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Morpheme Classification Explained

This document provides an overview of morphology, the study of word structure. It defines key terms like morpheme, the minimal unit of meaning or function. Morphemes can be free, able to stand alone as words, or bound, only occurring attached to other morphemes. The document also distinguishes between lexical morphemes, content words, and functional morphemes, grammar words. It notes the open class of new lexical words that can be created versus the closed class of functional words. Specific types of bound morphemes based on position and function are also outlined, along with examples of English inflectional morphemes. A chart summarizes the different categories of morphemes.

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52 views17 pages

Morpheme Classification Explained

This document provides an overview of morphology, the study of word structure. It defines key terms like morpheme, the minimal unit of meaning or function. Morphemes can be free, able to stand alone as words, or bound, only occurring attached to other morphemes. The document also distinguishes between lexical morphemes, content words, and functional morphemes, grammar words. It notes the open class of new lexical words that can be created versus the closed class of functional words. Specific types of bound morphemes based on position and function are also outlined, along with examples of English inflectional morphemes. A chart summarizes the different categories of morphemes.

Uploaded by

lightningninja1511
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Linguistics

The ninth week

Chapter 3 Morphology
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Morphemes

Key points
1. the definition of morphology 2. the definition of morpheme 3. the classification of morphemes

Difficult points
1. Free morphemes 2. Bound morphemes

Morphology
Morphology is the study of the internal

structure, forms and classes of words.

Morphemes
A morpheme is a minimal unit of meaning or

grammatical function. Ex. Tourists: -tour (one minimal unit) -ist (meaning person who does something) -s (a third unit of grammatical function indicating plurality)

Free morphemes
The morphemes that can stand alone as

words are called free morphemes.

Root and stem


A word must contain an element that can

stand by itself, that is, a free morpheme, such as talk. Such an element is called a root. When they are used with bound morphemes, the basic word-form involved is technically known as the stem.

Lexical and functional morphemes


Lexical morphemes refer to ordinary nouns,

verbs and adjectives. Functional morphemes refer to conjunctions, articles, prepositions and pronouns.

Open and closed class of words


lexical morphemes are called an open

class of words because we can create new lexical morphemes. functional morphemes are called a closed class of words because no new fellow members can be added.

Bound morphemes
Bound morphemes are those that can not

be used independently but have to be combined with other morphemes, either free or bound, to form a word.

Occurrence position:
Prefixes
Suffixes infixes

Function:
Derivational morphemes Inflectional morphemes

Eight English inflectional morphemes:


(i) s (possessive)

(ii) s (plural)
(iii) s (3rd person present singular) (iv) ing (present participle) (v) ed (past tense) (vi) ed (past participle) (vii) en (past participle) (viii) est and er (superlative and comparative

degree)

The chart of the different categories of morphemes

Lexical morphemes (work, house, kind)


Functional morphemes (and, if, or, but)

Free morphemes Morphemes

Derivational morphemes (-er, -ness, ly) Bound morphemes Inflectioanal morphemes (-ed, -er, -est)

Lexical morphemes Free morphemes Functional morphemes Morphemes Derivational morphemes Bound morphemes Inflectional morphemes

Assignments
1. Define the following terms: (1)morphology (2) free morpheme (3) morpheme (4) stem 2. Identify the structure of the following words: wording person existentialism international statesman spokesman walkman bicyclist assignment

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