Reanalysis of Passive and Negative Prefixes in Seri

Abstract

Two productive Seri prefixes, negative & passive, are in a limited number of cases reanalyzed as part of the verb stem. This reanalysis has produced homophonous verb forms: one group is clearly analytical (affix + root) & one group is clearly synthetic. The evidence that reanalysis has taken place is presented. These new verb roots enter into new morphological constructions, & since the original analytical verb forms continue to exist, the result is the coexistence of homophonous & sometimes virtually synonymous words (such as the original transitive verb & a new causative verb that is based on a reanalyzed passive). Adapted from the source document