LINGUIST List 26.1759
Wed Apr 01 2015
Qs: Languages with Split/Separable Words
Editor for this issue: Anna White <awhitelinguistlist.org>
Date: 01-Apr-2015
From: Xiaopeng Bai <pakstreet
gmail.com>
Subject: Languages with Split/Separable Words
E-mail this message to a friend Dear fellow scholars:
I am looking for languages with split/separable words. A separable word can be separated with some insertions in certain contexts and remain the meaning as its origin form. A typical language with such words is Chinese, for example, the verb ''Shui-jiao (睡觉)/sleep'' could have aspect mark and numeral as insertion:
Shui le yi Jiao / slept a while
where ''le'' is aspect mark and ''yi'' is numeral.
I know German, Dutch and Hungary also has separable words. Like the German word ''ankommen'' can be used as:
Sie Kommt sofort An.
The difference is, German separable verb is composed of a lexical core (stem) and a separable particle while Chinese separable verb could be composed of morphemes with contents.
I would be grateful if you can enlighten me on the issue with any suggestions, discussions, or especially recommendations for articles.
Thank you.
Linguistic Field(s): Morphology
Page Updated: 01-Apr-2015