A Brief Introduction of Morphology

1. University of the Punjab , Department of English Language & Literature.
Lahore, Pakistan

2. Morph = form or shape
Ology = study of
• The study of internal structures of words
• How words are constructed out of smaller units
(morphemes)
– Which have a meanings or grammatical function
e.g.
– friendly ----- constructed from friend & adjective
forming -ly
• How words can be modified

3. Morphology
Structure of
words
Word
Formation
Morpheme

4. Morpheme
Sound Unit
Meaning
Unit
Smallest unit
of language

5. Basic Concept Of Word Structure
• The number, order of and type of morphemes
– used to make up a particular word is called its
structure
• Morphologists study
– the meanings of the various morphemes
– their patterns of distribution { the structures}
• Morphemes do not combine in arbitrary ways
– They have specific patterns to the distribution of
morphemes
– e.g. rewrite = write-re, walks = s-walk
• The structure of words can be represented by trees

6. Classification Of Morphemes
Free Morphemes/ roots
if morpheme is able to appear as a word by
itself
Bound Morphemes/ affixes
if morpheme can only appear as part of a
larger, multi-morphemic

7. Basic Concepts and Terms
Stem (root, base): the morpheme to
which other morphemes are
added
free (e.g. teacher, dresses, unkind)
Stem
bound (e.g. inept, unkempt)

8. Stem & Affix
Stem : carries the basic meaning
Affixes /attachments carry additional, often grammatical
meanings
KINDS OF AFFIXES
Suffixes: are attached to the end of the stem;
Prefixes: are attached to the front of the stem;
Infixes: are put in the middle of the word;
Ablaut: is a change in a vowel that carries extra meaning;
• Suffixes are the most common e.g.
– the past tense : matter of adding -ed to the stem;
– the present participle is made by adding -ing;
– the plural of a noun is made by adding -s.

9. Affix
Prefix e.g. Unhappy
Infix e.g. Mother- in- law
Suffix e.g. Happiness
Ablaut e.g. Sing Sang

10. Allomorphs
• When a morpheme is pronounced by more than one sound
pattern, we call the variations allomorphs e.g.
• English plural morpheme –s is pronounced in three ways:
– dogs (dog[z]) cats (cat[s]) judges (judg[ɪz])
-s [z] -s [s] -s [ɪz] an allomorph of the plural
morpheme
• To describe this situation, we can say:
– English has one plural morpheme, -s.
– English has three allomorphs of the plural morpheme
• Another example: English indefinite article
– English has two allomorphs of an indefinite article:
– a dog an apple

11. Types of
Morpheme
Free
morpheme
lexical functional
Bound
morpheme
derivational inflectional

12. Free
Morpheme
lexical
(open
class)
has lexical
meaning
N, Verb, Adj,
Adv
functional
(closed
class)
function
words
Pro, Prep,
Conj, Art.

13. Bound Morpheme
Derivational Inflectional
form new words Different forms
of the same word
may change syntactic class Not change syntactic
class
-able, un-, re-, etc ’s, -s, -ing, -ed/-
en, -est,er

14. Word Structure
• Words are the fundamental building blocks of
language
• Intuitively, learning a language learning
words
• Words may be the basis for the organization of
language in the brain:
• sound system words syntax
meaning

15. Word Structure
• Each word has internal structure
– A word is not just a sequence of morphemes
• Morphemes are added in a strict order - reflecting a hierarchy
within the word e.g. “unsystematic”
The first step
– attaches a derivational sufix “atic”
– to the (free) root noun
– This forms an adjective
The second step
– takes this adjective,attache a derivational prefix “un”
– create a new word, with the same category word
“unsystematic”

16. Tree structure
Adjective
Un Adjective
(Derivational)
Noun
System -atic
(Free root) (derivational)

18. Some Rules
• Noun + atic Adjective (Systematic)
• Un + Adjective Adjective (Unhappy)
• Adjective + al Adjective
(Egotistical, Fantastical)
• Noun + al Adjective
(Autumnal, National)
• Adjective + ly Adverb
(Happily, Hopefully)
• Using these rules, work out the tree structure for
“unsystematically”

19. Unsystematically (Adverb)
unsystematically (adverb)
unsystematic (adj) -ly
unsystematic (adj) -al
un- + systematic (adj)
system (noun) + -atic

20. The Tree Represents
• The application of two morphological rules
1.Noun+ atic→Adjective systematic
2.Un+Adjective→Adjective unsystematic
– The rule for -al is as follows
3.Adjective+al→Adjective
– Another affix is -ly, which is added to adjective to
form adverb
4. Adjective+ly→ Adverb

21. More Rules
• Verb + able Adjective
– (Adorable, Desirable)
• Adjective + en Verb
– (Darken)
• Noun Adjective = ish/esque/ous/ate/ful/ic/like
– boyish, picturesque, joyous, affectionate, healthful, alcoholi
c, lifelike
• Verb Noun = al/ance/ation/ence/er/ist/ion/dom
– clearance, conference, singer, prediction, freedom
• Adjective Adverb = ly (exactly, quietly)
• Noun Verb = ize/ate/ish/n
– moralize, vaccinate, brandish, hasten

22. More Rules
• Not all derivational morphemes cause a change in grammatical
Class
– friend+ship, human+ity, un+do, re+cover, in+flammable
• This is often the case with prefixes:
– a+moral, auto+biography, ex+wife, super+human, re+pri
nt, semi+annual
• suffixes:
– vicar+age, old+ish, America+n, music+ian
• Best to be familiar with a few examples of
• Noun Adjective, Adjective
Adverb, Verb Adjective, Adjective
Verb,
Verb Noun

23. Types of Word Formation
1. Compounding
2. Prefixation
3. Suffixation
4. Conversion
5. Clipping
6. Blends
7. Backformation
8. Acronyms
9. Onomatopoeia
10. Eponyms
11. Toponyms
12. Reduplication
13. Coining

24. 1. Compounding
• Two or more words joined together to form a
new word.
• Examples:
–Pick + pocket  pickpocket
–Home + work  homework
• The meaning of a compound is not always the
sum of the meanings of its parts

25. Types of compounds
–Compound nouns
–Compound verbs
–Compound adjectives

26. Compound Nouns
1. Boyfriend, hatchback
2. Cut-throat, breakfast
3. Sunshine, birth control
4. Software, fast food
5. In-crowd, overkill
6. Drop-out, put-on
1. Noun + Noun
2. Verb + Noun
3. Noun + Verb
4. Adjective + Noun
5. Particle + Noun
6. Verb + Particle

27. Compound Verbs
1. Carbon-copy, sky-dive
2. Fine-tune
3. Overbook
4. Bad-mouth
1. Noun + Verb
2. Adjective + Verb
3. Particle + Verb
4. Adjective + Noun

28. Compound Adjectives
1. Capital-intensive
2. Deaf-mute
3. Coffee-table
4. Roll-neck
5. White-collar
6. Before-tax
7. Go-go
1. Noun + Adjective
2. Adjective + Adjective
3. Noun + Noun
4. Verb + Noun
5. Adjective + Noun
6. Particle + Noun
7. Verb-verb

29. 2. Prefixation
• Class-changing prefixes:
– a-  asleep  V to Adj
– be-  bewitch  N to V
– en-  enslave  N to V
• Class-maintaining prefixes:
– in-  indefinite  Adj to Adj
– fore-  foreman  N to N
– Etc.

30. 3. Suffixation
• Suffixes forming Nouns
–N from N: -dom  kingdom
–N from V: -ee  employee
–N from Adj: -ce  dependence

31. Forming Verbs
• Suffixes forming Verbs
–V from N: -ify  beautify
–V from Adj: -en  shorten

32. Forming adjective, adverbs
• Suffixes forming adjectives
–Adj from N: -al  educational
–Adj from V: -able  understandable
–Adj from Adj: -ish  greenish
• Suffixes forming Adverbs: -ly, -ward, and –
wise

33. 4. Conversion
• Assigning an already existing word to a new
syntactic category
• Types of Conversion
– Verb to Noun: to hit  a hit
– Adj to N: a final game  a final
– N to V: a sign  to sign
– Adj to V: an empty box  to empty

34. 5. Clipping
• part of a free morpheme is cut off
(i.e., shortening a polysyllabic word); often
in casual speech
prof. auto
lab ad
bike
doc sub

35. 6. Blends
• similar to compounding
• but parts of the free morphemes involved are lost
• (usually 1st part of 1st word + end of 2nd word)
brunch (breakfast+ lunch)
smog (smoke+ fog)
motel (motor+ hotel)
newscast (news + broadcast)
perma-press (permanent press)

36. 7. Back-formations
• A word (usually a noun) is reduced to form
another word of a different type (usually a
verb)
editor edit
donation donate
burglar burgle
zipper zip
television televise
babysitter babysit

37. 8. Acronyms (1)
• abbreviate a longer term by taking the initial
letters
A. follow the pronunciation patterns of Eng
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
TOEFL (Test of Eng. as a Foreign Language)
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration)

38. Acronyms (2)
B. If unpronounceable  each letter is sounded out
separately
ATM (automatic teller machine)
I.Q. (intelligence quotient)
MRT (Mass Rapid Transit)
MTV (music television)
TVBS (television broadcasting service)
VCR (video cassette recorder)

39. Acronyms (3)
C. Customary to sound out each letter even if
the combined initials can be pronounced.
AIT (American Institute in Taiwan)
UCLA (Univ. of California at Los Angeles)

40. 9. Onomatopoeia
• words imitate sounds in nature (or in technology)
A dog: bow wow or woof-woof
A clock: tick-tock
A rooster: cock-a-doodle-doo
A camera: click
A duck: quack
A cat: meow
Ring of a bell: ding-dong
A cow: moo
A bee: buzz
A snake: hiss

41. 10. Eponyms
• A person after whom a
discovery, invention, place, etc., is named
• Examples:
–Celcius (Anders Celcius)
–Cook Islands (James Cook)

42. 11. Toponyms
a place name, especially one derived from a
topographical feature
• Examples:
– Montana (‘mountains’ in Spanish)
– Mississippi (‘big river’ in Chippewa)

43. 12. Reduplication
full or partial repetition of a free morpheme; sometimes
with variation
full with variation
so-so zigzag
bye-bye dilly-dally
hotch potch
mishmash

44. 13. Coining
• Creating a completely new free
morpheme, which is unrelated to any existing
morphemes; a rare thing
e.g. googol
pooch
Nylon

45. Morphemes
lexical
free (open classes)
Morphemes functional
(closed classes)
bound derivational
(affixes) inflectional

46. Summary of Morphology
• Words consist of meaningful units called morphemes
• These, when afixed to a root, can change the meaning or
category of a word
• Two basic forms of word formation
– derivation (using derivational morphemes)
– inflection
• Key to remember is that morphemes are the smallest
meaningful Units
• Words have internal structure in a similar way to sentences