[lojban] What do we call roots in other languages?

[Pierre Abbat <phma@phma.optus.nu>]

Take, for example, the word "activations". It consists of a root, "act", three 
derivational suffixes "ive", "ate", and "tion", and an inflectional 
suffix "s". The root and derivational suffixes together are called the stem.

By this terminology the word "nuntolcadgau" has a root "cadgau", two 
derivational prefixes, and no inflectional affixes (such morphemes don't 
exist in Lojban).

The only natlang roots I know of that seem like gismu to me are the Semitic 
roots, which generally, like Lojban gismu, have three consonants, and their 
Afro-Asiatic kin. I call them smegi'u. Unlike Lojban gismu, they do not make 
lots of compound words.

Pierre


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