Section 1 | Morphology Basics

What is morphology?

Study of word structure.

What are morphemes?

Smallest units of meaning in a word.

What is the difference between free and bound morphemes?

Free morphemes can stand alone, while bound morphemes attach to others.

What are lexical morphemes?

Morphemes with inherent meaning, such as nouns and verbs.

What are grammatical morphemes?

Morphemes that connect or modify words, like articles and prepositions.

What are affixes?

Bound morphemes that modify meaning or grammatical function.

What are prefixes?

Affixes that appear at the beginning of a word, e.g., 'un-' in 'unhappy'.

What are suffixes?

Affixes that appear at the end of a word, e.g., 'ness' in 'happiness'.

What are infixes?

Morphemes that occur within a word (rare in English).

What are circumfixes?

Morphemes that attach to both ends of a word (not in English).

What is inflectional morphology?

Modifies words to express grammatical categories without changing lexical meaning.

What are the benefits of inflectional morphology?

Shows grammatical relationships, helps construct accurate sentences, enhances language comprehension.

What is derivational morphology?

Creates new words by changing the meaning or lexical category.

What are allomorphs?

Sound variations of a morpheme in specific environments.

What does monomorphemic mean?

Describes a word consisting of one morpheme.

What does polymorphemic mean?

Describes a word consisting of multiple morphemes.

What is compounding in word formation?

Combining free morphemes to create a new word, e.g., 'chalkboard'.

What is affixation?

The process of adding bound morphemes to a word.

What does it mean to derive a word?

To create a new word using lexical affixes, e.g., 'unbreakable'.

What does it mean to inflect a word?

To add grammatical affixes, e.g., 'walking'.

What is morphological analysis?

Breaking words into morphemes to understand their types.

How would you analyze the word 'unbreakable'?

It consists of the prefix 'un-', the base 'break', and the suffix '-able'.

What is the primary focus of morphology?

Understanding how words are formed from smaller units called morphemes.

Name a type of bound morpheme.

An example includes prefixes or suffixes, such as '-ing'.

What is the role of grammatical morphemes?

They connect or modify words in sentences.

What does 'un-' signify in terms of morphology?

It acts as a bound morpheme that negates the meaning.

Can a morpheme carry meaning?

Yes, morphemes are the smallest units of meaning.

What happens to a word's lexical meaning when inflected?

The lexical meaning typically remains unchanged while grammatical aspects are modified.

What are the two main categories of morphemes?

Free morphemes and bound morphemes.

How do infixes usually appear in English?

Infixes are rare in English and do not frequently occur.

What does a prefix do in a word?

It modifies the meaning of the base word.

What would 'happiness' be classified as?

It is a polymorphemic word composed of the free morpheme 'happy' and the bound morpheme '-ness'.

What is the relationship between morphemes and words?

Morphemes are the building blocks from which words are formed.

What does it mean for a morpheme to be free?

A free morpheme can stand alone as a word.

Describe inflectional morphology's main function.

To indicate grammatical relationships such as tense or plurality.

Is 'running' an example of inflectional morphology?

Yes, it shows the inflection for present continuous tense.

What does 'lexical' signify in morphology?

It refers to morphemes that have inherent meaning.

What is the outcome of using derivational morphology?

It can create new words that differ in meaning or lexical category.

What distinguishes an allomorph from a morpheme?

Allomorphs are variations of a morpheme that occur in different contexts.

How might the word 'cats' be analyzed morphologically?

It consists of the free morpheme 'cat' and the bound morpheme '-s' indicating plurality.

What role does derivational morphology play in language?

It helps enrich the language by creating new words.

What is the significance of the suffix '-able'?

It indicates that the root word is capable of being performed, e.g., 'breakable'.

What is compounding an example of?

It illustrates the combination of two or more free morphemes to form a new word.

What is a defining quality of bound morphemes?

They cannot stand alone and must attach to other morphemes.

Can inflection change a word's category?

No, inflections typically alter grammatical features without changing categories.

What is the primary intent of morphological analysis?

To deconstruct words into their morpheme components.

How would you describe the morpheme '-ing' in 'running'?

It is a bound morpheme indicating the present participle.

What is one type of grammatical morpheme?

Articles like 'a' or 'the'.

How do prefixes and suffixes differ in terms of their locations?

Prefixes are at the beginning, while suffixes are at the end of a word.

In what way does inflectional morphology assist in communication?

It clarifies the grammatical relationships and meanings of sentences.

What process would you use to break down a complex word into morphemes?

You would employ morphological analysis.

Are all morphemes significant in a word?

Yes, each morpheme contributes to the overall meaning.

What type of morpheme is 'un-' in 'unhappiness'?

It is a bound morpheme that modifies the meaning.

In the context of morphology, what does the term 'bound' imply?

The morpheme must attach to another morpheme to convey meaning.

What grammatical feature might '-ed' indicate in a word?

It typically indicates past tense.

How can morphological rules enhance a language?

They provide a structure for creating and understanding word forms.

In broader linguistics, what is the importance of studying morphology?

It offers insights into the structure and formation of words in language.

What implications do derivational morphemes have for a word's meaning?

They can significantly change the meaning or category of the base word.

How would you define a polymorphemic word?

A word made up of multiple morphemes.

What does a morphological relationship between morphemes help describe?

It helps describe how words are built and how their meanings are related.

Can morphemes be phonetic units?

Yes, morphemes can have distinct sounds depending on their form.

How does understanding morphology aid in language acquisition?

It helps learners comprehend the structure of words, enhancing vocabulary development.

What are the two basic goals of morphology?

To understand word formation and the function of morphemes.

What kind of morpheme is typically attached to verbs to show tense?

An inflectional morpheme like '-s' for third person or '-ed' for past.

What kind of word would 'replay' be considered?

It is a derivational morpheme that creates a new action related to 'play'.

Why is morphological analysis critical in linguistics?

It allows for the systematic study of how words are formed and understood.