Morphology Notes, Part Deux

[joyeuse13]

2/14/07

Morphology II

Word formation - how new words can be constructed in a language.

Derivation - adding affixes to a root to create new words w/ new meaning and/or lexical category.

Inflection - Adding affixes (usually suffixes?) to a root, but only changing grammatical function (plural, tense, case, etc.), not meaning or category.

4 ways to use inflection:

·         Add suffix à Doesn’t change part of speech - cat/cats

·         Internal change - run/ran

·         Suppletion - change entire word - go/went

·         Partial Suppletion - think/thought

·         Reduplication - add all or part of base to base so it repeats (seldom used in English).

Some suffixes can be both derivational and inflectional, depending on how you use the resulting word, eg teaching:

·         Verb stays verb: I am teaching = inflection.

·         Change verb to noun: teaching is hard = derivation.

Compounding: combine two or more words to create a new word.

5 Properties of English compounds:

• 
  Spelling goes through 3 stages: two words à hyphenated à becomes one word.  If compound enters language quickly, it might skip the hyphenated stage.
• 
  Rightmost word = head - determines category.
• 
  2 types: endocentric (x is a kind of y: football) and exocentric (x is not a kind of y - completely new word: killjoy)
• 
  Stress is on first part of compound, but on second part of same set of words used as a pharse: greenhouse vs green house.
• 
  Tense and plural markers attached to compound as a single word: footballs, not feetball or feetballs

Conversion - verbing nouns

Clipping: Shortening words (eg, pet from petit)

Acronyms (3 types):

·         Word acronyms - say as a word: NASA

·         Spelling acronyms - say as letters: ESL

·         2-level word acronyms -NOW (National Org of Women)

Back Formation - analyze morphology incorrectly and use that to create new words.  Eg: television/televise, edit/editor (orig form was editor; edit is a back formation); marathon, hamburger, alcoholic (Note: arabic origin, al is article)

Coinage - making up new words, often from brand names.

Blending - portmanteaux

Cliticization - Prof says don’t worry about this one, he can’t pronounce it.

Onomotopoeia

Borrowing from other languages



How to ID morphemes in an unknown language:

1. Collect words or sentences.
2. Find out what they mean.
3. Look for repetition.
4. Form a hypothesis.
5. Test hypothesis.

Ta shi laoshi            He is a teacher

Tamen shi laoshi       They are teachers

Difference is in first word - one indicates plural.

Ask for another phrase containing word you’ve used to form hypothesis.

Ta xihuan laoshi - He likes teachers

Conclusion: Ta = he; laoshi = teachers.  No morpheme for pluralization except in pronoun.  Verb isn’t conjugated bw 3rd sing and 3rd plu.