What role does circumfixation play in Chukchi word formation?

In the context of Paleo-Siberian languages, circumfixation serves as a key morphological process in Chukchi, a language within the Luorawetlan group. It functions by surrounding a word or a complex unit with both a prefix and a suffix to produce a derived or inflected form.12

This process is often used in conjunction with the language's strong tendency toward complex compounding, or incorporation. For example, the circumfix ga-…-ïma, which denotes the meaning "in," can be applied to a compound unit to express locative relationships. In the phrase ga + mor-ïk + tor + orw-ïma ("in our new sleigh"), the circumfix encompasses the entire sequence of elements, demonstrating how Chukchi utilizes this structure to integrate multiple components into a single, cohesive word.1