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    mis-
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    The unproductive prefix mis- derives verbs from other verbs. It expresses that the action expressed by the base form miscarries. An example is sizze to say > missizze to say something wrong. The prefix mis- can also function as a negative element. It then expresses the opposite of the base form. An example is haagje to please > mishaagje to displease.

    Note that there is also another element mis- that does bear stress and that occurs in (separable) particle verbs, where it is related to the adverb mis wrong. In addition, there is a nominal prefix mis-, with comparable semantics.

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    [+]General properties

    The unproductive prefix mis- derives verbs from other verbs. It expresses that the action expressed by the base form has miscarried. Relevant examples are listed below:

    Table 1
    Base form Derivation
    dwaan to do misdwaan to do wrong
    brûke to use misbrûke to abuse
    liede to lead misliede to mislead
    foarmje to form misfoarmje to deform
    stean to look misstean to not suit
    sizze to say missizze to say wrong
    hearre to hear mishearre to mishear
    behannelje to treat mishannelje to maltreat (with truncation of be-)
    bekomme agree with miskomme to disagree with (with truncation of be-)
    The prefix mis- can also function as a negative element. It then expresses the opposite of the base form. Examples are listed below:
    Table 2
    Base form Derivation
    haagje to please mishaagje to displease
    gunne to not begrudge misgunne to begrudge
    fertrouwe/betrouwe to trust mistrouwe to mistrust (with truncation of be- or fer-)
    befalle to please misfalle to displease (with truncation of be-)
    lokke to succeed (literary) mislokke to fail (literary)

    A few derivations with mis- cannot be explained by the patterns above. They express a negative meaning while their basic correlate is also negative. Such formations must have been formed on the basis of verbs prefixed by an unstressed syllable, which has been replaced by mis-. The process of substituting other prefixes for mis- might be explained semantically or phonologically. The semantic explanation would be that verbs with a negative meaning may attract the prefix mis-, which has a negative meaning as well. A phonological cause might be that the dispelled prefixes all contain a labial followed by a schwa, where mis- has a labial ( /m/) as well, but in contrast also a full (i.e. /I/) vowel. The relevant cases are listed below:

    Table 3
    Nonexistent base form Derivation Probable base
    *ledigje misledigje to offend beledigje to offend
    *learje mislearje to fail (with truncation of fe-) felearje to fail (from French faillir)
    *tribelje mistribelje to fail fertribelje to fail
    *kearje miskearje to be wrong mankearje to be wrong

    [+]Phonological properties

    The prefix is pronounced as [mIs]. In derivations with mis- the stress is not on the prefix (e.g. misBRÛke to abuse).

    extra
    Literature

    This topic is based on Hoekstra (1998:150). The issue of substitution of other prefixes has been treated in Hoekstra (1993:14-15).

    References
    • Hoekstra, Jarich1993Ig-tiidwurden en g-tiidwurdenUs wurk: tydskrift foar Frisistyk421-68
    • Hoekstra, Jarich1998Fryske wurdfoarmingLjouwertFryske Akademy
    About this article
    Author(s): Siebren Dyk, Gerbrich de Jong
    Category: Frisian Morphology
    Keywords: prefixverbnegation
    Version: 1.0, July 2017
    Version history:
    version editor(s) date remarks
    1.0 Siebren Dyk July 2017
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