Provisional Canon Proposal
04/29/2026 — Proposed canonical correction: Removal of prefix class
Date: 04/29/2026
Change type: Proposed canonical correction
Entry title: Removal of prefix class
Current status: Pending review and implementation
Affected areas: Principle 8, Operational Grammar, Morphological System, Interrogative Words, Object Phrases, Time Indicators, HT Deconstruction, Reading and Interpretation Guidelines, Grammar Structures, and lexicon classification fields.
Proposal: Replace the prior “limited canonical prefixes” model with an exclusively right-building morphology model.
Under the proposed correction, HT has no productive prefix class. A word begins with its primary conceptual root on the left and develops rightward through additive specification. Forms such as zu and ya are not prefixes. They are class-forming roots.
zu anchors temporal constructions.
ya anchors interrogative and seeking constructions.
Their position at the left edge reflects their role as the primary concept of the form, not prefix attachment.
Reason: The current “limited prefix” language creates an unnecessary exception to HT’s additive morphology. The actual behavior of the zu and ya families is better explained by right-building construction: zu begins temporal words because the primary concept is time; ya begins interrogative words because the primary concept is inquiry or seeking. The material to the right specifies the class-root.
Examples:
zubava — time + past/backward + domain/objecthood → “the past”
zufova — time + future/forward + domain/objecthood → “the future”
zufoti — time + future/forward + immediacy → “immediate future / about to”
yatuna — question/seeking + person → “who”
yapensa — question/seeking + reason/thought → “why”
yazu — question/seeking + time → “when”
Canon impact if accepted: This correction removes the prefix category from HT canon while preserving all existing zu and ya forms. The forms remain canonically valid, but they are reclassified as temporal and interrogative class-root constructions rather than prefixes.
What this does not change: This proposal does not invalidate existing words such as zuba, zufo, zufoti, zufoto, zuti, zuta, zuto, zubava, zufova, yaba, yabo, yadoh, yapensa, yatuna, yauc, yazu, or yaIj. It changes the analysis of how these forms are built.
Implementation notes if accepted:
Principle 8 should be revised to state that HT morphology is exclusively right-building.
The formal symbol ModPrefixes should be removed.
The object phrase rule should remove the pre-noun modifier-prefix slot.
The interrogative section should stop describing ya as a prefix and instead describe it as the interrogative / seeking class root.
The temporal sections should clarify that zu forms are right-built temporal lexical units anchored by the temporal root zu.
HT Deconstruction, Reading and Interpretation Guidelines, and Grammar Structures should be updated to remove “limited prefix” language.
Lexicon rows still marked as prefix should be reviewed and reclassified where appropriate, especially ya, zufoti, zufoto, and i.
Training impact: This correction protects AI training from treating zu and ya as evidence of a productive prefix system. Models should learn that HT builds from a leftmost primary conceptual root and adds rightward specification. zu and ya are special because they form major semantic classes, not because they are prefixes.
Resolution needed: Accept, revise, or reject after review.