Chapter 3 Flashcards
free morphemes
can stand alone as words
what creates new lexemes?
derivation and compounding
bound morphemes
cannot stand alone as words
affixes
a bound morpheme that consists of one or more segments that typically appear before, after or within a base morpheme (infix, circumfix, prefix, suffix)
infix
inserted into the base morpheme
prefix
bound morpheme that comes before the base
suffix
bound morpheme that comes after the base
circumfix
a prefix and a suffix that together create a new lexeme
–> ge-berg-te (mountain chain)
–> ge-vogel-te (flock of birds)
derivation
new lexemes that are formed with prefixes and suffixes on a base
bound base
morphemes that cannot stand on their own, but are not prefixes or suffixes
stem
part of a word that is left when all inflectional endings are removed
root
the part of a word that is left after all affixes are removed
–> can be a free base
affixation
formation of words by addition of prefixes, suffixes, infixes and circumfixes
suffix -ness
attaches to adjectives or nouns
–> the quality of X
prefix un-
attaches to adjectives, preferably those with neutral or positive connotations, and creates negative adjectives
–> reverse the action X
suffix -ize
attaches to adjectives or nouns of two or more syllables where the final syllable doesn’t bear primary stress
–> make/put into X
suffix -ify
attaches to adjectives or nouns with monosyllabic bases, final (y) or stressed syllables
transpositional affixes
primary function is to change the category of their base without adding extra meaning (-(a)tion, -ment, -al, -ity, -ness)
personal affixes
create people nouns from verbs or nouns
- agents: -er
- patient: -ee
locative affixes
designate a place ( -ery/-age EXAMPLE ONLY)
abstract affixes
nouns that denote qualities
negative affixes
add the meaning ‘not’ to their base (EXAMPLES: un-, in-, non-)
private affixes
something like ‘without X’ (EXAMPLES: -less, de-)
prepositional/relational affixes
often convey notions of space/time (EXAMPLES: over-, out-, pre-, post-,)
quantitative affixes
have something to with amount ( -ful, multi-, re-)
evaluative affixes
- diminutives: signal a smaller version of the base (-let, –> booklet)
- augmentatives: signal a bigger version of the base (mega-,–> megastore)
affixal polysemy
multiple related meanings of an affix
formative
an element that is used to form words, but which lacks clear meaning or function –> this mostly happens to forms not native to English
cran morphs
a bound morpheme that occurs in only one word
–> cran - cranberry
extenders
an extra segment that occasionally appears in derived words in English, but which has no meaning and doesn’t obviously belong to either base or affix
–> platonic (plato + n + ic)
sound symbolism
a sequence of sounds thats sometimes associated with a vague meaning, but isn’t a morpheme –> sn in sneeze, snort, sniffle
splinter
a piece of a word that isnt itself a morpheme but which can be used on an analogical basis to form a limited set of new words
–> -tarian from vegetarian, flexitarian
allomorphs
a phonologically distinct variant of a morpheme
–> -(a)tion from participation
compounds
words that are composed of two (or more) bases, roots, or stems
compounds
N + N
= N (dog bed, file cabinet, apple pie)
compounds
N + A
= A (sky blue, stone cold, bone dry)
compounds
A + A
= A (blue-green, icy cold)
compounds
A + N
= N (blackbird, green house, fastfood)
compounds
N + V
= V (hand was, brainwash, baby sit)
compounds
V + N
= N (pick pocket, sell sword, think tank)
compounds
V + V
= V (stir fry, slam dunk, blow dry)
compounds
A + V
= V (hot glue, slow dance)
compounds
V + A
= A (go-slow)
compounds
N + P
= A? (year-in)
compounds
P + N
= N (afterbirth, backseat)
compounds
V + P
= N (breakdown)
compounds
P + V
= V (downgrade)
compounds
A + P
= A (tuned-in)
compounds
P + A
= A (inbuilt)
compounds
P + P
= P (into)
interfix/linking element
a meaningless vowel or consonant that occurs between the two elements that make up a compound
root compound/primary compound
a compound in which the head element is not derived from a verb (dog bed, windmill, blue-green, stir fry)
synthetic compound
a compound in which the head is derived from a verb and the non-head bears an argumental relationship to the head (truck driver, hand washing)
head
the morpheme that determines the category and semantic type of the word or phrase
attributive compound
the non-head acts as a modifier of the head
–> snail mail metaphorically is a kind of mail that moves like a snail.
- expresses any relationship with the head
coordinative compound
the first element of the compound doesnt modify the second element –> the two have equal weight (producer-director, prince consort, blue-green, doctor-patient)
sub-ordinative compound
one element is interpreted as the argument of the other, usually as its object –> when one element of the compound either is a V or is derived from a verb (synthetic compounds)
–> suffixes -er, -ing, -ation, -ment can be added to one element of the compound
(truck driver, mystery writer, hand holding, home invasion, meal preparation, cost containment)
endocentric
the referent of the compound is always the same as the referent of its head (= equal to each other)
- attributive = windmill, greenhouse, sky blue, ice cold
- subordinative = truck driver, meal preparation
- coordinative = producer-director
exocentric
the denotation of the compound as a whole is not the denotation of the head
- attributive = air head, bird brain
- subordinative = pickpocket, cutpurse
- coordinative = parent-child, doctor-patient
conversion/functional shift
creating new lexemes without adding affixes
–> other term : zero affixation
conversion/functional shift
N –> V
table –> to table
bread –> to bread
fish –> to fish
conversion/functional shift
V –> N
to throw –> a throw
to kick –> a kick
to fix –> a (quick) fix
conversion/functional shift
A –> V
cool –> to cool
yellow –> to yellow
coinage
coming up with new words
backformation
a word is formed by substracting a piece, usually an affix from a word which appears to be complex
peddlar –> peddler –> peddle
blending
parts of lexemes that are not themselves morphemes are combined to form new lexemes
smoge = smoke + fog
brunch = breakfast + lunch
splog = spam + blog
acronym
the first letters of a phrase are used to create a new word, pronounced as a word
–> AIDS (Acquired, Immune, Deficiency, Syndrome)
initialism
the first letters of a phrase are used to create a new word, pronounced as individual letters
–> FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
clipping
creating a new word by shortening already existing words
- fridge –> refrigerator
- info –> information
