Chapter 33

Chapter
A word and its parts:
roots, affixes and their
shapes
Prepared by Ellen &
Rocel

In this chapter we
will focus on the
smaller part of the
words generally
called
morphemes.

Morphemes
smallest meaningful unit or
form in a language
also the smallest units of
grammatical structure
it may be in affix or
inflectional form
Examples:

undo (un-do)
doing (do-ing)

Morphology
the area of grammar
concerned with the
structure of words
and with relationships
between words
involving the
morphemes that

Morphemes help
listable or unlistable
words in systematic
way to be easily
determined.
example:
un-Clintonish
dioeciously

Characteristics of
Morphemes
To allow the meanings of
some complex words to be
predictable, morphemes
must:
a. be identifiable from one
word to another and
b. contribute in some way
to the meaning of the
whole word.

Characteristics of
Morphemes
Example:
Readable
Morpheme is clearly
related to the normal
meanings or
functions of read and
-able

Characteristics of
Morphemes
they do not have to be of
any particular length
example:

o catamaran
(boat with 2 parallel hulls)
o Tenths
(10 equal parts of
something)

Characteristics of
Morphemes
The structures of
words are largely
independent of their
phonological structure
(their division into
sounds, syllables and
rhythmic units)

Duality of Patterning
Only human speech
is analyzable in 2
parallel ways:
into units that
contribute to
meaning
(morphemes, words,
phrases, etc.)

Kinds of Morphemes
1.Free (root word)- it can
stand alone
e.g. style, good, call
2. Bound (usually suffixes)it cannot stand alone
e.g. stylish, goodness,
caller
3. Isolated 2 to 3 words
standing along and create a
new meaning

Cranberry Morpheme
A cranberry morpheme
can be thought of as a
bound root that occurs
in only one word.
e.g. cranberry
huckleberry
strawberry

Morphemes and
their
Allomorphs

Many morphemes
have two or more
different pronunciations
called allomorphs.
e.g. re- [r] [ri]
anti- [ant] [ant]

Rules of Allomorphs
in Pluralizing
1. When the preceding
sound is sibilant
(hissing or hushing), the
[IZ] allomorphs occurs
e.g. horse, rose, bush,
church and judge

Rules of Allomorphs
in Pluralizing
2. When the preceding
sound is voiceless (no
vibration), the [S]
allomorphs occurs
e.g. cat, rock, cup, cliff

Rules of Allomorphs
in Pluralizing
1. When the preceding
sound is voiced
consonant, the [Z]
allomorphs occurs
e.g. dog & day

Allomorphs as
Morphological
Its notMatter
only phonology that
may influence the choice of
allomorphs of a morpheme,
there were instances where
grammar and vocabulary
play a part.
e.g. lies [z] (untruth)
if replaced [z] with [s] we get lice

Allomorphs as
Morphological
Matter
Morphemes peculiar
allomorphy can be crucial
in establishing its
existence.
e.g. cliff cliff[s]
wife - wife[s]? wi[ves]
(voiced allomorphs]

Allomorphs as
Morphological
e.g. wifeMatter
- wi[ves]
my wifes job (possessive phrase)
*if it indicates possession, the
allomorphy is determined both
lexically (restricted to certain
nouns only) and grammatically
(it occurs before the plural suffix
s but not before other
morphemes).

Identifying Morphemes
Independently of
Meaning
e.g. Rere + turn = return
McArthur did return in
the Philippines.
(come back, again)

Identifying Morphemes
Independently of
Meaning
e.g. Rere + turn = return
I turned the steaks a
minute ago, Ill re-turn
them soon.
(backward movement)

Identifying Morphemes
Independently of
Meaning
e.g. Rere + store = restore
Ricks job is to restore
old, rusty things.
(bring back to former
condition)

Identifying Morphemes
Independently of
Meaning
e.g. Rere + store = restore
Anne re-store the
canned goods in the
box.
(stock again)

Identifying Morphemes
Independently of
Meaning
prefix-root structure
(the root being usually
bound)
e.g. (-duce)reduce, induce
(-duct-) reduction,
induction

Thank you!