Word StructurePart 1

The Structure of Words: Morphology

Fundamental concepts in how words are composed out of smaller partsThe nature of these partsThe nature of the rules that combine these parts into larger unitsWhat it might mean to be a word

TodayMorphemesTypes of MorphemesPutting Morphemes together into larger structuresWords with internal structureInteresting properties of compounds

I. Morphemes

Remember that in phonology the basic distinctive units of sound are phonemesIn morphology, the basic unit is the morphemeBasic definition: A morpheme is a minimal unit of sound and meaning (this can be modified in various ways; see below)

Some ExamplesMany words can be divided into smaller parts, where the parts also occur in other words: dogswalkingblackensplayer-hater dog-swalk-ingblack-en-splay-er hat-er

Compare: cat-s; runn-ing; dark-en-s; eat-er

(note: in some cases there are spelling changes when we add morphemes; ignore this)

Parts, cont.

The smaller parts occur consistently with many words:-s: forms the plural consistently-ing: forms a noun from a verb-en: forms a verb meaning become ADJ from an adjective ADJ-er: forms an agentive nominal from a verb, a person or thing who does that activity

Consistent Sound/MeaningNotice that this is not the only way we can divide up words into smaller parts; considerTank, plank, flank, drank, rank, etc.

In these words, we could easily identify a component -ankHowever, this is not a morphemeThere is no consistent meaning with this -ankThe leftover pieces t-, pl-, fl-, dr-, r- are not morphemes either

Connections between Sound and Meaning

Remember that a phoneme sometimes has more than one sound form, while being the same abstract unit: /p/ with [p] and [ph]A related thing happens with morphemes as wellIn order to see this, we have to look at slightly more complex cases

Morphemes and AllomorphsWe will say in some cases that a morpheme has more than one allomorphThis happens when the same meaning unit like [past] for past tense or [pl] for plural has more than one sound formPast: one feature [past] kick / kick-ed leave / lef-t hit / hit-The last example shows a case in which the phonological form of the morpheme past is zero, i.e. it is not pronounced

Allomorphy, cont.In the case of phonology, we said that the different allophones of a phoneme are part of the same phoneme, but are found in particular contextsThe same is true of the different allomorphs of a morphemeWhich allomorph of a morpheme is found depends on its context; in this case, what it is attached to:Example: consider [pl] for English plural. It normally has the pronunciation s (i.e. /z/), but moose / moose- ox / ox-en box/*box-en/box-esSo, the special allomorphs depend on the noun

An Additional Point: Regular and IrregularIn the examples above, the different allomorphs have a distinct status. One of them is regular. This is the default form that appears when speakers are using e.g. new words (one blork, two blorks)For other allomorphs, speakers simply have to memorize the fact that the allomorph is what it isExample: It cannot be predicted from other facts that the plural of ox is ox-enDemonstration: The regular plural is /z/; consider one box, two box-es. Default cases like the /z/ plural are called regular. Allomorphs that have to be memorized are called irregular.Irregular allomorphs block regular allomorphs from occurring (ox-en, not *ox-es or *ox-en-s).

Two typesThere are in fact two types of allomorphy. Think back to phonologyThe Plural morpheme in English has different sound-forms: dog-s/cat-s/church-esThese are predictable, based on the phonological contextIn the case of Past Tense allomorphy, it is not predictable from the phonology which affix appearsWe can find verbs with the same (or similar) sound form, but with different allomorphs: break/broke, not stake/*stokeIf you think about this case for a while, though, you will notice some patterns; more on this later

II. Morpheme TypesWell now set out some further distinctions among morpheme typesOur working definition of morpheme was minimal unit of sound and meaningA further division among morphemes involves whether they can occur on their own or not:No: -s in dog-s; -ed in kick-ed; cran- in cran-berryYes: dog, kick, berry

Some DefinitionsBound Morphemes: Those that cannot appear on their ownFree Morphemes: Those that can appear on their ownIn a complex word:The root or stem is the basic or core morphemeThe things added to this are the affixesExample: in dark-en the root or stem is dark, while the affix in this case a suffix is -en

Further points

In some cases, works will use root and stem in slightly different waysAffixes are divided into prefixes and suffixes depending on whether they occur before or after the thing they attach to. Infixes-- middle of a word (e.g. fan-f*ing-tastic)For the most part, prefixes and suffixes are always bound, except for isolated instances

Content and Function WordsAnother distinction:Content Morphemes: morphemes that have a referential function that is independent of grammatical structure; e.g. dog, kick, etc.Sometimes these are called open-class because speakers can add to this class at willFunction morphemes: morphemes that are bits of syntactic structure e.g. prepositions, or morphemes that express grammatical notions like [past] for past tense.Sometimes called closed-class because speakers cannot add to this class

Cross-Classification

The bound/free and content/function distinctions are not the same. Some examples:ContentFunctionBoundcran--edFreedogthe

Aside: Non-Affixal MorphologyIn the cases above, we have seen many affixes associated with some morphological functionIn other cases, there are additional changes; e.g., changes to the stem vowel: sing/sang goose/geeseExamples of this type are not obviously affixal, as there is no (overt) added piece (prefix or suffix). Rather, the phonology of the stem/root has changed

Some examplesStem changing:PresentPastParticiplesingsangsungbeginbeganbegunsitsatsatcomecamecome

Another patternWhile in many cases the stem change does not co-occur with an affix, in some cases it does:Examples:breakbrokebrok-entelltol-dtol-dfreezefrozefroz-en

Use of stem changing patternsIn some languages, stem-changing is much more important than it is in e.g. EnglishIn Semitic languages, extensive use is made of different templatic patterns, that is, abstract patterns of consonants and vowels:Arabic noun plurals: kitaab book; kutub books nafs soul; nufus souls

III. Internal structure of wordsWords have an internal structure that requires analysis into constituents (much like syntactic structure does)For example:Unusable contains three pieces: un-, use, -ableQuestion: If we are thinking about the procedures for building words, is the order derive use-able, then add un-; or derive un-use, then add -able

Word StructurePossibilities:Structure 1Structure 2

un use able un use able

Word Structure, Cont.Consider: With able, we create adjectives meaning capable of being V-ed, from verbs VBreak/break-able; kick/kick-ableThere is no verb un-useThis is an argument that Structure 1 is correct:[un [use able]]This analysis fits well with what the word means as well: not capable of being used. Structure two would mean some thing like capable of not being used

Another exampleConsider another word (from the first class): unlockable. Focus on un-Note that in addition to applying to adjectives (clear/unclear) to give a contrary meaning, un- applies to some verbs to give a kind of undoing or reversing meaning:do, undozip, unziptie, untieNote now that unlockable has two meanings

The Unlockable exampleTwo meanings:Not capable of being lockedCapable of being unlockedThese meanings correspond to distinct structures:

1)2)

un lock able un lock able

Unlockable, cont.The second structure is one in which able applies to the verb unlockThis verb is itself created from un- and lockThe meaning goes with this: capable of being unlockedIn structure 1, there is no verb unlockSo the meaning is not capable of being locked

Some General PointsThe system for analyzing words applies in many cases that are created on the flyComplex words and their meanings are not simply stored; rather, the parts are assembled to create complex meaningsAnother example of the same principle applies in the process of compounding

Introduction to CompoundingA compound is a complex word that is formed out of a combination of stems (as opposed to stem + affix)These function in a certain sense as one word, and have distinctive phonological patternsExamples:olive oilshop talkshoe polishtruck driverNote that the different elements in these compounds relate to each other in different ways...

Internal structureLike with other complex words, the internal structure of compounds is crucialThere are cases of ambiguities like that with unlockableExample: obscure document shredderPerson who shreds obscure documents[[obscure document] shredder]Obscure person who shreds documents[obscure [document shredder]]

Compounding, cont.An interesting property of compounds is that although they are words, they form a productive system, without limits (as far as grammar is concerned, not memory).Note also that compounds have special accentual (stress) properties:judgetrial judgemurder trial judgemurder trial judge reportermurder trial judge reporter killermurder trial judge reporter killer catchermurder trial judge reporter killer catcher biographer murder trial judge reporter killer catcher biographer pencil set