Discontinuous elements in morphology

Abstract

This article probes into the nature of discontinuous elements in the morphology of some African languages, but in Northern Sotho in particular. The discussion is conducted against the backdrop of two principles which are generally held to be characteristic of ‘pure’ agglutinative languages, namely the principle of invariance of morphemes and the principle of a one ‘to’ one matching between a form and a meaning. Agglutinating languages such as the African languages, including Northern Sotho, display deviations from these ideal agglutinative norms. The deviations may assume various forms, but in this article the scope is narrowed down to instances where the deviations manifest as ‘discontinuous’ or ‘interrupted’ elements. Terms such as infixes, circumfixes and extended exponents, which form an integral part of the discussion, are elucidated.