The justification of the existence of an interfix in Sesotho

Abstract

The fact that this /-e-/ is inserted in-between the two vowels indicates that it has the characteristics of an interfix. Additionally, the fact that in the absence of the morpheme /-e-/ the compounded mono-syllabic verb becomes unacceptable is an indication that such arrangement violates the principles of the Item and Although studies have been carried out on affixation is Sesotho, none of them deals with interfixation. Interfixation is one of the morphological word-formation processes, which, like other affixations have the ability to either generate new words with different meanings and grammatical categories or new word forms (rather than new words). The aim of this study was to justify the existence of interfix in Sesotho compound words prove that it exists in-between the two lexemes that form these compound words. In order to achieve this, both compound nouns and compound verbs were analysed. The findings of the study revealed that of the two types of the compound words found in Sesotho, interfix is not accommodated in compound nouns. This is because in the formation of compound nouns, some elements are dropped instead of being inserted. The study further established that in the formation of compound words made up of reduplicated mono-syllabic verbs, an insertion of the morpheme /-e-/ is obligatory. Without this insertion, the compounded verb is unacceptable. Arrangement (IA) theory which is concerned with the proper arrangement of morphemes in words.