MORPHOLOGY-1 (2)

Morphology

Definition of Morphology

Morphology is a branch of linguistics that focuses on the internal structure of words and how they are formed. It emphasizes studying word structure, distinguishing spoken language from written language; identifying words in spoken language often requires an understanding of morphology due to the absence of clear separations like spaces in written language.

Understanding Words

Definition of a Word

A word is defined as the smallest free form in a language, standing independently without needing to occur in a fixed position within other elements.

Definition of Morpheme

A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that carries meaning or function and cannot be further divided. For example, the word "drive" holds one morpheme, while "driver" contains two morphemes, and "drivers" has three.

Structure of Words

Types of Words

• Simple Words: Composed of a single morpheme (e.g., play, teach, write).

• Complex Words: Made up of two or more morphemes (e.g., player, teacher, writer).

• Compound Words: Formed by combining two distinct words, which can be simple or complex (e.g., hardworking, mailbox).

Allomorphs

Allomorphs represent the phonological variations of morphemes. For instance, the morpheme "d" can appear in various forms such as [d], [ed], [id], and [t], while the morpheme "s" can be pronounced as [s], [z], or [ez]. These variations highlight how morphemes can express indefiniteness, as seen with "an" and "a."

Morphemes and Allomorphs

Differences

Morpheme is understood as a minimal unit of meaning in a language, while allomorph is a variant of a morpheme that changes in sound without altering its meaning. Morphemes focus on meaning and can exist as independent words, while allomorphs pertain more to the structure and sound of words.

Classification of Morphemes

Two Main Types:

1. Free Morphemes: Stand-alone words (e.g., play, language, hard, phone).

2. Bound Morphemes: Cannot stand alone and must attach to other morphemes (e.g., -s, -ing, pre-, ir-, un-).

Subtypes of Free Morphemes:

• Lexical Morphemes: Carry meaning by themselves (e.g., play, language).

• Functional Morphemes: Establish relationships between morphemes (e.g., conjunctions, prepositions, articles).

Bound Morphemes Subtypes:

• Inflectional Morphemes: Signal grammatical functions such as number, tense, possessive, and comparison without creating new words (e.g., cat to cats).

• Derivational Morphemes: Change meaning or lexical category (e.g., quick to quickly, happy to unhappy).

Parts of Speech

Categories

• Noun: Names a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., Daniel, London).

• Pronoun: Replaces nouns to avoid repetition (e.g., I, you, it).

• Adjective: Describes or modifies a noun (e.g., cold, young).

• Verb: Indicates action or state of being (e.g., go, eat).

• Adverb: Modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (e.g., slowly, very).

• Preposition: Shows relationships of nouns or pronouns to other words (e.g., at, on).

• Conjunction: Joins words, phrases, or ideas (e.g., and, but).

• Interjection: Expresses strong emotion or exclamation (e.g., Ouch!, Wow!).

Word Formation Processes

Key Processes

• Etymology: The study of a word's origin and history.

• Coinage: Creation of new words, often brand names (e.g., Kodak).

• Borrowing: Adopting words from other languages (e.g., croissant from French).

• Compounding: Joining two words (e.g., sunburn).

• Blending: Merging parts of words (e.g., smog from smoke + fog).

• Clipping: Shortening longer words (e.g., advertisement to ad).

• Derivation: Forming words by adding affixes (e.g., happy to happiness).

• Conversion: Changing a word's function (e.g., noun to verb).

• Acronyms: Words formed from the initial letters of phrases (e.g., CD for Compact Disk).

• Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate sounds (e.g., buzz, hiss).

Competence vs Performance

Definition and Characteristics

• Competence: The internalized knowledge of language rules, characterized by being abstract, cognitive, invisible, unconscious, and context-free.

• Performance: The actual use of language, reflecting competence in a context, observable, measurable, and context-dependent.

Mistake vs Error

Distinction

• Mistake: Occurs when learners fail to utilize their knowledge correctly (e.g., applying rules incorrectly).

• Error: Results from a lack of knowledge about rules entirely, indicating gaps in competence.