Word Morphemes
Word Morphemes
Word Morphemes
American linguist Leonard Bloomfield (1887-1949) -- defined the word as a minimal free
form
Classification of words
APPLE
REREADING
RE + READ + ING
MORPHEME - the smallest sign in language (smallest form with a specific meaning)
renewable rewritable
re + new + able re + writ(e) + able
MORPHOLOGY
Cranberry morph: appears only in a single word, like "ham" in hammer, also: uncouth,
huckleberry, lukewarm, knowledge
ALLOMORPHS:
ALLOMORPHS = forms with the same meaning but slightly different sound-shapes, and
the difference is predictable
Classification of Morphemes
confuse -> confus+ion, able -> abil+ity, explain -> explan+ation, electric-> electric+ity, long
-> leng+th
symbolic fusion: tooth -> teeth, run -> ran, take -> took, use (the noun) -> use (the verb)
2. Types of affixes:
Derivational affixes make new words by adding concrete meanings to old words:
Inflectional affixes make different grammatical forms of the same word. English has only 8
productive inflections:
There are several unproductive inflections too, like the plural -en in oxen, and the
participial -en in given.
FREE BOUND
most roots in English most prefixes and suffixes
but: adept, inept (BOUND ROOT) ism (free suffix) ex, pro, con (free prefixes)
Minor word formation techniques (major ones are compounding and affixation)
- wiki move fast -> wikiwiki quick, helu count-> heluhelu read. partial reduplication: 'uku
flea --> 'u'uku tiny
clipping, or clipped word: grad, prof, dorm, Liz, Flo, Ed, Al.
symbolic fusion (only in some noun plurals, some denominal verbs, and some past tense
verbs)