The_Architecture_of_Words_Understanding_English_Morphology.pptx
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The Architecture of Words
The_Architecture_of_Words_Understanding_English_Morphology.pptx
- 1. The Architecture of Words Understanding English Morphology morp h + ology → morphology Presented by: Dr.Moustafa Shalaby
- 2. Introduction to Morphology What is Morphology? Morphology is the study of word formation and structure in language. It examines how words are built from smaller meaningful units called morphemes . Morphology helps us understand: How words are formed and structured How meaning is created through word parts How grammatical information is encoded in words How new words are created in a language u n happ i nes s = unhappiness Morphology is a branch of linguistics that studies the structure of words and their formation.
- 3. Types of Morphemes: Free vs. Bound Free Morphemes Can stand alone as independent words and carry meaning by themselves. cat = a feline animal happ y = feeling joy run = to move quickly Types: Lexical (content words): nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs Functional (grammatical words): prepositions, articles, conjunctions Bound Morphemes Cannot stand alone and must be attached to other morphemes to form words. -s = plural marker (cats, dogs) un- = negation prefix (unhappy, unclear) -ing = present participle (running, jumping) Types: Derivational: change meaning or word class (un-, -ness, -ize) Inflectional: add grammatical information (-s, -ed, -ing) Feature Free Morphemes Bound Morphemes Independence Can stand alone as words Must attach to other morphemes
- 4. Inflectional vs. Derivational Morphology Inflectional Morphology Inflectional morphemes add grammatical information to words without changing their meaning or word class. Key Characteristics: Maintains the same word class Adds grammatical information Usually appears at the end of words Limited in number (8 in English) Examples: -s Plural: cat s, dogs -ed Past tense: walk ed, talked -ing Present participle: walk ing, talking Derivational Morphology Derivational morphemes create new words by changing meaning and often the word class. Key Characteristics: Often changes word class Creates new lexical items Can appear at beginning or end Large number in English Examples: un- Adjective Adjective: happy → → unhappy - ness Adjective Noun: happy happy → → ness -ize Adjective Verb: modern modern → → ize Feature Inflectional Morphology Derivational Morphology
- 5. Allomorphs of Present Participle What are Allomorphs? Allomorphs are variant forms of the same morpheme that appear in different contexts but serve the same grammatical function. Present Participle Allomorphs The present participle in English has two main allomorphs: /ɪŋ/ and /ɪn/ These allomorphs are stylistically conditioned , meaning their usage depends on the formality of the context rather than phonological or morphological factors. Stylistic Conditioning Examples in Context Formal: "I am working on the project." /wɜrkɪŋ/ Informal: "I'm workin' on the project." /wɜrkɪn/ Base Form Formal (/-ɪŋ/) Informal (/-ɪn/) sleep sleeping /slipɪŋ/ sleepin' /slipɪn/ talk talking /tɔkɪŋ/ talkin' /tɔkɪn/ run running /rʌnɪŋ/ runnin' /rʌnɪn/
- 6. Past Participle Formation Weak Verbs Form their past participles by adding -d, -t, or -ed suffix with no internal vowel change. walk walke d walked play played played deal dealt dealt Base Form Past Form Past Participle ask asked asked work worked worked learn learned/learnt learned /learnt Strong Verbs Form their past participles through an internal vowel change and/or by adding an -n or -en suffix. sing sang sung write wrote written fall fell fallen Base Form Past Form Past Participle break broke broken speak spoke spoken drive drove driven
- 7. Comparative and Superlative Forms Forms of Comparison Adjectives and some adverbs in English have three forms that show different degrees of comparison: Positive: tall Base form Comparative: taller Comparing two things Superlative: tallest Comparing three or more Syllable-Based Rules One syllable: add -er/-est (tall taller tallest) → → Two syllables ending in -y: change y to i, add -er/-est (happy happier happiest) → → Two+ syllables: use more/most (beautiful more beautiful most beautiful) → → Irregular forms: completely change (good better best) → → Special Cases Spelling Changes big bigger → fat fatter → Irregular Forms good better → → best Both Forms clever/cleverer/ more clever
- 8. Special Cases in Comparison Irregular Comparative & Superlative Forms Some adjectives have completely different words for their comparative and superlative forms. Positive Comparative Superlative good better best bad worse worst little less least many/much more most far farther/further farthest/furthest Exceptions to Syllable Rules Some adjectives don't follow the standard syllable-based rules for forming comparatives and superlatives. Fun, Real, Right - One-syllable adjectives that use more/most instead of -er/-est more fun, most fun Common, Quiet, Pleasant - Two-syllable adjectives that can use both forms commoner/more common, quieter/more quiet Special Cases with Prefixes Trisyllabic adjectives with the prefix un- often take -er/-est despite having three syllables. unhappy unhappier unhappiest → → untidy untidier untidiest → → unfriendly unfriendlier → → unfriendliest unlikely unlikelier unlikeliest → →
- 9. Introduction to Derivational Morphology What is Derivational Morphology? Derivational morphology is the study of how new words are formed from existing words or stems by adding affixes (prefixes and suffixes). happ y un- unhapp y happ y -ness happines s Key Functions Derivational morphemes form new words by: Changing the meaning without changing the word class kind unkind (both adjectives) → Changing both meaning and word class hard (Adj) hardship (N) → Characteristics of Derivational Morphemes Feature Description Position Can appear as prefixes or suffixes Productivity Varies widely (some very productive, others limited) Word Class May change the grammatical category
- 10. Word Formation Processes Affixation Adding prefixes or suffixes to a base word. un + happy unhappy → teach + er teacher → Compounding Joining two or more words to create a new word. black + board blackboard → sun + light sunlight → Conversion Changing word class without adding affixes. email (N) to email (V) → clean (Adj) to clean (V) → Other Common Processes Blending Combining parts of two words. breakfast + lunch brunch → Clipping Shortening a word. laboratory lab → Acronyms Using initial letters as a word. NATO, UNESCO Backformation Removing affixes to create new words. editor edit →
- 11. Morpheme Ordering and Attachment Fixed Order of Morphemes Morphemes follow specific ordering patterns when combined to form words. General Ordering Pattern Prefixes Root Derivational Suffixes Inflectional Suffixes → → → u n happ i nes s = unhappiness r e pla y e d = replayed Multiple Derivational Morphemes hop e → hop e fu l → hop e fu l l y hopefully (not hopelyful) Morpheme Attachment Patterns Morphemes "care" about what they attach to. Different morphemes attach to specific word classes. Morpheme Attaches to Creates Example -ly Adjectives Adverbs quick quick → ly -ness Adjectives Nouns soft soft → ness en- Nouns Verbs en danger, enjoy
- 12. Conclusion Key Concepts in Morphology Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units in language Free morphemes can stand alone, while bound morphemes must attach to others Inflectional morphology adds grammatical information Derivational morphology creates new words Importance of Morphological Analysis Decode unfamiliar words by recognizing their components Understand how languages create new vocabulary Recognize patterns in language learning Inflectional vs. Derivational Morphology Feature Inflectional Derivational Function Grammatical information New words/meanings Word Class Preserves Often changes Number Limited (8 in English) Open-ended Examples -s, -ed, -ing un-, -ness, -ize Presented by: Dr.Moustafa Shalaby
- 13. References Feature • Aronoff, M., & Fudeman, K. (2011). What is Morphology? (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. • Bauer, L. (2003). Introducing Linguistic Morphology (2nd ed.). Edinburgh University Press. Haspelmath, M., & Sims, A. D. (2010). (2nd ed.). Hodder Education. Understanding Morphology Presented by: Dr.Moustafa Shalaby