A prefix problem...

Robert

New Member

Location:
Deua, Britannia
I was wondering today, when i came across a few words with stems that i knew and prefix's which i was having trouble identifying, if there is a regular way in which prefix's tend to change when added onto words-

for example say i know the verb fero and come across the verb aufero, which i have not come across before. Is there a way i can recognise that this must be made from ab+fero, rather than ad+fero (without looking the word up) or are these mutations (if thats what you call them) fairly irregular... with, other than attempting a guess from context, looking them up being the only sure way?

that also reminds me- for prepositions with more than one option (e/ex, a/ab etc) is there a regular way of knowing which to use? I have seen it said that generally the first before consonants, and the second before vowels, and sometimes consonants.. but this sometimes... is that also pretty irregular or are there regularities which i can take into account when writing latin myself?

Thanks for any help guys....
 

deudeditus

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
California
concerning many-faced prepositions, generally 'e' et 'a' are used before a consonant, but not always. I have never seen them used before a vowel. I believe ab has another form, abs. I don't know about it's general usage (maybe someone else would know?), but from looking at english words like 'abstain'[abs+tenere] and 'abscond'[abs+condere], I can very tenuously deduce that it was used before dental and palatal stops (i.e. 't' and 'k/c'). I believe that Ancient Greek had similar patterns, maybe this was borrowed from the Greeks...

Prefixes change fairly regularly, but at first they seem to be fairly random. ad usually, when added to a verb, seems to drop the 'd' and double the initial consonant of the verb. (i.e. ad+fero=af-fero, ad+cipio [capio]=ac-cipio, etc.). ab/a acts a bit differently, so you can tell them apart rather easily with practice. ab turns to au before 'f', so ab/a+ferre=au-ferre, and before vowels it is generally not changed. I don't think ab/a/au/abs is used as a verbal prefix as much as ex/e. I think ab has a form used in prefixes as, too, before dental stops (i.e. asportare). If you think about it, it makes sense, as it is kind of hard to pronounce (absportare). ex doesn't have the same problems as ab when it comes to prefixes, because it is a bit easier to pronounce. (exportare[ecsportare] et absportare). Re is a bit easier to recognize, as it doesn't look like anything else (i.e. ab to ad). Ob acts similar to ab ( ob+ferre=offerre) The other prefixes are easier, but don't hesitate to ask for help if you should need it.

If any of my information is incorrect, I would that a forumgoer correct the error, and that you accept my most humble appypollyloggies.

-Jon
 

Cato

Consularis

  • Consularis

Location:
Chicago, IL
There is some limited regularity with respect to prefix formation. The following is based on my experience only.

Prefixes ending in a stop. In general, if the mute ending the prefix uses the same mouth part as the consonant starting the verb, it will be lost, assimilated, or (if voiced) can turn into a vowel and form a potential dipthong (as Deudeditus points out, I think this can only occur with ab). Expect a lost consonant to lengthen the vowel in the prefix.

In the example ab + fero -> aufero, b is a voiced labial (uses the lips) stop, and f is an unvoiced fricative (depends on rough passage of air over the lips for sound). They each use the same mouth part, so the b is likely to be lost and can leave a vowel behind because the b was voiced. In ad + fero -> adfero, the d/i] is retained since it is a dental (uses the teeth) and so does not disappear. For a third example, ad = tango -> attingo; the d assimilates to a t since they each use the teeth to make their respective sounds. We'll deal with the vowel change below.

Prefixes ending in a vowel. In general, the vowel remains. If the verb begins with a vowel, the verb vowel is often lost; this is always indicated by a long vowel in the prefix, e.g. co- + ago -> cogo, where the first o is long.

Prefixes ending in s - The s is usually dropped before verbs that begin with a voiced consonant, e.g. dis + vertor -> divertor, dis + gredior -> digredior. This also applies to ex-, as this ends in the double consonant ks, e.g. ex + gradior -> egredior, but ex- = cedo -> excedo, since c is voiceless.

Root verb vowel changes. There's little regualrity here, but usually a short a or e in the first syllable of the verb changes to an e or i, e.g. ex- + jacio -> ejicio, a + tango -> attingo, but there are numerous exceptions like adfero above.
 
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