Fossilized affixes abound inAustronesian languages.
Li and Tsuchida (2009) lists various fossilized reflexes ofProto-Austronesian infixes *-al-, *-aR-, and *-aN- in all majorFormosan languages as well asTagalog andSundanese. These infixes are not productive in any modern Austronesian language. Their meanings remain elusive, although Li and Tsuchida suggest that *-aN- might mean 'having the sound or quality of', as evidenced in Paiwan and Puyuma. Reid (1994) hypothesizes the meaning of *-aR- to be 'distributive, plural'.
The following table is from Li and Tsuchida (2009:358).
| Language | *-al- | *-aR- | *-aN- |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thao | -ar- | – | -az- |
| Favorlang | -ar- | – | – |
| Kavalan | -ar-, -aR- | -al-, -ar-, -aR- | -an- |
| Basay | – | -al-, -ar- | -an- |
| Siraya | -ar- | – | -aL- |
| Amis | -al- | -al- | -alh- |
| Saisiyat | -aL- | -aL- | -al- |
| Pazih | -ar- | – | -al- |
| Bunun | -a- | -al- | -an- |
| Paiwan | -al- | -a- | -alj- |
| Puyuma | -aL- | -ar- | -al- |
| Tsou | -r- | -r- | – |
| Kanakanavu | -al- | -ar- | -an- |
| Saaroa | -al- | -ar- | -alh- |
| Atayal | -a- | -ag- | -al- |
| Rukai | -aL- | -ar- | -al- |
| Tagalog | -al-, -a'- | -ag- | -an- |
| Sundanese | – | -ar- | – |
Malcolm Mintz (1992) analyzed fossilized affixes from Marcos de Lisboa'sVocabulario de la lengua bicol, which was compiled between 1609 and 1613. The Marcos de Lisboa dictionary contains many archaic forms of Bikol no longer found in modern spokenNaga Bikol.
According to Blust (2001, 2009), the fossilized morpheme *kali ~ *qali is used in various Austronesian languages to designate objects having a "sensitive connection with the spirit world."