MORPHOLOGY THE STRUCTURE OF WORDS MORPHOLOGY Morphology deals

MORPHOLOGY : THE STRUCTURE OF WORDS

MORPHOLOGY • Morphology deals with the syntax of complex words and parts of words, also called morphemes, as well as with the semantics of their lexical meanings. Understanding how words are formed and what semantic properties they convey through their forms enables human beings to easily recognize individual words and their meanings in discourse.

Free and Bound Morpheme • Analysis at a morphological level is concerned with structural elements of meaning called morphemes. Morphemes are classified into two types: • Free Morphemes: girl, boy, mother, etc. These are words with a complete meaning, so they can stand alone as an independent word in a sentence.

Bound Morphemes: These are lexical items incorporated into a word as a dependent part. They cannot stand alone, but must be connected to free morpheme. Bound morphemes operates in the connection processes by means of derivation and inflection

DERIVATIONAL MORPHOLOGY • Derivation is concerned with the way morphemes are connected to existing lexical forms as affixes. • We distinguish affixes in two principal types: • 1. Prefixes - attached at the beginning of a lexical item or base-morpheme – ex: un-, pre-, post-, dis, im-, etc. • 2. Suffixes – attached at the end of a lexical item ex: -age, -ing, -ful, -able, -ness, -hood, -ly, etc.

1 Affixation = adding an established prefix or a suffix to the existing base A) Suffixation - is characteristic of noun and adjective formation - a suffix usually changes not only the lexical meaning of a word but also its grammatical meaning or its word class, e. g. to bake – baker, beauty - beautiful

• Noun-forming suffixes: -or: actor, visitor, director -er/eer: speaker, engineer, opener -ist: scientist, satirist, journalist -ess: hostess, stewardess, actress -ty/ity: cruelty, purity, stupidity -ure/ture: failure, exposure, mixture -dom: freedom, kingdom, -age: passage, marriage, postage -ance/ence: appearance, preference -hood: likelihood, brotherhood, neighbourhood -ing: reading, opening, beginning -ion/sion/tion/ition/ation: operation, permission, description -ness: kindness, goodness, wilingness -y/ery: difficulty, enquiry, robbery, slavery -ship: partnership, membership, kinship -ment: government, development, movement -t: complaint, restraint

• Adjective-forming suffixes: -able/ible: comfortable, fashionable, sensible -ic/atic: atomic, heroic, systematic -ful: beautiful, helpful, careful -y: bloody, dirty, sunny -less: useless, homeless, careless -al/ial/tial: personal, influential, preferential -ive/ative/itive: active, creative, sensitive -ant/ent: pleasant, different, excellent -en: wooden, golden, woollen -like: childlike, ladylike -ing: amusing, interesting, charming -ous: dangerous, famous, mysterious -ish: bookish, childish, foolish -ly: friendly, lovely, manly

• Verb-forming suffixes: -ize/ise: civilize, modernize -ify/fy/efy: simplify, glorify -en, deepen, sharpen, lengthen • Adverb-forming suffixes: -ly: formally, calmly, easily -ward/wards: homeward, afterwards, backwards -wise/ways: clockwise, otherwise, sideways -fold: twofold, threefold

B) Prefixation - a prefix usually changes or concretizes the lexical meaning of a word and only rarely parts of speech, e. g. write – rewrite, smoker – non-smoker - Prefixes are sometimes used to form new verb: circle – encircle, large – enlarge etc.

• Negation or opposition: un-: unable, unfair, unpack, unzip dis-: disagreeable, dislike a-: amoral, atypical in-: informal, inexperience im-: (before b, m, p) impossible, immoral il-: (before l) illegal, illogical ir-: (before r) irregular, irrational non-: nonsmoker, non-scientific de-: decode, defrost, devalue • Repetition, making it possible: re-: reread, rebuild, reunited en-/em-: enrich, enlarge, embitter

• Degree, measure or size: super-: supersonic, superhuman semi-: semi-final, semidetached hyper-: hyperactive, hypersensitive ultra-: ultrahigh, ultraviolet over-: overtime, overpopulated • Time and place, order, relation: post-war, postpone, postgraduate inter-: international, intercontinental pre-: pre-war, prehistoric, prearrange ex-: ex-president, ex-husband, ex-film-star

EXAMPLES OF MORPHOLOGICAL DERIVATION • a. Lexical item (free morpheme): like (verb) + prefix (bound morpheme) dis- = dislike (verb) • b. Lexical item: like (verb) + suffix –able = likeable + prefix un- =unlikeable + suffix –ness = unlikeableness

• 3. Lexical item: like + prefix un- = unlike + suffix –ness = unlikeness • 4. Lexical item: like + suffix –ly = likely (agg) + suffix –hood =likelihood + prefix un=unlikelihood

Derivational affixes can cause semantic change: Prefix pre- means before; post- means after; un- means not, re- means again. Prefix = fixed before; Unhappy = not happy = sad; Retell = tell again. Prefix de- added to a verb conveys a sense of subtraction; dis- and un- have a sense of negativity. To decompose; to defame; to uncover; to discover.

INFLECTIONAL MORPHOLOGY • Inflection is a morphological process that adapts existing words so that they function effectively in sentences without changing the category of the base morpheme. English has the following inflectional suffixes:

VERB INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXES • 1. The suffix –s functions in the Present Simple as the third person marking of the verb : to work – he work-s • 2. The suffix –ed functions in the past simple as the past tense marker in regular verbs: to love – lov-ed • 3. The suffixes –ed (regular verbs) and –en (for some regular verbs) function in the marking of the past partciple and, in general, in the marking of the perfect aspect: To study studied / To eat ate eaten • 4. The suffix –ing functions in the marking of the present participle, the gerund and in the marking of the continuous aspect: To eat – eating / To study - studying

NOUN INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXES • 5. The suffix –s functions in the marking of the plural of nouns: dog – dogs • 6. The suffix –s functions as a possessive marker (saxon genitive): Laura – Laura’s book.

ADJECTIVE INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXES 7. The suffix –er functions as comparative marker: quick – quicker 8. The suffix –est functions as superlative marker: quick - quickest

Derivational affixes can mark category change • The derivational suffix –able derives an adjective from a verb, implying an ability with a passive relation with its stem: Eatable means able to be eaten (commestibile), not able to eat. • Suffix –er derives a noun from a verb, indicating a human agent or an inanimate instrument: Speaker; Baker;

• The suffixes –ful and –less derives an adjective from a noun. • -ful indicates addiction, abundance; • -less indicates subtraction, reduction: careful = full of careless = with no care

• The suffixes –ure and –age derive e noun from a verb: To fail – failure; To marry – marriage The suffix –hood derives an abstract noun from a concrete noun, the suffix –ness derives an abstract noun from an adjective. Child – childhood Good – goodness

• The suffix –ly derives an adverb from an adjective (but also adjs can end in –ly): Quick – quickly Easy – easily but: lonely (adjective) • The suffix –ing derives a noun from a verb: To write – writing.

Compounding is one of the principal, most productive, and the oldest way of creating words in English • Nouns – motorway, breakfast, skinhead • Adjectives – snow-white, hard-working • Verbs – daydream, broadcast • Adverbs – downstairs, sometimes, today • Pronouns – somebody, anyone, myself • Prepositions – into, without, within • Conjunctions – whenever, however