Mastering Morphology: Key Concepts and Examples
A morpheme is defined as a linguistic form that bears no partial phonetic-semantic resemblance to any other form.
Morphology as a Synchronic Discipline
Which of the following linguists is associated with the birth of morphology as a synchronic discipline? Bloom
Semantic Criteria for Identifying Words
One of the criteria used to identify words was semantics. This criterion wasn’t satisfactory. Which of the following cases illustrates this? Idiomatic expressions
Semantic Criterion Example: “Bite the Dust”
Using a semantic criterion, how many different words can you find in the following example: bite the dust? One
Identifying Roots: The Case of “Spinster”
Which is a root? Spinster
Morphemes as Meaningful Units
A morpheme is the minimal meaningful unit of grammatical analysis.
Class-Changing Affixes: An Example
In which is there a class-changing affix? Useful – handful – dreams
Identifying Errors in Word Formation
Which is wrong? Nation, national, denatnl, denationalize, denationalzion
Phonologically-Conditioned Allomorphs
Example of a phonologically-conditioned allomorph: unimport vs. incurable – an vs. a – interest film – explain vs. explanatory
Productivity of Derivational and Inflectional Processes
How do derivational & inflectional processes compare in terms of productivity? Inflection is more productive than derivation
Bound Roots: The Case of “Specify”
In which of the following words can we find a bound root? Specify – purify – classify
Homophony in Morphology
The same form (morph) may be used to represent different morphemes. How do we call this? Homophony
Replacive Allomorphy
The representation of a morpheme might not be a segmentable part. How are these cases called? Replacive allomorphy
Portmanteau Morphs
The same form (morph) may represent several morphemes at the same time: Portmanteau
Empty Morphs
The number of morphs may exceed that of morphemes: Empty morph
Syncretism in Morphology
What is the name given to cases in which the same form is used to represent different morphemes, but where this form corresponds to different grammatical words? Syncretism
Zero Morphs
The number of morphemes present may exceed that of morphs: Zero morph
Class-Changing Prefixes
Most English prefixes are class-changing. In which of the following words is there an example of a class-changing prefix? Uneasy – predetermine – Asleep
Morphs: Formal Representation of Morphemes
The formal representation of a morpheme is called morph.
Recursiveness in Morphology
Example of recursiveness: Pointlessness
Examples of Empty Morphs
Example of empty morph: Sensual – sheep – stopped
Bound Morphemes: Affixes and Splinters
Which of the following cases refers to some kind of bound morpheme? Affix – splinter – Both
Inflection vs. Derivation
Difference between inflection & derivation: Inflection deals with word forms
Distinguishing Affixes and Bound Roots
How can affixes & bound roots be distinguished? Bound roots have a higher degree of lexical content
Problems with the Traditional Notion of Morpheme
Which of the following cases poses a problem to the traditional notion of morpheme? Google – writer – unimp
Compounding in Derivational Morphology
Compounding belongs to the realm of derivational morphology.
Counting Morphemes: The Word “Cover”
How many morphemes are in the word cover? One
Inflectional Bases
Which of the following words contains an inflectional base? Industries – industrial – industrialize
What name is given to the process that produces from the stem of a given lexeme all the word-forms of that lexeme which occur in syntactically determined environments? Inflection
What is the difference between a lexeme & a lexical item? A lexical item is a wider concept which includes that of lexemes
In which of the following examples can we find a case of extended exponence? Feet – Thieves/brought – uninterestingly
Which of the following plural words does not contain an example of phono-conditioned allomorphy? Oxen – brothers – boxes
Which of the following cases contains an example of suppletion? Larger more extensive – far near – Far further
Which of the following cases is an example of 2 grammatical (or morphosyntactic) words of the same lexeme? Hit (pres) hit (past) – bank (river) bank (money) – drink drinks
Which is an example of base allomorphy? Use useless – Affect affection – attentive attentiveness
What phenomenon does the pair infect/infection illustrate? Base allomorphy
Which of the following is not an example of the connection between syntax & morphology? Stress position in verb-noun pairs like ‘import im’port
In which of these types of languages is the identification of morphemes easier? Agglutinative
Main characteristic of a synthetic (inflectional) language: One morph can represent different morphemes
Which of the following bases is also a root? Openmind in openminded – friendly in friendliness – Friend in friendly
Which contains an example of extender? Attitudinal – passersby – franfreakingt
Example of replacive allomorphy: Lie lay – explain explanat – plato ic
What is the difference between root, base & stem? A root is the minimal contentful unit to which we can add affixes
What is the segment -oholic? Splinter
Which of the following words does not contain an example of morphological conditioned allomorphy? Illegal – industrialization – cleverer
What problem do words like cranberry & prefer pose? They contain meaningless morphemes
Analysis of the following words, infer/confer/transfer? They are monomorphemic
How can inflectional & derivational affixes be distinguished? Derivational affixes create new complex lexemes
The choice of a or an for the indefinite article is an example of morpho-phonological interface
Which are different word forms? Report reports – report reporter – report inform
In which is re- a morpheme? Retry – regard – repeat
To which morphological type does English belong? Polysynthetic – inflectional – None of the previous
Which of the following cases is not an example of infixation? Grammarian – passersby – fanfreak
Which is the difference between a splinter & an affix? They have different degrees of lexical content
What is psycho in psychology? Root