Transfixation in Hausa: A Hypothetical Analysis
Transfixation in Hausa: A Hypothetical Analysis

Summary/Abstract: The paper deals with the non-contiguous morphs in Hausa which are regarded as the manifestation of transfixation. Transfixation is an Afroasiatic feature that is apparent in Arabic. In the present publication it is also claimed to be evident in Hausa. The similarities between Arabic and Hausa are obvious in such linguistic phenomena as tri-literacy, the upgrading of aberrant roots and the existence in both languages of what are denominated here reduplicative and non-reduplicative transfixations. Transfixation in Hausa differentiates itself from its Arabic counterpart via vowel retention and external transfixation which makes the transfix liable to analysis as suffix in the manner of Newman (2000). But the chief contradistinguishing feature is the non-contiguity principle which establishes the affix as the critical component in the Hausa broken morphology.

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