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Intro to English Grammar
Table of Contents
Unit 3 Overview: Morphology: Derivation and Inflection
3.1 Derivational morphology and word formation
3.2 Inflectional morphology and grammatical categories
3.3 Morphological rules and patterns

Derivational morphology is all about creating new words from existing ones. It's like a word-building toolkit, using prefixes and suffixes to transform words and change their meanings or parts of speech.

Understanding how words are built helps us analyze their structure and differentiate between derivational and inflectional morphology. This knowledge enhances our grasp of word formation and language complexity.

Understanding Derivational Morphology

Definition of derivational morphology

  • Derivational morphology branch of morphology focuses on word formation process creates new words from existing ones
  • Creates new words by adding affixes to base words changes word class (part of speech) alters meaning of words
  • Transforms words (noun to adjective: beauty → beautiful, verb to noun: sing → singer, adjective to adverb: quick → quickly)

Common derivational affixes

  • Prefixes attach before base word modify meaning
    • un- negates meaning (happy → unhappy)
    • re- indicates repetition (do → redo)
    • pre- signifies before (historic → prehistoric)
  • Suffixes attach after base word often change word class
    • -able/-ible denotes capability (read → readable)
    • -tion/-sion forms nouns indicating state or condition (educate → education)
    • -ize creates verbs meaning make or become (computer → computerize)
  • Affixes function to change word class modify meaning create new lexemes

Analyzing Word Structure and Morphology Types

Structure of derived words

  • Base word identification locates root or stem of word
  • Affix order determines placement
    • Prefixes attach before base
    • Suffixes attach after base
  • Multiple affixation combines prefixes and suffixes (un-forget-table)
  • Compound derivation merges two or more bases adds affixes to compounds

Derivational vs inflectional morphology

  • Derivational morphology
    • Creates new lexemes often changes word class
    • May alter core meaning not required by syntax
    • Example: teach → teacher (new word)
  • Inflectional morphology
    • Expresses grammatical features preserves word class
    • Does not create new lexemes required by syntactic context
    • Example: teach → teaches (grammatical change)

Key Terms to Review (17)

Semantic shift: Semantic shift refers to the phenomenon where a word's meaning changes over time, often resulting in a divergence from its original sense. This change can occur due to various influences such as cultural shifts, technological advancements, or social changes, and it plays a crucial role in how new words are formed and existing words evolve through derivational morphology.
Productive affix: A productive affix is a morphological element that can be added to existing words to create new words, and it can be used freely and widely within a language. These affixes are capable of generating a large number of new terms as they are not limited to specific contexts or words, making them a key component in the process of derivational morphology and word formation.
Meaning Extension: Meaning extension refers to the process by which a word acquires new meanings beyond its original definition, often through metaphorical or contextual shifts. This phenomenon occurs in language as speakers creatively use existing words to convey new ideas, allowing for the evolution and expansion of vocabulary over time.
Non-productive affix: A non-productive affix is a morpheme that no longer creates new words in a language, meaning it is used only in existing words rather than forming new ones. This contrasts with productive affixes, which can actively generate new words. Non-productive affixes often arise from historical linguistic patterns and may carry specific meanings within certain contexts.
Unhappiness: Unhappiness refers to a state of dissatisfaction or emotional distress, often characterized by feelings of sorrow, discontent, or melancholy. It can arise from various factors such as personal circumstances, relationships, or unmet desires. Understanding the structure and formation of the word 'unhappiness' helps reveal how prefixes and suffixes contribute to its meaning, showcasing the principles of language construction.
Morphological analysis: Morphological analysis is the study of the structure and formation of words through examining their components, known as morphemes. This approach helps to understand how different morphemes combine to create new words, convey meaning, and indicate grammatical relationships. It encompasses various aspects like how new words are formed from existing ones, how variations in form occur, and how to classify morphemes as either free or bound.
Inflectional Affix: An inflectional affix is a morpheme added to a word to express grammatical relationships without changing the word's core meaning or its lexical category. Inflectional affixes modify a word's tense, number, mood, person, or case, and they are crucial for understanding how words function within sentences, linking them to the structure of language and the formation of words.
Runner: A runner is a noun formed by adding the suffix '-er' to the verb 'run,' indicating a person who performs the action of running. This term illustrates the process of derivational morphology, where new words are created by adding prefixes or suffixes to existing words to alter their meaning or grammatical function.
Derivational Morphology: Derivational morphology is the branch of linguistics that focuses on the processes through which new words are formed by adding prefixes, suffixes, or other morphemes to base words. This process not only creates new vocabulary but can also change the grammatical category or meaning of the original word, contributing to the richness of language and its ability to express diverse concepts.
Derivational affix: A derivational affix is a type of morpheme that is added to a root word to create a new word with a different meaning or grammatical category. These affixes can be prefixes or suffixes and are essential in word formation, allowing for the creation of related words and expanding vocabulary. By altering the base meaning of a word, derivational affixes can change its part of speech, enhancing language's expressiveness.
Suffix: A suffix is a morpheme added at the end of a word to change its meaning or grammatical function. Suffixes can transform words into different parts of speech, alter tense, or create new words altogether, showcasing the dynamic nature of language and how meaning can shift based on the addition of these endings.
Prefix: A prefix is a morpheme that is added to the beginning of a root word to create a new word or alter its meaning. Prefixes can change the meaning of the original word, often indicating negation, direction, or degree, and they play a vital role in word formation and morphological patterns in a language.
Blending: Blending is a word formation process that combines parts of two or more words to create a new term, often by merging their sounds and meanings. This creative linguistic method allows for the formation of novel expressions that can capture complex ideas in a concise manner. Blending plays a significant role in language evolution and is commonly seen in informal speech, advertising, and pop culture.
Word Formation Theory: Word formation theory examines how new words are created in a language, focusing on the processes and rules that govern this creative aspect of language. It explores mechanisms such as derivation, compounding, and inflection, revealing how words can evolve and adapt over time while considering the productivity of these processes and any constraints that might limit them.
Free Morpheme: A free morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language that can stand alone as a word without needing to be attached to another morpheme. These units form the basis for word formation, which can occur in various ways, such as combining them with bound morphemes or through derivational processes. Free morphemes can be simple words or complex structures that retain meaning independently, making them fundamental to understanding how words are created and structured.
Bound Morpheme: A bound morpheme is a type of morpheme that cannot stand alone as a word and must attach to a free morpheme to convey meaning. These morphemes play a crucial role in word formation, contributing to the understanding of productivity, morphological rules, and the patterns that govern how words are created and modified in a language.
Compounding: Compounding is a word formation process that combines two or more existing words to create a new word with a distinct meaning. This process is crucial for understanding how words are formed and categorized, as it helps define the characteristics of different word classes. Compounding can influence the mental lexicon, morphological rules, and overall word formation by allowing for the creation of complex words that enrich the language.