectional affix(es) or clitic(s).
Kashaya (ISO 639-3: kju, Glottolog: kash1280)
In Kashaya a plural action meaning (e.g. an action performed multiple times on the same object, or an action performed on multiple objects) is expressed through a morpheme that has both suffix and infix allomorphs. One infix allomorph is -t-, which is infixed before a root-final consonant.
| Verb | Plural Action Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| phanem- | phane-t-m- | 'hit with the fist' |
| phiɁya:q- | phiya-t-q- | 'recognize' |
| pha'co:qw- | pha'co:-t-qw- | 'stab' |
(Buckley 1997: 7)
Kashaya would be coded 1.
Indonesian (ISO 639-3: ind, Glottolog: indo1316)
Some forms in Indonesian do appear to show what look like infixes with the forms -em-, -en-, and -er-. An example is getar 'to vibrate' : g-em-etar 'to tremble' (Sneddon 1996: 25). However, the relevant infix-like forms are not used productively, and occur only in a limited number of verbs. These infixation-like patterns probably reflect historical affixes that have become fossilized in a restricted number of contemporary forms. Indonesian is therefore coded 0.
Tagalog (ISO 639-3: tgl, Glottolog: taga1270)
Imperfective verb forms in Tagalog can be formed by the affixation of a form that may surface as the infix -in- or the prefix ni-, depending on morphophonological properties of the verb stem (Schacter and Otanes 1972: 363-366). Some verb stems are compatible with either the ni- or -in- form of this affix, as in the verb lagyan 'put in/on', which can be inflected for imperfective aspect as either ni-lalagyan or l-in-alagyan 'is/are putting on' (Schacter and Otanes 1972: 365).
An affix that can be infixed within a stem but also has prefix or suffix allomorphs is sufficient to trigger a 1 for this feature. The alternation with a prefix form ni- does not invalidate the existence of the infix variant of this Tagalog imperfective affix. Other verbal infixes exist in Tagalog, as well. Tagalog is coded 1.
English (ISO 639-3: eng, Glottolog: stan1293)
American English has been analyzed as having productive, genuine infixation in the -ma- form that Yu has dubbed "Homeric infixation" (2003: 120-150). This can occur in verbs, as in edu-ma-cate and underesti-ma-mate. However, this affixation pattern has no dedicated derivational or inflectional functions (and rather is used for the expressive purpose of generating a sense of pseudo-sophistication). Thus this infix fails to satisfy the criterion of having a dedicated grammatical function and English is coded 0.
Yu, Alan. 2007. A Natural History of Infixation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Buckley, Eugene. 1997. Explaining Kashaya Infixation. Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society 23(1).
Schachter, Paul and Otanes, Fe T. 1972. Tagalog Reference Grammar. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Sneddon, James N. 1996. Indonesian: A Comprehensive Grammar. (Routledge Grammars Series.) London & New York: Routledge.
Yu, Allan. 2003. The morphology and phonology of infixation. (Ph.D. dissertation, UC Berkeley)
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| 0 | absent | 1828 | |
| 1 | present | 318 | |
| ? | Not known | 213 |
| Name | Glottocode | Family | Macroarea | Contributor | Value | Source | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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