Editing Affix (section)

==Lexical affixes==
Semantically speaking, ''lexical affixes'' or ''semantic affixes'', when compared with free nouns, often have a more generic or general meaning. For example, one denoting "water in a general sense" may not have a noun equivalent because all the nouns denote more specific meanings such as "saltwater", "whitewater", etc. (while in other cases the lexical suffixes have become [[grammaticalization|grammaticalized]] to various degrees.) Although they behave as [[incorporated noun]] roots/stems within verbs and as elements of [[noun]]s, they never occur as freestanding nouns. Lexical affixes are relatively rare and are used in [[Wakashan languages|Wakashan]], [[Salishan languages|Salishan]], and [[Chimakuan languages]] — the presence of these is an [[areal feature]] of the Pacific Northwest of [[North America]] - where they show little to no resemblance to free nouns with similar meanings. Compare the lexical suffixes and free nouns of [[Saanich language|Northern Straits Saanich]] written in the Saanich orthography and in [[Americanist phonetic notation|Americanist notation]]:

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-size: 85%; background: #efefef;"
! colspan="3" | Lexical Suffix
! colspan="3" | Noun
|-
| -o,
| -aʔ
| "person"
|, ełtálṉew̱
| ʔəɬtelŋəxʷ
| "person"
|-
| -nát
| -net
| "day"
| sȼićel
| skʷičəl
| "day"
|-
| -sen
| -sən
| "foot, lower leg"
| sxene,
| sx̣ənəʔ
| "foot, lower leg"
|-
| -áwtw̱
| -ew̕txʷ
| "building, house, campsite"
|, á,leṉ
| ʔeʔləŋ
| "house"
|}

Some linguists have claimed that these lexical suffixes provide only adverbial or adjectival notions to verbs. Other linguists disagree, arguing that they may additionally be syntactic [[Verb argument|arguments]] just as free nouns are and, thus, equating lexical suffixes with incorporated nouns. Gerdts (2003) gives examples of lexical suffixes in the [[Halkomelem language]] (the [[word order]] here is [[verb–subject–object]]):

:{| class="wikitable"
|- style="line-height: 1.0em; font-size: 75%"
|
|
| style="background: #bbbbff" | VERB
| style="background: #ffebad" | SUBJ
| style="background: #ffbbbb" | OBJ
|-
| (1)
| niʔ
| šak’ʷ-ət-əs
| łə słeniʔ
| <span style="color:#008000"><u>łə qeq</u></span>
|-
|
| colspan="4" | "the woman washed <span style="color:#008000"><u>the baby</u></span>"
|- style="line-height: 1.0em; font-size: 75%"
| bgcolor=white colspan=5|&nbsp;
|- style="line-height: 1.0em; font-size: 75%"
|
|
| style="background: #bbbbff" | VERB<span style="color:#009900">+LEX.SUFF</span>
| style="background: #ffebad" | SUBJ
|
|-
| (2)
| niʔ
| šk’ʷ<span style="color:#009900"><u>-əyəł</u></span>
| łə słeniʔ
|
|-
|
| colspan="4" | "the woman <span style="color:#009900"><u>baby</u></span>-washed"
|}

In sentence (1), the verb "wash" is '''šak’ʷətəs''' where '''šak’ʷ-''' is the root and '''-ət''' and '''-əs''' are inflectional suffixes. The subject "the woman" is '''łə słeniʔ''' and the object <span style="color:#008000">"the baby"</span> is <span style="color:#008000">'''łə qeq'''</span>. In this sentence, "the baby" is a free noun. (The '''niʔ''' here is an [[auxiliary verb|auxiliary]], which can be ignored for explanatory purposes.)

In sentence (2), <span style="color:#009900">"baby"</span> does not appear as a free noun. Instead it appears as the lexical suffix <span style="color:#009900">'''-əyəł'''</span> which is affixed to the verb root '''šk’ʷ-''' (which has changed slightly in pronunciation, but this can also be ignored here). The lexical suffix is neither "the baby" ([[definiteness|definite]]) nor "a baby" (indefinite); such referential changes are routine with incorporated nouns.