IS

Morphology

Morphology: The Study of Word Structure

Introduction to Linguistics and Course Focus

  • Mental Grammar Components: We previously discussed that our mental grammar comprises five components:

    • Phonetics (study of sounds)

    • Phonology (sound combinations and rules)

    • Morphology (words and their structure)

    • Syntax (sentences and their structure)

    • Semantics (meaning)

  • Course Emphasis: In this course, the primary focus will be on phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax. Semantics will not be covered.

  • Current Lecture Topic: Our first detailed lecture will concentrate on morphology.

Morphology Lecture Outline and Scope

  • This particular video lecture will cover:

    1. What is morphology?

    2. The difference between words and morphemes.

    3. Classification of morphemes.

    4. The distinction between a root and a base.

  • Omissions: Due to consistency with the in-person lecture, the internal structure of words (initial point number 5) will not be covered in this video. The classification of morphemes into inflectional versus derivational affixes (a sub-point of classification) willbe addressed in a subsequent lecture (September 22).

What is Morphology?

  • Etymology: The term