| Affix function | number of borrowed affixes |
|---|---|
Information and examples are from Jones (1984), Verhaar (1984), Tadmor (2009) and personal communications from Uri Tadmor, David Gil, John Bowden, and a number of Indonesians working at the Jakarta Field Station of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Jones (1984: 7) states that “some half dozen affixes derived from Sanskrit are productive; most have come into vogue within the last few decades”. All of these are also mentioned by Verhaar (1984: 20–21), who gives many more. Below only affixes that are attested with non‑Sanskrit stems are given.
16 derivational prefixes that are attested with non‑Sanskrit stems (most of them native Indonesian)
adi‑ ‘super’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, e.g. adibintang ‘superstar’, adikuasa ‘superpower’ (the stem is also borrowed from Sanskrit, but this noun was formed in Indonesian)
antar‑ ‘inter’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, has become productive according to Jones (1984: 7). This is possibly a free from rather than a prefix in Indonesian, e.g. antar suku ‘intertribal’, antar kelompok ‘inter‑group’
catur‑ ‘four’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, e.g. caturwulan ‘four monthly’
dwi‑ ‘two’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, e.g. dwifungsi ‘bifunctional’ (stem is Dutch, but shows that the prefix is productive)
eka‑ ‘one’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, e.g. eka bahasa ‘monolingual’
maha‑ ‘very (important person)’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, e.g. mahabesar ‘almighty’, maha pelit (examples provided by Uri Tadmor, personal communication, 2011). This form can apparently be used both as a free form and as a prefix.
nir‑ ‘without, free from’, e.g. nirkabel ‘wireless’, nirlaba ‘non‑profit’. Has become productive according to Jones (1984: 7).
pasca‑ ‘post’, e.g. pasca sarjana ‘postgraduate’
pra‑ ‘pre’, only small number of words formed with these (and other affixes, which are part of the learned vocabulary, according to Mueller (2007: 1220), according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, has become productive according to Jones (1984: 7), e.g. prabayar ‘prepaid’, pra sarjana ‘undergraduate’ (there are many more examples)
purna‑ ‘after’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, e.g. purna jual ‘after sales service’ purnajabatan ‘previous position’ (from jabatan ‘position, post, function’)
sapta‑ ‘seven’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, e.g. sapta pesona ‘having seven charms’
serba‑ ‘multipurpose’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, has become productive according to Jones (1984: 7), e.g. serba ada ‘having everything’, serba salah ‘always wrong’ (examples provided by Uri Tadmor, personal communication, 2011)
swa‑ ‘self’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, has become productive according to Jones (1984: 7), e.g. swabakar ‘self‑immolate’, swalayan ‘supermarket, literally self‑service’
tata‑ ‘extend, spread’, e.g. tata tertib ‘law and order’, tata ruang ‘interior’, tata boga ‘table manners’. Has become productive according to Jones (1984: 7).
tri‑ ‘three’, e.g. triwulan ‘three monthly’, triwarna ‘three color’. According to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) this affix is of Sanskrit origin.
tuna‑ ‘struck, hurt, cut’, according to Verhaar (1984: 20–21) an affix of Sanskrit origin, e.g. tunarungu ‘deaf’ (example provided by Uri Tadmor, personal communication, 2011)
2 agent or profession noun derivational suffixes
‑wan ‘masculine agent or profession noun’, reasonably common according to Mueller (2007: 1220) and Jones (1984: 7), also mentioned by Tadmor (2009: 705). According to Mueller (2007: 1220) ‑man is an allomorph of ‑wan, e.g. pragawan ‘male model’, kamerawan ‘male cameraman’
‑wati ‘feminine agent or profession noun’, reasonably common according to Mueller (2007: 1220) and Jones (1984: 7), also mentioned by Tadmor (2009: 705), e.g. pragawati ‘female model’, kamerawati ‘female cameraman’