English Morphology and Lexicology Shao Guangqing shaoguangqing gmail com

English Morphology and Lexicology Shao Guangqing shaoguangqing@gmail. com www. windofspring. weebly. com

What is morphology? o Morphology is the study of word formation, of the structure of words.

From observations to theory o Some words can be divided into parts which still have meaning. n n n n play replay=re + play replay unable=un + able playing=play + ing playing boldest=bold + est boldest carelessness=care + less + ness carelessness the morphemes

From observations to theory o Many words have meaning by themselves; but some words have meaning only when used with other words. o o boy food door car Lexical morphemes at/in/on… o -ed/-ing/-s/-es o -est/-er Grammatical morphemes o

From observations to theory o Some of the parts into which words can be divided can stand alone as words; but others cannot. o o boy Free food morphemes door at/in/on -ed/-ing/-s/-es o -est/-er Bound morphemes o

From observations to theory o Those word-parts that can occur only in combination must be combined in the correct way. o o o -s/-er/-est -ing/-ed Inflectional morphemes un-/im-ly/-ment/-ful/-less Derivational morphemes

From observations to theory o o Language create new words systematically. This is called the process of wordformation. o o o o un + able=unable work +er=worker Derivation bedroom put-down outside Compound

Morphemes o A morpheme can be defined as a minimal unit having more or less constant meaning and more or less constant form. n buyers =buy + er + s n evidence? n Each can occur in other combinations of morphemes without changing its meaning. o buy: buying; buys o -er: seller; fisher; buyer o -s: boys; girls; dogs

Morphemes o Morphemes can vary in size: neither the number of syllables nor the length of a word can indicate what is a morpheme and what isn’t. n For example, Albatross is a long word but a single morpheme; n -y (as in dreamy) is also a single morpheme.

Morphemes o o Linguists have viewed morphemes as made up of combinations of semantic features. For example, we can analyze a word like girls in terms of both its morphological and its semantic structure: n Morphological: girls = {girl} + {s} n Semantic: {girl} = [-adult; -male; +human, . . . ] + {s} = {PLU} = [plural]

Morphemes o Two different morphemes may be pronounced (and even sometimes spelled) the same way. n V+-er: buyer o n the agentive morpheme {AG} since it indicates the agent of an action Adj. +-er: shorter o the comparative morpheme {COMP} since it indicates the comparative degree of an adjective

Morphemes o We can’t always hold to the definition of a morpheme as having unchanging form. n n n boys: {boy} + {-s}={boy} + {PLR} boxes: {box} + {-es}= {box} + {PLR} men: {man} + {PLU} walked: {walk} + {-ed}= {walk} + {PAST} went: {go} + {PAST}

Morphemes o Sometimes it is very difficult to identify morpheme boundaries. n n For example, the word hamburger originally meant {Hamburg} = ‘a city in Germany’ + {er} =‘originating from. ’ But probably most people now understand the word as meaning {ham} = ‘ham’ + {burger} = ‘hot patty served on a round bun. ’

Summary: Morpheme o A morpheme is a short segment of language that meets three criteria: n n n It is a word or a part of a word that has meaning; It cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts; It recurs in differing verbal environments with a relatively stable meaning.

Practice: how many morphemes does each of the following word contain? o o o o o 1. play ____ 2. replay ____ 3. date ____ 4. antedate ____ 5. weak ____ 6. weaken ____ 7. man ____ 8. manly ____ 9. miniskirt ____ 10. cheaper ____

Practice: write the meaning of the underlined morphemes o o o o before 1. antedate __________ again 2. replay ___________ -like, having the attributes of 3. manly ___________ 4. keeper ___________ one who… not 5. unable ___________ inclined to 6. rainy ____________ not 7. inactive ___________ badly 8. malfunction _________

Morphemes

Lexical and Grammatical Morphemes o o Lexical morphemes are those that having meaning by themselves (more accurately, they have sense). n Nouns, verbs, adjectives ({boy}, {buy}, {big}) are typical lexical morphemes. Grammatical morphemes specify a relationship between other morphemes. n Prepositions, articles, conjunctions ({of}, {the}, {but}) are grammatical morphemes.

Free and Bound Morphemes o o Free morphemes are those that can stand alone as words. They may be lexical morphemes ({serve}, {press}), or grammatical morphemes ({at}, {and}). Bound morphemes can occur only in combination—they are parts of a word. They may be lexical morphemes (such as { -clude} as in include, exclude, preclude) or they may be grammatical (such as {PLU} = plural as in boys, girls, and cats).

Inflectional and Derivational Morphemes Inflectional Affixes All are suffixes Derivational Affixes May be either suffixes or prefixes Have a wide range of application. E. g. most English nouns can be made plural, with {PLU} May have a wide or narrow range

Inflectional and Derivational Morphemes Inflectional Affixes All native to English (since Old English was spoken around 500 -1000 AD) Derivational Affixes Many were adopted from Latin, Greek, or other languages. (Though others, especially the suffixes, are native, including {-ful}, {like}, {-ly}, and {AG})

Inflectional Affixes o -s in boys n o -’s in boy’s n o boy’s= {POSS}=possessive {boy}+{POSS} -er in older n o {PLU}=plural boys={boy}+{PLU} older= {COMP}=comparative {old}+{COMP} -est in oldest= {old}+{SUP}=superlative

Inflectional Affixes o -s in walks n o -ed in walked= {walk}+{PAST} n o {PAST}=past -en in driven= {drive}+{PAST n o walks= {walk}+{PRES}=present PART} {PAST PART}=past participle -ing in driving= {drive}+{PRES n PART} {PRES PART}=present participle

Inflectional Affixes o Irregular forms n sheep o n {sheep}+{PLU} better o {good}+{COMP} n best n {good}+{SUP} drove o {drive}+{PAST} o

Inflected form: Present tense o {root}+{PRES} n n John loves Mary. o ={love}+{PRES}= {love}+{-s} I love Mary. o ={love}+{PRES}= {love}+{ ∅ }

Inflected form: Past tense o {root}+{PAST} n n John walked. o ={walk}+{PAST}= {walk}+{-ed} I drove. o ={drive}+{PAST}

summary: features of inflectional suffixes o 1. They do not change the part of speech. Eg: boy, boys (nouns) cough, coughed (verbs) cold, colder (adjectives) n o 2. They come last in a word. n Eg: shortened, girls, coldest

summary: features of inflectional suffixes o o 3. They go with all stems of a given part of speech. n Eg: He eats, drinks, dreams, entertains… the quickest, slowest, coldest, … 4. They do not pile up; only one ends a word. n Eg: flakes, working, higher, written *workinged carelessness (derivational suffix) p Exception: the students’ worries students’ ={root}+{PLU}+{POSS}

Derivational Affixes o derivational suffixes: n {ize} attaches to a noun and turns it into a verb: rubberize n {ize} also attaches to an adjective and turns it into a verb: normalize n {ful} attaches to a noun and turns it into an adjective: playful, helpful n {ly} attaches to an adjective and turns it into an adverb: grandly, proudly n A different {ly} attaches to a noun and changes it into an adjective: manly, friendly

Features of derivational suffixes o o 1. A derivational suffixe usually changes the part of speech of the word to which it is added. 2. Derivational suffixes usually do not close a word; that is, after a derivational suffix one can sometimes add another derivational suffix and can frequently add an inflectional suffix. n care + ful + ness=carefulness n fertilize + er + s=fertilizers

Derivational Affixes o derivational prefixes n n {un-}, {dis-}, {anti-}, all of which indicate some kind of negation: unhappy, dislike, atypical, anti-aircraft. {pre-} indicates the meaning of “before”: predict, pre-election… {post-} indicates the meaning of “after”: postpone, post-graduation, postwar www. windofspring. weebly. com for more

Word formation o 1. derivation n o 2. category extension n o chair (noun) chair (verb) 3. compound n o replay; disagree; movement; careful… class+room=classroom; break+fast=breakfast 4. root creation (invention) n Kodak; nylon; quark…

Word formation o 5. clipped form (clipping) n o 6. blend n n o laboratory-lab; dormitory-dorm; gymnasiumgym; professor-prof; examination-exam smoke+fog=smog; gasoline+alcohol=gasohol stagnation+inflation=stagflation 7. acronym n n National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA North Atlantic Treaty Organization-NATO

Word formation o 8. proper name n o Hamburg- hamburger 9. folk etymology A foreign word is assimilated to native forms. cucuracha (Spanish)-cockroach (English) n o 10. back formation n burglar-burgle; beggar-beg; editor-edit

Practice: clipping o Give the original words from which these clipped words were formed. n n n microphone mathematics math _____ mike _____ psychology discotheque psych _____ disco _____ taxicab memorandum taxi _____ memo _____ omnibus turnpike bus _____ pike ______ refrigerator influenza flu ______ fridge ______

Practice: acronym o o o Give the originals of the following acronyms radar Radio Detection and Ranging UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization o o OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries OK oll korrect

Practice: blending o Give the originals of these blends n n o simulcast simultaneous broadcast television broadcast Give the blends that result from these words n n n transistor transfer+resistor automobile+omnibus autobus escalade+elevator escalator

Practice: back-formation o Write the words from which they are back-formed. n n n housekeep typewrite baby-sit peddle televise greed