English morphology

© Francis Katamba

Table of contents

• Discussion
• Bibliography
• Related links

Discussion

Morphology is the subdivision of grammar that deals with the internal structure of words. Many words can be subdivided into smaller meaningful units called morphemes.

1. pen-s
   pre-judge-s
   walk-ed
   lock-ed

Many morphemes have more than one phonetic realisation. The variant phonetic manifestations of a morpheme are called allomorphs. Usually the selection of allomorph depends on the phonetic context in which it occurs in a particular word. For instance, the regular past tense ending spelled -ed is represented by /-d/ following a voiced sound as in 2a) and as/-t/ after a voiceless consonant as in 2b).

2. 
   

   2a.	allomorph /-d/	2b.	allomorph /-t/
   	tied		roped
   	buzzed		missed
   	logged		locked

Dividing words into morphemes can be problematic. While locked is segmentable into the root lock and the past tense ending -ed, a similar analysis cannot be applied to sang where internal vowel change is used to indicate past tense.

Another awkward situation is where a grammatical function normally signalled by affixing is not overtly marked. For instance, while past tense is typically marked by -ed (or occasionally by internal vowel change as in sang), some monosyllabic verbs such as let, hit and put lack overt making of past tense. Instead, past tense is said to be marked by a zero morph. This analysis is controversial since morphs are supposed be actual phonetic forms.

Even more intractable problems arise where isolating what appears to be the same morpheme leaves behind a residue of uncertain status. For example, dis- is identifiable as a negative morpheme in distrust and discontent. But what of dis- in distraught and disgruntled? Recognising it as a morpheme entails recognising also the implausible, non-recurring and semantically dubious morphemes -traught, and -gruntled .

Morphology has two main subdivisions, namely inflection and derivation. Inflection deals with patterns of word structure that are determined by the role of words in sentences. For example, a pronoun like he has the forms he, him and his depending on whether it is subject, object or possessive in a given sentence.

Derivation created new words with different meanings, e.g. maltreat from treat, or with different syntactic properties, e.g. the adverb quickly from the adjective quick.

Compounding, the combination of nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs or prepositions to form complex words is also widely used.

3. 
   

   Noun	Adjective	Verb
   godparent	red-hot	lipread
   Noun + Noun	Adj. + Adj.	Noun + verb
   blueprint	underweight	fastforward
   Adj.+ Noun	Prep. + Noun	Adv. + verb

Compounds can be used to form bigger compounds:

4. ( hot-air) balloon
   (Adj.+ Noun) + Noun

Usually, but not always (cf. underweight) the right-hand element determines the syntactic class of the entire compound. Hence, it is the head of the compound.

Conversion is also common. A word may change its class with no accompanying change in form if it is used in a particular syntactic context. Conversion is subject to idiosyncratic exceptions.

5. 
   

   Noun	Verb	Noun	Verb
   floor	to floor	ceiling	* to ceiling
   chair	to chair	settee	* to settee

Bibliography

Carstairs-McCarthy , A. (2002) An Introduction to English Morphology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Matthews, P. (1991) Morphology. 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Marchand, H. (1969) The Categories and Types of Present-Day English Word-Formation. 2nd edn, Munich: C.H. Beck

Related links

Words in English: Latin and Greek Morphology Words in English
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Words/classmorph.html
Rice University (Houston, Texas), Classical Morphology: Noun and Verb Classes

English Morphology
http://angli02.kgw.tu-berlin.de/html/morpholo.html/
TU Berlin, Institute for Language and Communication, English Morphology.

Referencing this article

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  Canning, John. "Disability and Residence Abroad". Southampton, 2004. Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies Guide to Good Practice. 7 October 2008. http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/2241.
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  Canning, J. (2004). "Disability and residence abroad." Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies Good Practice Guide. Retrieved 7 October 2008, from http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/2241.