Enclitic
Definition:
An enclitic is a clitic that is phonologically joined at the end of a preceding word to form a single unit.
Examples:
(English)
The English negative morpheme not becomes an enclitic when de-stressed and joined to the preceding auxiliary verb, as in the following:
- can’t
- won’t
- shouldn’t
See Also:
Source:
This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library. Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003.