Morphology Flashcards
morphology purpose
- examines internal structure of words
- concerned with analysis
- segmentation of words into smallest meaningful parts
morphological processes
- inflectional processes
- word-formation processes
derivation, compounding
inflectional process (morphological processes)
- formation of words, grammatical information, affixation
word-formation process (morphological processes)
- expanding the vocabulary of a language
morpheme definition
= smallest meaningful unit (linguistic sign)
- basic morphological unit (not a word)
- arbitrary unit of sign and meaning
(allo)morphs definition
morph = realization of a morpheme
allomorph = phonologically or morphologically conditioned member of a set of morphs
morphological segmentation
- separate units carry meaning -> segment words into meaningful elements
-recurring forms with constant meaning
e.g. negative meaning via the prefix
types of morphemes (3 criteria)
- autonomy
- function/meaning
- position
autonomy (types of morphemes (3 criteria))
- free: can occur by itself (e.g. sing)
- bound: attached to another morpheme (e.g. -s)
function (types of morphemes (3 criteria))
- lexical: conveys lexical information
- grammatical: conveys grammatical information (plural, case, tense, …)
position (types of morphemes (3 criteria))
- relevant for bound morphemes
prefix: precedes base
suffix: follows base
circumfix: around base - not in English
infix: inserted in base - rare in English; “abso-fucking-lutely”
root definition
remains when all bound morphemes are removed
speakers->speaker->speak
stem definition
remains when all bound grammatical morphemes are removed
speaks->speak
base definition
dorm to which lexical affixes can be attached
speak->speaker->speakers
bound roots definition
attached to morphemes, cannot stand by itself
infer, prefer, confer
specify, special, specific
