Morphology

Morphology: Intro to Language

Morphology: The study of the forms or structure of words and their constituent parts. It examines how words are built and how their components contribute to meaning.
Morpheme: The smallest unit of meaning in a language for a set of sounds. It possesses a constant meaning and structure that cannot be further divided without losing its original meaning or grammatical function.

Words can vary significantly in length and complexity across languages.
- Examples:
  - A very long Welsh word: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllandysiliogogogoch
  - A medium-sized multilingual word: karaoke-singers
  - A very short English word: a

A morpheme either impacts the meaning or function of a word.
It distinguishes word form within a specific language.
A morpheme cannot be made smaller while retaining its original meaning or function.
Examples: In walks, walking, and walked, the core element walk is a morpheme. The additional elements s, ing, and ed are also individual morphemes, each adding specific grammatical information or changing the word's form.

Definition: Morphemes that can stand alone as single words without needing to be attached to other forms.
Examples: Mother, Shout.

Definition: The core word that carries the most significant content or meaning. It cannot be reduced further while retaining its meaning.
It represents the form of a word without any affixes (prefixes or suffixes) attached.
Root words commonly function as nouns, adjectives, or verbs.
Examples:
- arbor (tree): seen in arboreal, arboretum, arborist
- ego (I): seen in egotist, egocentric, egomaniac
- form (shape): seen in conform, formulate, reform
- legal (related to the law): seen in illegal, legalities, paralegal
- meter (measure): seen in kilometer, millimeter, pedometer
- norm (typical): seen in abnormal, normality, paranormal
- phobia (fear): seen in arachnophobia, claustrophobia, hydrophobia

Definition: Free morphemes that carry the primary content or meaning of a message.
Also referred to as an