Learn about circumfixes in Indonesian
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Intro |
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| Michael: What are circumfixes? |
| Blanca: And how do I use them? |
| Michael: At IndonesianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Mark Lee has been very busy recently, and has difficulties catching up with everything. He says to his neighbor, "I have so much work to do." |
| Mark Lee: Saya punya banyak sekali pekerjaan. |
| Dialogue |
| Mark Lee: Saya punya banyak sekali pekerjaan. |
| Gusti Gunawan: Saya juga. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Mark Lee: Saya punya banyak sekali pekerjaan. |
| Michael: "I have so much work to do. " |
| Gusti Gunawan: Saya juga. |
| Michael: "Me too." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, we will be looking at Indonesian circumfixes and how to use them. To begin with, let's explore what a circumfix is. In order to do so, we must first understand what an affix is. An affix is the addition of any of the smallest meaningful units of language to a root word in order to form a new word. |
| To put it simply, affixes are small pieces of language that we attach to words so that we can change the meaning of those words. A circumfix is an affix with two parts. One part is attached to the beginning of the root word and the other part is attached to the end of the root word. In Indonesian, one of the most important circumfixes is: |
| Blanca: ke...an |
| Michael: This circumfix contains both a prefix and a suffix. The prefix is: |
| Blanca: ke |
| Michael: and the suffix is: |
| Blanca: an |
| Michael: One of the ways in which this circumfix is used is to indicate the equivalent of the English "-ness" suffix like in the word "happiness." In the same way, this Indonesian circumfix denotes a certain state or condition that relates back to the root noun in terms of meaning. Consider this example using the Indonesian word for "happy": |
| Blanca: bahagia |
| Michael: Now, add the suffix to make it "happiness": |
| Blanca: kebahagiaan. |
| Michael: Sometimes, this circumfix can form an adjective that denotes a sense of something being too much or excessive. In English, one might use the word "too" to convey the same sense. For example: |
| Blanca: besar |
| Michael: which means "big," with the circumfix becomes: |
| Blanca: kebesaran |
| Michael: meaning "too big." When combined with the circumfix, it means, "too big." |
| When one adds the negative: |
| Blanca: tidak |
| Michael: to the prefix: |
| Blanca: ke |
| Michael: it forms a new prefix: |
| Blanca: ketidak |
| Michael: This new prefix, combined with the suffix: |
| Blanca: an |
| Michael: converts the root word into a new word which refers to the opposite meaning of the root word. Let's look at the Indonesian root word meaning "fair" or "just." It sounds like this: |
| Blanca: adil |
| Michael: And now let's combine it with the circumfix: |
| Blanca: ketidak...an |
| Michael: The resulting word is: |
| Blanca: ketidakadilan |
| Michael: which means "injustice." |
| Michael: And that brings us to the end of our exploration of the circumfix: |
| Blanca: ke...an |
| Michael: The next is: |
| Blanca: pe...an |
| Michael: This circumfix usually attaches to a verb to form an abstract noun. The resulting noun indicates the process of the action that the root verb refers to. Let's consider the Indonesian verb meaning "achieve": |
| Blanca: capai |
| Michael: the circumfix makes it change to "achievement": |
| Blanca: pencapaian |
| Michael: Please notice that the circumfix |
| Blanca: pe...an |
| Michael: can take different inflections depending on the word or phrase to which it's attached. For example, the phrase meaning "take over" |
| Blanca: ambil alih |
| Michael: changes to |
| Blanca: pengambilalihan |
| Michael: This means "taking over" and, as you could hear, the circumfix sounds like |
| Blanca: peng...an |
| Michael: Now, let's look at the circumfix: |
| Blanca: per...an |
| Michael: which usually indicates the result of an action. Let's consider : |
| Blanca: tanya |
| Michael: which means "ask," if we add the circumfix, we get |
| Blanca: pertanyaan |
| Michael: meaning "question," which is the result of asking. The next circumfix we will look at is: |
| Blanca: se...nya |
| Michael: This is often used with adjectives to form adverbs. The resulting adverbs usually carry a meaning that denotes the highest level that is capable of being achieved. For example, let's consider the word for "long": |
| Blanca: lama |
| Michael: With the circumfix, it changes to |
| Blanca: selamanya |
| Michael: which means "forever" or "as long as can be." Now, let's look at one last circumfix. It sounds like this: |
| Blanca: ber...an |
| Michael: This circumfix is used to indicate reciprocity or mutuality. Consider the word meaning "to chase" in Indonesian: |
| Blanca: kejar |
| Michael: Add the circumfix and it becomes "to race each other" |
| Blanca: berkejaran |
| Michael: There are a number of circumfixes in Indonesian, as you can see. It is a good idea to get acquainted with these because they will enhance your ability to use the language to an enormous degree. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. Do you remember how Mark says "I have so much work to do?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Blanca as Mark Lee: Saya punya banyak sekali pekerjaan. |
| Michael: Here, the verb |
| Blanca: kerja, |
| Michael: which means "to work," with the circumfixes |
| Blaca: pe-an, |
| Michael: becomes the noun meaning "work" or |
| Blanca: pekerjaan. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, you learned about circumfixes in Indonesian. Getting familiar with the circumfixes in Indonesian is important because they are very common and can change the entire meaning of a word or sentence. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Blanca: Dadah. |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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