Morphology Diane Hilbrink Paula Congdon Morphology the study

Morphology Diane Hilbrink Paula Congdon

Morphology - the study of the structure of words Morphological. Awareness - the “ability to reflect on, analyze, and manipulate morphemic elements in words” (p. 466)

Morphology

Why Teach Morphology? • Improves decoding and comprehension • Contributes to achievement in word reading, comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary (Carlisle, 2010)

Oral Language / Morphology Development and the Development of Literacy • Morphological awareness good predictor of word-reading skill • Linguistic awareness impacts word reading in general • Awareness of morphological units helps poor readers • Parsing complex words during reading supports ease of recognition of the base word. • Carlisle, 2004

The Influence of Literacy on Morphology Analyzing words for reading and writing affect morphological processing. Frequency is associated with productivity. Much of the learning of morphological relationships comes from written text.

Acquiring Morphological Knowledge • Morphological processing • Learning Inflections o Children with language disabilities often have significant problems learning inflectional morphemes. • Learning Derivations • Morphological Problem Solving

Factors that Contribute to Morphological Development Tacit Knowledge – • comes from experience in speaking and listening • requires little analytical thinking (e. g. adding the correct endings to words) Explicit Knowledge -- • also called linguistic awareness • requires more manipulation or definition of morphologically complex words • Requires language-analysis abilities • occurs during school years with immersion in reading, writing and thinking about language

Morphology and Common Core Standards Wisconsin adopted the Common Core Standards – June 2, 2010 Grade Level Teams and Departments reviewed – September 2010 Morphology Linked to the Common Core Standards Inservice - November 2010 Grade Level Teams and Departments will identify Common Core Standards which relate to morphology knowledge for their content area/grade level and plan integration into instruction and assessment – January-March 2010 Teach morphology related Common Core Standards in all subjects by April 2011

Common Core Standards Applicable to Morphology • Reading Standards for Literature K-12 • Craft and Structure (4) • Reading Standards for Information Text K-12 • Craft and Structure (4) • Reading Standards: Foundational Skills K 5 • Phonics and Word Recognition (3 a) • Language Arts Standards K-12 • Conventions of Standard English (1) • Vocabulary Acquisition and Use (4)

Common Core Standards Applicable to Morphology • Reading Standards: Foundational Skills K-5 • Phonics and Word Recognition (3 a) • 3. 3. a. “Decode words with common Latin suffixes. ” • 3. 4. a. “Use combined knowledge of all letter -sound correspondences, syllabication patterns and morphology (e. g. , roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context. ”

Morphemes • Morphemes - smallest unit of meaning (e. g. {buy} + {er} + {s}) • Different than syllables. (e. g. {alligator} is one morpheme with four syllables) • Identical spellings are not identical morphemes (e. g. {er} in buyer and shorter) • Morpheme boundaries and meanings can shift over time and usage. (Parker & Riley, 2010)

Types of Morphemes • Lexical morphemes • Grammatical morphemes • Free morphemes • Bound morphemes • Inflectional or derivational (Parker & Riley, 2010)

Types of Morphemes Lexical Free Grammatical Bound Free Bound inflectional derivational nouns verbs adjectives compress depress oppress repress suppress prepositions articles conjunctions subvert invert convert include conclude at the and (Parker & Riley, 2010)

Common Core Standards Applicable to Morphology • Language Arts Standards K-12 (1) • Conventions of Standard English • 1. 1. e. “Use verbs to convey a sense of past, present, and future (e. g. Yesterday I walked home; Today I walk home; Tomorrow I will walk home). • 1. 4. b. “Form and use progressive (e. g. , I was walking, I am walking; I will be walking) verb tenses. (grade 4) • 1. 4. c. “Use modal auxiliaries (e. g. , can, may, must) to convey various conditions. ” • “Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences. ” (grade 8)

Lexical Morphemes Verb Forms: • Verbs in English are perfectly systematic. • In simple, active sentences there are 5 different types of verbs that can occur: main verbs and four different auxiliary verbs (modal verbs, forms of have, forms of be, forms of do). • Modal verbs: can/could, shall/should, will/would, may/might, and must.

Grammatical Morphemes: Inflectional Affixes • All are native to English • English has eight inflectional affixes, all others are derivational • All are suffixes • Generally follow derivational suffixes • Do not change syntactic category • No more than one can be affixed to a particular syntactic category (Parker & Riley, 2010)

Grammatical Morphemes: Inflectional Affixes Examples Inflectional Affix Plural Root Example Noun Boys Possessive Noun Boy’s Comparative Adjective Older Superlative Adjective Oldest Present Tense Verb Walks Past Tense Verb Walked Past Participle Verb Driven Present Participle Verb Driving

Derivational Affixes • Infinite number • Can be prefixes and suffixes • Many are borrowed from other languages • May change syntax (Parker & Riley, 2010)

Derivational Affixes Examples • Suffix {ize} turns a noun into a verb (critcize) • Suffix {ful} turns a verb into an adjective (helpful) • Suffix {ly} turns an adjective into an adverb (quickly) • English also has derivational prefixes (un, dis, a, anti) (Parker & Riley, 2010)

Common Core Standards Applicable to Morphology • Language Arts Standards K-12 • Vocabulary Acquisition and Use (4) “Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. ” • 1. 4. c. Identify frequently occurring root words (e. g. look) and their inflectional forms (e. g. looks, looked, looking). • 3. 4. b. Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word (e. g. , agreeable/disagreeable, heat/preheat). • 7. 4. b. Use common grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e. g. , belligerent, bellicose, rebel).

New Word Formation Process • Derivation – addition of a derivational affix changing the syntax (e. g. orient (V) to orientation (N)) • Category extension – extension of a morpheme from one category to another (e. g. chair (N) to chair (V)). • Compound – creating a new word by combining two free morphemes (e. g. put -down).

New Word Formation Process • Root Creation – brand new word based on no preexisting morphemes (e. g. Kodak) • Clipped Form – shortened form of a preexisting morpheme (e. g. bra from brassiere) • Blend – combination of parts of two preexisting forms (e. g. smog = smoke + fog). • Acronym – the first letter of each word in a phrase (e. g. FEMA = Federal Emergency Management Agency).

New Word Formation Process • Abbreviation – the names of the first letters of the prominent syllables of a word (e. g. TV < television) or of the words in a phrase (e. g. FBI < Federal Bureau of Investigation). • Proper Names – from a proper name (e. g. hamburger < Hamburg). • Folk Etymology – substitutes a common native form for an exotic (often foreign) form with similar pronunciation (e. g. cockroach < Spanish cucuracha ‘wood louse’). • Back Formation – removes what is mistaken for an affix (e. g. burgle < burglar).

Common Core Standards Applicable to Morphology • Language Arts Standards K-12 • Vocabulary Acquisition and Use (6) • “Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. ” (grades 6 -8)

Common Core Standards Applicable to Morphology • Reading Standards for Literature K-12 • Craft and Structure (4) • “Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. ” (kindergarten) • “Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text , distinguishing literal from nonliteral language. ” (grade 3) • Reading Standards for Information Text K-12 • Craft and Structure (4) • “Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to grade 2 topic or subject area. ” (grade 2) • Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings… (grades 9 -10)

What is Transparency? • Transparent derivations • Phonological Transparency • Orthographic Transparency • Semantic Transparency

Implications for Instruction for Older Students Three layers of information in every word: • Basic individual sound symbol matches • Vowels/ syllable spelling patterns • Meaning units (prefixes, suffixes, roots) Flexible strategies for unlocking longer words Knowledge of the meaning(s) of words

Morphological Awareness Linked to Literacy Development • May foster development of both phonological and morphological awareness • Might compensate for difficulties in phonological awareness/processing characteristic of reading disability • Orthography preserves and reveals the morphological composition of words, despite changes in punctuation (e. g. , anxious and anxiety) • Potential benefit of the connection between the orthographic and meaning processor (Carlisle, 2010)

Impaired Morphological Processing – Causes and Effects • It is difficult for first graders to analyze word form and meaning at the same time. • As students progress from grades 1 – 5 • Morphological awareness more explicit – immersed in reading, writing and thinking about language • Experience with language, especially analyzing words for reading and writing, affects morphological processing • Transparency can enhance or obscure morphological processing

References Byrnes, J. P. , & Wasik, B. A. (2009). Language and literacy development: What educators need to know. New York: The Guilford Press. Carlisle, J. F. (2010). Effects of instruction in morphological awareness on literacy achievement: An integrated review. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(4), 464– 487. Carlisle, J. (2004). Morphological processes that influence learning to read. In C. A. Stone, E. R. Silliman, B. J. Ehren & K. Apel (Eds. ), Handbook of language & literacy: Development and disorders (pp. 661 -678). New York: Guilford Press. Parker, F. & Riley, K. (2010). Linguistics for non-linguistics: A primer with exercises. 5 th Edition. New York: Allen & Bacon. Stone, C. A. , Silliman, E. R. , Ehren, B. J. , & Apel, K. (2004). Handbook of language and literacy: Development and disorders. New York: The Guilford Press.