Talk:in-

Current asymmetrical pairs regarding in- vs un-

Fowler reads

a) adjective/noun pairs: unable, inability; uncivil, incivility; unequal, inequality; unjust, injustice; unquiet, inquietude. b) un- words ending in -ed: uncompleted, incomplete; undigested, indigestible; undisciplined, indiscipline; unreconciled, irreconcilable; unredeemed, irredeemable; unseparated, inseparable (the only indisputable in- -ed word is inexperienced ) c) un- words ending in -ing: unceasing, incessant; uncomprehending, incomprehensible; undiscriminating, indiscriminate.

Latin prefix vowel lengthening rules?

About Latin Etymology 2 (Prefixation of the preposition, in-): do we know when the prefix ends up lengthened (īn-)? 2A02:1812:1126:5D00:58FC:AE30:C90B:1969 16:08, 25 December 2022 (UTC)

It's the application of a more general rule that the combination of a vowel plus n before an s and f represented a long nasalized vowel (see Latin phonology and orthography#Vowel nasalization on Wikipedia). One piece of evidence was that the n was sometimes omitted: censor → cesor, consul → cosol, inferos → iferos. So it's the convention to add a macron to a vowel before ns or nf. The combination of vowel with macron plus n represents a long nasalized vowel, not a long vowel and then a distinct consonantal sound, [n] or [ɱ]. — Eru·tuon 17:00, 25 December 2022 (UTC)

Vs en-

According to ELTconcourse, the causative morpheme is usually in-/en- in AmE/BrE, rspectively (inquiry, insure, inclose, indorse, etc.) Yet, according to Garner, "en- is more a living prefix". JMGN (talk) 17:36, 17 October 2024 (UTC)

I think it's not helpful to give that as a general rule: to me, it seems ELTconcourse is overgeneralizing from a few data points. Google Ngram Viewer shows "enclose(d)" and "endorse(d)" as more common than the in- spellings in American English since the second half of the 20th century.--Urszag (talk) 17:54, 17 October 2024 (UTC)