Morphemes - Week 3 Notes
Morphemes - Week 3 Notes
*check out academic journals – indexed are the ones with credentials (there’s low and high indexes,
doesn’t matter as long as it is). Use the reference number from the DOY part of the journal online and
the uni offers access to it free*
Word Structure-
Morpheme
Free morpheme
Bound Morpheme
Contractible morpheme
Free Morpheme
Words with a complete meaning, can stand alone as an independent (girl, boy, mother etc..)
Bound Morpheme
Lexical Morphemes
- 11 lexical items in total (based on our references, it’s different) – Brown lists 11
Functional Morphemes
- Is a morpheme which simply modifies the meaning of the word rather than supplying meaning.
If it’s left on it’s won, doesn’t convey meaning. Solidifies grammar (encodes grammar meaning)
- Common ones includes conjunctions, prepositions, auxiliaries, pronouns and articles (also
considered lexical morphemes), considers supplementary, to complete a word.
- E.g.: In the sentence "My cat is sleeping over there on the pillow," functional morphemes
include my, over, there, on, and the. If these words were taken out of the sentence, a reader
or listener would still be able to understand the idea that there's a cat sleeping on a pillow.
Left alone, however, these words would never be able to deliver this message.
Bound Morphemes
Derivational Morphemes
- Changes part of speech of the word when added to the free morpheme but there are some
execeptions.
- E.g. derivational suffix – derives an adjective from a verb, implying a ability with a passive
relation with its stem
“Suffix –er derives a noun from a verb, indicating a human agent or an inanimate
instrument: Speaker, Baker”
Contractible Morphemes
- Everything that expands or shortens is under this. Auxiliary modals can be contracted in informal
style of language e.g. will not – won’t / shall not – shan’t / would not – wouldn’t / I will – I’ll /
They had – They’d
- Used informally in conversation and not in official or formal reports
- Uncontractible copula and contractible copula
o Uncontractible - a linking verb that's not a contraction but also doesn't have a meaning
on its own (Elly van Gelderen, author of "The Linguistic Cycle.") / a copula verb links the
subject to the rest of the sentence, but it doesn't describe action like traditional verbs.
E.g. – Endings like "s" or "ing," and prefixes such as "re" and "pre
o Contractible - a linking verb that is paired with a contraction, but that isn't an action. In
this case, there might also be another verb in the sentence that does suggest action.
“Brown's theory of language acquisition.