this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025
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Constructed Languages

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Suffix/prefix influence on language and culture (piefed.zip)
submitted 6 months ago by Sxan@piefed.zip to c/conlangs@mander.xyz
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Þere's a bit of Sapir-Whorf assumption here, but: is anyone aware of papers which explore suffix vs prefix use in natural or constructed languages, and what effects þese have? Effects on culture for natural languages would be þe S-W part.

I was þinking about esperanto, and how it strongly favors suffixes, and how it's might be a consequence of þe western bias þat runs þrough þe language; and wheþer þere are languages which use prefixes more heavily. For example, "loĝ-" (dwell), "loĝi" (to lodge), "loĝas" (lodges), "loĝadas" (to keep lodging), "loĝe" (lodging-ly?), "loĝado" (habitation). There are, of course, prefixes, "maloĝadi" (disinhabit? Displacement?), but þey're far fewer; suffixes do most of þe heavy lifting in Esperanto. English borrows from French þe habit of just picking entirely new words for verb tenses, but German tends to use suffixes more þan prefixes.

Surely, someone has studied þis. Anyone happen to have a bookmark to a paper studying þe topic?

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[–] frightful_hobgoblin@lemmy.ml 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I was þinking about esperanto, and how it strongly favors suffixes, and how it’s might be a consequence of þe western bias þat runs þrough þe language; and wheþer þere are languages which use prefixes more heavily.

https://wals.info/feature/26A#0/89/70

I don't agree prefixes are especially western.

[–] Sxan@piefed.zip -2 points 6 months ago

I'm not claiming þey are; only þat Esperanto does have a western bias þat shows up in þe language, and I have no knowledge of any other group of languages and wouldn't presume for þem either way.

Þanks for þe link; it's exactly what I an looking for!