Chapter 4.pdf

# Introduction to morphology and basic terminology Morphology is the study of the smallest meaningful units of language and how they combine to form larger, more complex units [4](#page=4). ### 1.1 What are the smallest meaningful units of language? While phonemes and syllables are units of sound and pronunciation, they do not always carry a distinct meaning on their own. Words, on the other hand, are often perceived as single units of meaning, such as "boy" or "kill". However, many words can be broken down into smaller meaning-bearing components. For example, "boys" contains the meaning of "young male human being" plus the meaning of "more than one". Similarly, "killed" includes the meaning of "terminate the life" and "past tense". This demonstrates that words are not always the smallest meaningful units [5](#page=5) [6](#page=6) [7](#page=7). ### 1.2 Morphemes: the core concept A morpheme is defined as the smallest possible sequence of phonemes that possesses an identifiable, distinct, and relatively stable meaning. Crucially, a morpheme meets two criteria [8](#page=8): 1. It cannot be further subdivided into smaller meaning-bearing units without losing its original meaning. For instance, the morpheme {kill} is not divisible into smaller meaningful parts, nor is {ing} [8](#page=8) [9](#page=9). 2. A morpheme can be combined with other morphemes, retaining its original meaning in these new combinations. For example, {kill} can combine with {ing} to form "killing," or with {ed} to form "killed" [10](#page=10) [8](#page=8). Morphemes are represented using curly braces, for example, {kill} + {ing} [11](#page=11). > **Tip:** It's important to remember that morphemes are units of meaning tied to sounds, not to letters. For instance, the morpheme {ə(r)} represents the "AGENT" meaning in words like "writer," "actor," and "liar" [12](#page=12). There are additional points to consider about morphemes: * Morphemes are associated with groups of phonemes, not letters [12](#page=12). * Morphemes with the same sound but different meanings are considered distinct morphemes. For example, the {s} in "cats" (plural) is different from the {s} in "cat's" (possessive) or "it acts" (third-person singular present). Similarly, {er} in "writer" (agent) differs from {er} in "bigger" (comparative) [12](#page=12). * A morpheme is a semantic (meaning) unit, while a syllable is a phonological (form) unit. Their boundaries may or may not align. For instance, "slowly" has two syllables and two morphemes ({slow} + {ly}), whereas "crayon" has two syllables but only one morpheme, and "dogs" has one syllable but two morphemes ({dog} + {s}) [13](#page=13) [14](#page=14). #### 1.2.1 Types of morphemes based on meaning Morphemes can be broadly categorized by their meaning: * **Lexical morphemes**: These have identifiable, specific, and "concrete" lexico-semantic meanings. Examples include {boy} (young male human being), {kill} (terminate life), and {kind} (benevolent nature). Compound lexical morphemes also exist, like {pseudo} + {nym} (false name) or {bi} + {lingual} (two languages) [15](#page=15). * **Grammatical morphemes**: These have less specific, more "abstract" functional meanings and are also known as function morphemes. Examples include words like {the}, {which}, {or}, {they}, and affixes like {-ly}, {-ing}, {-s} [16](#page=16). #### 1.2.2 Free versus bound morphemes Morphemes can also be classified by their ability to stand alone: * **Free morphemes**: These can exist independently as words. Examples include free lexical morphemes like {boy}, {kill}, and {kind}, and free grammatical morphemes like {the}, {they}, and {but} [17](#page=17). * **Bound morphemes**: These must be attached to other morphemes to form words. Examples include {dis} in "disdain" or {al} in "dental" [17](#page=17). #### 1.2.3 Affixes, bases, and roots * **Affix**: A grammatical bound morpheme [18](#page=18). * **Base**: A morpheme or a combination of morphemes to which affixes are attached [18](#page=18). * **Root (stem)**: The single morpheme that remains after all affixes have been removed; it carries the principal meaning of a word. For example, in "reorganiser's," the root is {organ} [18](#page=18). > **Example:** In the word "reorganizers," > > * {organ} is the root. > > * {organize} is the base for the prefix {re-}. > > * {reorganize} is the base for the suffix {-er}. > > * {reorganizer} is the base for the suffix {-s}. > > * {re-}, {-er}, and {-s} are affixes. > #### 1.2.4 Types of affixes Affixes can be classified by their position relative to the base: * **Prefix**: Appears before the base, e.g., {un-} in "unfair," {re-} in "reorder" [20](#page=20). * **Suffix**: Appears after the base, e.g., {-s} in "cats," {-able} in "loveable," {-ly} in "lovely" [21](#page=21). * **Infix**: Appears within the base. These are less common in English but exist in other languages, e.g., in Italian "alberino" [22](#page=22). #### 1.2.5 Productive, unproductive, and historical morphemes The concept of "productivity" refers to the scope and frequency with which an affix attaches to base forms [23](#page=23). * **Productive affixes**: These readily combine with many base forms. Examples include {-s} for pluralization (cats, dogs) and {-ly} for forming adverbs (quickly, slowly) [23](#page=23). * **Unproductive or less productive affixes**: These have limited applicability or occur in a restricted set of words. For instance, {-y} is less productive (doggy, panty) and cannot be added to arbitrary nouns like \*chairy. Similarly, {-ess} is less productive (hostess, actress) and cannot be added to all professions (e.g., \*teacheress) [24](#page=24). * **Historical morphemes**: These are unproductive morphemes whose original distinct meaning is now obscure or difficult to identify. Examples include {-ceive-} in "perceive," "deceive," and "receive," {-sist-} in "insist," "persist," and "resist," and {yester-} in "yesterday" [25](#page=25). #### 1.2.6 Regular and irregular morphemes This distinction primarily applies to grammatical morphemes, especially those indicating tense and number. * **Regular bound morphemes**: These are productive, systematic, and predictable, often following general rules [29](#page=29). * Regular Past: {-ed} (worked, jumped) [29](#page=29). * Regular Plural: {-s} (cats, boys) [29](#page=29). * Regular Comparative: {-er} (smaller, faster) [29](#page=29). * **Irregular bound morphemes**: These are less productive, phonologically less predictable, and often represent exceptions to general rules. They can be additive (an irregular suffix) or replacive (involving sound changes like ablaut or suppletion) [30](#page=30). * Irregular Past: (sang, went) [30](#page=30). * Irregular Plural: (geese, feet) [30](#page=30). * Irregular Comparative: (worse, more) [30](#page=30). > **Example:** The past tense of "work" is "worked" ({WORK} + {PAST}), while the past tense of "sing" is "sang" ({SING} + {PAST}). Similarly, the plural of "cat" is "cats" ({CAT} + {PLURAL}), but the plural of "goose" is "geese" ({GOOSE} + {PLURAL}) [26](#page=26) [27](#page=27) [28](#page=28). #### 1.2.7 Zero morphemes (Ø) A zero morpheme, symbolized as Ø, is an inaudible or invisible morpheme that is phonologically empty but still carries meaning [31](#page=31). * **Zero Plural**: In cases where the plural form is identical to the singular form, a zero morpheme indicates plurality. For example, "sheep" is {SHEEP} + {Ø PLURAL}, while "cow" is {COW} + {REGULAR PLURAL} [31](#page=31). * **Zero Past**: Similarly, some verbs do not change form for the past tense, implying a zero morpheme for the past tense. For example, "hit" is {HIT} + {Ø PAST}, whereas "walk" is {WALK} + {REGULAR PAST} for "walked" [32](#page=32). ### 1.3 Morphs and allomorphs While a morpheme is an abstract unit of meaning, a **morph** is its concrete form. Different morphs can represent the same morpheme. These variations of a single morpheme are called **allomorphs** [36](#page=36) [38](#page=38). > **Example:** The morpheme {REGULAR PAST} (indicated by {-ed} in spelling) has different phonetic realizations (allomorphs) depending on the preceding sound [38](#page=38). > > * /ɪd/: "spotted," "defended" (after alveolar plosives) [39](#page=39). > > * /d/: "rolled," "fried" (after voiced consonants or vowels) [39](#page=39). > > * /t/: "kicked," "laughed" (after unvoiced consonants) [39](#page=39). > > > These three phonetic forms, /ɪd/, /d/, and /t/, are allomorphs of the {REGULAR PAST} morpheme, which is typically spelled as {-ed} [39](#page=39). Other examples of morphemes, their morphs, allomorphs, and spellings include: * {PAST}: represented by {ed} (allomorphs: /ɪd/, /d/, /t/), or Ø, or irregular morphs [40](#page=40). * {Irreg}: Past tense and plural forms often use irregular morphs, e.g., {sang} [40](#page=40). * {NEG}: Negation can be expressed by {un-}, {in-}, {im-}, {il-}, {ir-}, {dis-}, {non-}, {a-} [41](#page=41). * {3SG PRES}: The third-person singular present tense marker has allomorphs /ɪz/ (spelled {-es}, e.g., "kisses"), /s/ (spelled {-s}, e.g., "eats"), and /z/ (spelled {-s}, e.g., "buys," "runs") [42](#page=42). ### 1.4 Overview of key terms Key concepts in morphology include: * Morpheme, morph, and allomorph [43](#page=43). * Root, base, and affix [43](#page=43). * Free versus bound morphemes [43](#page=43). * Lexical versus grammatical morphemes [43](#page=43). * Prefix, suffix, and infix [43](#page=43). * Productive versus unproductive morphemes and historical morphs [43](#page=43). * Regular versus irregular morphs [43](#page=43). * * * # Distinguishing between morphemes, morphs, and allomorphs This section clarifies the fundamental concepts of morphemes, morphs, and allomorphs, explaining their distinct roles in representing meaning and form within language. ### 2.1 Defining core concepts * **Morpheme:** An abstract unit of meaning in language. It is the smallest meaningful unit that cannot be further analyzed. Morphemes represent distinct semantic or grammatical meanings [36](#page=36) [37](#page=37). * **Morph:** An abstract unit of form in language. It is the physical realization or the concrete form that a morpheme takes [36](#page=36). * **Allomorph:** A positional variant of a morpheme; different morphs that represent the same morpheme. These are the concrete forms that a morpheme can take depending on the linguistic context [39](#page=39). > **Tip:** Think of a morpheme as the concept or idea (e.g., "plural"), the morph as the specific way that concept is expressed in writing or speech (e.g., "-s", "-es", or no overt marker), and the allomorph as one of the possible concrete forms a particular morph can take (e.g., the different pronunciations of the plural morpheme). ### 2.2 Understanding the relationship: Morphemes, Morphs, and Allomorphs The relationship between these three terms is hierarchical and contextual. A morpheme, representing a core meaning, can manifest as one or more morphs. These morphs, in turn, might have different phonetic or orthographic realizations, which are known as allomorphs. #### 2.2.1 Examples of morpheme-morph-allomorph relationships **The past tense morpheme ({PAST}):** * **Morpheme:** {PAST} [40](#page=40). * **Morphs (Spellings):** {-ed}, {Ø} (zero morph), {Irreg} (irregular) [40](#page=40). * **Allomorphs (Phonetic realizations of {-ed}):** 1. /ɪd/: Occurs when the base ends in an alveolar plosive (e.g., spotted, defended) [38](#page=38) [39](#page=39). 2. /d/: Occurs when the base ends in a voiced consonant or a vowel (e.g., rolled, fried) [38](#page=38) [39](#page=39). 3. /t/: Occurs when the base ends in an unvoiced consonant (e.g., kicked, laughed) [38](#page=38) [39](#page=39). > **Example:** The morpheme {PAST} has different morphs. The regular past tense morph is typically spelled {-ed}. This {-ed} morph has three allomorphs based on the phonetic environment: /ɪd/, /d/, and /t/. For example, "spotted" uses the /ɪd/ allomorph, "rolled" uses the /d/ allomorph, and "kicked" uses the /t/ allomorph. **The plural morpheme ({PLURAL}):** * **Morpheme:** {PLURAL} [37](#page=37). * **Morphs (Spellings):** {-s}, {Ø} (zero morph) [37](#page=37). * **Allomorphs (Phonetic realizations of {s}):** * /ɪz/ (e.g., kisses) [42](#page=42). * /s/ (e.g., eats, buys, runs) [42](#page=42). * /z/ (e.g., buys, runs) [42](#page=42). * **Allomorphs (Examples for irregular plurals):** * {sheep}: The plural form is the same as the singular, represented by a zero morph {Ø} [37](#page=37) [40](#page=40). > **Example:** The morpheme {PLURAL} has a regular morph {-s} which appears as allomorphs like /ɪz/ in "kisses", /s/ in "cats", and /z/ in "dogs". The word "sheep" exemplifies a zero morph {Ø} for the plural morpheme, where the form does not change. **The negative morpheme ({NEG}):** * **Morpheme:** {NEG} [41](#page=41). * **Morphs (Spellings):** {un}, {il}, {in}, {im}, {ir}, {dis}, {non}, {a} [41](#page=41). * **Allomorphs:** The various spellings listed are direct realizations of the negative morpheme, showing how it can take different forms (morphs) depending on the root word [41](#page=41). > **Example:** The abstract concept of negation ({NEG}) can be realized through different morphs such as "un-" in "unlawful," "il-" in "illogical," "in-" in "infertile," "im-" in "improper," "ir-" in "irregular," "dis-" in "disobey," "non-" in "non-sense," and "a-" in "amoral." ### 2.3 Summary table The following table summarizes the distinction and relationship between these terms: Morpheme (Meaning)Morph (Form)Allomorph (Variant Form)Spelling Examples{PAST}{-ed}/ɪd/, /d/, /t/spotted, rolled, kicked{Ø}Øput, hit{Irreg}e...æ...e...sang, led{PLURAL}{-s}/ɪz/, /s/, /z/kisses, eats, runs{Ø}Øsheep{NEG}{un}, {il}, {in}, {im}, {ir}, {dis}, {non}, {a}(various spellings)unlawful, illogical, infertile, improper, irregular, disobey, non-sense, amoral{3SG PRES}{-es}/ɪz/kisses{-s}/s/, /z/eats, buys, runs * * * # Inflectional and derivational morphology This section distinguishes between derivational and inflectional affixes, detailing their differing impacts on meaning, grammatical class, distribution, quantity, productivity, and membership [46](#page=46). ### 3.1 Differentiating affixes The primary distinction between derivational and inflectional morphology lies in the function and effect of the affixes they employ. Derivational affixes create new words, altering the meaning and/or grammatical category of the base, whereas inflectional affixes modify existing words to express grammatical variations without changing their core meaning or lexical class [46](#page=46) [47](#page=47). ### 3.2 Key differences Several key differences help to distinguish between these two types of affixes [46](#page=46): #### 3.2.1 Effect on meaning and lexical class * **Derivational affixes:** These affixes change either the meaning of the base word or its lexical class, or both. For instance, adding the derivational suffix '-ness' to the adjective 'happy' creates the noun 'happiness', altering class. Similarly, 'un-' in 'unhappy' changes the meaning of 'happy' without changing its adjectival class [47](#page=47). * **Inflectional affixes:** These affixes form different grammatical variants of the same word. They do not change the core meaning or the lexical class of the base word. For example, 'cat' and 'cats' are both nouns, and 'big', 'bigger', and 'biggest' are all adjectives [47](#page=47). #### 3.2.2 Distribution * **Derivational affixes:** These can appear as either prefixes or suffixes. Examples include 'un-' in 'unlawful' (prefix) and '-ion' in 'division' (suffix) [48](#page=48). * **Inflectional affixes:** These occur exclusively as suffixes. Examples are '-s' in 'cats', '-ed' in 'walked', and '-ing' in 'sleeping'. Furthermore, derivational suffixes typically precede inflectional suffixes. For instance, in 'friendliest', the derivational suffix '-est' (used here as a derivational superlative, not inflectional) precedes the base word, while a potential inflectional suffix would come after, as in 'actors' where '-s' is inflectional. The ungrammaticality of "\*friendestly" and "\*actsor" illustrates this ordering [48](#page=48). #### 3.2.3 Permissible number per root * **Derivational affixes:** In principle, an unlimited number of derivational affixes can be added to a root word. This is demonstrated in words like 'un-law-ful-ly' or the complex 'anti-dis-establish-ment-arian-ism' [49](#page=49). * **Inflectional affixes:** Only one inflectional affix can be attached to a root word. Structures like "\*walked-ing" or "\*big-ger-est" are ungrammatical because they attempt to apply multiple inflectional suffixes [49](#page=49). #### 3.2.4 Productivity * **Derivational affixes:** These exhibit limited productivity, meaning they are typically applied to a restricted set of base words. For example, the derivational suffix '-hood' can be added to 'knight', 'brother', and 'sister', but not to 'friend', 'daughter', or 'king' [50](#page=50). * **Inflectional affixes:** These are highly productive, applying to a large and open class of words. The plural marker '-s' can be added to numerous verbs like 'drink', 'eat', and 'sleep', although it cannot be added to modal verbs such as 'can', 'will', or 'may' [50](#page=50). #### 3.2.5 Membership * **Inflectional affixes:** These belong to a restricted and closed class of affixes, comprising only eight members in English. These are [51](#page=51): 1. `{-s}` (present tense verb, third person singular) [51](#page=51). 2. `{-ed}` (past tense verb) [51](#page=51). 3. `{-ing}` (present participle/gerund) [51](#page=51). 4. `{-en}` (past participle verb) [51](#page=51). 5. `{-s}` (plural noun) [51](#page=51). 6. `{-'s}` (possessive noun) [51](#page=51). 7. `{-er}` (comparative adjective/adverb) [51](#page=51). 8. `{-est}` (superlative adjective/adverb) [51](#page=51). * **Derivational affixes:** These belong to an unrestricted and open-ended class. English has a large number of derivational affixes, with estimates of 386 prefixes and 322 suffixes. A comprehensive overview is available in the printed course book [52](#page=52). > **Tip:** Remember that the classification of an affix can sometimes depend on its function within a specific word. However, the general principles outlined above are robust for distinguishing between the two categories. > **Example:** Consider the word "worker". The suffix "-er" here can be seen as derivational because it changes the meaning from the action "work" to the agent "one who works" and creates a new noun. However, if we considered "bigger", the suffix "-er" is inflectional as it simply modifies the adjective "big" to its comparative form without changing its category or core meaning. The distinction hinges on whether a new lexical item is formed. > **Tip:** When encountering unfamiliar affixes, ask yourself: Does this change the fundamental meaning or word type? Can I add more affixes of the same type? Is this affix common across many words, or specific to a few? These questions can help guide your identification. ### 3.3 Overview of derivational affixes The printed course book provides a detailed listing of English derivational affixes. These are categorized by their meaning (for prefixes) or their effect on the base word (for suffixes). For each morpheme, the most common morphs are listed, excluding allomorphs. An exercise is recommended to find additional examples for each listed derivational affix [53](#page=53). * * * ## Common mistakes to avoid * Review all topics thoroughly before exams * Pay attention to formulas and key definitions * Practice with examples provided in each section * Don't memorize without understanding the underlying concepts

| Term | Definition | |------|------------| | Morphology | The study of the smallest meaningful units of language, known as morphemes, and how they combine to form words and more complex linguistic structures. | | Morpheme | The smallest possible sequence of phonemes that carries an identifiable, distinct, and relatively stable meaning; it cannot be broken down further without losing its meaning. | | Phoneme | The smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another. For example, /p/ and /b/ are phonemes in English. | | Syllable | A unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole or a part of a word. | | Lexical morpheme | A morpheme that has a specifiable, concrete lexico-semantic meaning and can function as the core meaning-bearing unit of a word. | | Grammatical morpheme | A morpheme that has an abstract, functional meaning and serves a grammatical purpose, often modifying the syntax or semantics of a sentence without adding significant lexical content. | | Free morpheme | A morpheme that can stand alone as a word and has a complete meaning, such as {boy} or {the}. | | Bound morpheme | A morpheme that cannot stand alone and must be attached to another morpheme to form a word, such as the plural marker {-s} or the past tense marker {-ed}. | | Affix | A bound morpheme that is attached to a base or root to form a new word or word form. Affixes include prefixes and suffixes. | | Base | A morpheme or a combination of morphemes to which affixes are attached to form a word. The base carries the primary meaning of the word. | | Root | A single morpheme that is the core of a word, stripped of all affixes, and carries the principal meaning. It cannot be further analyzed into smaller meaningful units. | | Prefix | An affix that is attached to the beginning of a base or root, such as {un-} in "unhappy" or {re-} in "reorder." | | Suffix | An affix that is attached to the end of a base or root, such as {-s} in "cats" or {-ly} in "quickly." | | Infix | An affix that is inserted within the root or base of a word. This is less common in English than prefixes and suffixes. | | Productivity (of morphemes) | The scope and frequency with which an affix can attach to various base forms to create new words or word forms. A productive affix is widely used. | | Historical morpheme | An unproductive morpheme whose original distinct meaning is now obscure or no longer readily apparent, often seen in words with ancient origins. | | Zero morpheme (Ø) | An inaudible or invisible morpheme that has no phonetic realization but signals a grammatical function, such as the plural in "sheep" or the past tense in "hit." | | Morph | The concrete, physical realization of a morpheme in actual speech or writing. It represents the form of a morpheme. | | Allomorph | One of the variant forms of a morpheme. Allomorphs are different morphs that represent the same abstract morpheme and are often determined by phonological or morphological context. | | Derivational affix | An affix that changes the meaning or the lexical class of the base word, creating a new word. Examples include {-ness} and {un-}. | | Inflectional affix | An affix that modifies a word to express a grammatical category such as tense, number, or case, without changing the word's core meaning or lexical class. Examples include {-s} (plural) and {-ed} (past tense). |