[ka-…-en] / [ka-…-on]
Morphological Status: Derivational Circumfix
Type: Adjectival • Dispositional • Susceptibility Formation
Primary Functions:
Predisposition • Sensitivity • Readiness to Experience a State
Core Meaning
Forms adjectives describing a person, animal, or thing that is naturally prone, susceptible, sensitive, or easily affected by the condition expressed by the root.
Semantic Formula
ROOT
↓
ka-…-en / ka-…-on
↓
“easily affected by ROOT”
“prone to ROOT”
“readily experiences ROOT”
Examples
sindak
“startle; shock”
kasirindaken
“easily startled; jumpy”
sibnek
“tickle”
kasiribneken
“ticklish; easily tickled”
takot
“fear”
katarakoton
“fearful; timid; easily frightened”
init
“heat”
kairiniten
“heat-sensitive; easily bothered by heat”
oyam
“annoy; vex”
kaoroyamen
“easily annoyed; irritable”
Semantic Domains
kasirindaken
“easily startled”
katarakoton
“fearful”
kaoroyamen
“easily annoyed”
kasiribneken
“ticklish”
kairiniten
“sensitive to heat”
Morphology
These forms share the pattern:
ka- + AUGMENTED ROOT + -en/-on
Examples
sindak → sirindak → kasirindaken
sibnek → siribnek → kasiribneken
takot → tarakot → katarakoton
init → irinit → kairiniten
oyam → oroyam → kaoroyamen
Notes
• The medial sequences (-sir-, -tar-, -iri-, -oro-) do not currently function as independent productive affixes.
• They are best analyzed as stem augmentations occurring within a larger susceptibility-forming derivation.
• This family is semantically distinct from the productive oro- / C-oro-ROOT family.
• The meaning is consistently “prone to” or “easily affected by,” never “playful” or “imitative.”