Morphology

Question 1

Headed Compounds (Endocentric Compounds)

Answer 1

One part of the compound (the head) determines the overall meaning and grammatical category.
The head is typically the rightmost element in English compounds. Ex:

• Handbag: The head is “bag,” so a handbag is a type of bag.
• Toothbrush: The head is “brush,” so a toothbrush is a type of brush.
• Blackboard: The head is “board,” so a blackboard is a type of board.

Question 2

Headless Compounds (Exocentric Compounds)

Answer 2

There is no clear head that determines the meaning or category. The meaning is not directly related to the meanings of its parts. Ex:

• Pickpocket: This does not refer to a type of pocket but to a person who steals from pockets.
• Redneck: This does not refer to a type of neck but to a person with a certain cultural stereotype.
• Sabretooth: This does not refer to a type of tooth but to a prehistoric animal with long, curved canine teeth.

Question 3

Define the term & give an example:
“Blend”

Answer 3

Blending is a process similar to compounding; parts of the words that form the blend are left out, or truncated. Typically, initial parts or letters of the words are kept.

• Example: “Motel” is a blend constructed from “motor + “hotel”

Question 4

Define the term & give an example:
“Semantic Blocking”

Answer 4

When the existence of a word with a particular meaning inhibits the morphological derivation, even by formally regular means, of another word with precisely that meaning.

• Example: there is no word such as ‘cowlet’ or ‘sheepling’, because the words ‘calf’ and
  ‘lamb’ already exist.

Question 5

Define the term & give an example:
“Acronym”

Answer 5

An “Acronym” is a form of blend; an acronym is formed by the initial letters of words in a name
or expression. The resulting string of letters is pronounced as a word, and not letter-byletter.

Question 6

Explain what it means if an Affix is Formally General

Answer 6

An affix is “Formally General” if it can attach to a large number of bases. Ex:
- The suffix “-ly” can be added to many adjectives to create adverbs as in (quiet >quietly), (careful > carefully).

Question 7

Explain what it means if an Affix is productive or not productive

Answer 7

An affix is “Productive” if it can be used to produce new lexemes.
- EX: The affix “-ness” can be used to create nouns from adjectives, such as “wideness”, “wilderness”, etc.

An unproductive affix also creates a noun from an adjective, but it can no longer be used on a as many bases.
- Ex: The affix “-th” can be used to create words like “width”, “fourth”, but the amount of possible bases are limited.