Unit 2: Morphology

PART 2Inflection and derivation

Two types of morphology With morphology we study the

relationships that words have to one another, and to the morphemes that are assembled into complex structures

We can distinguish two different types of processes (or different types of morphology): Inflectional morphology Derivational morphology

Inflection Inflection: Creates new forms of the

same word with the addition of grammatical properties; the basic meaning (and the category) of the word is the same

Example:Play and Played describe the same

action, but situate it differently in time.

Some properties of inflection Inflection does not change syntactic

categories. E.g. kick-s is still a verb, even with its inflectional suffix

Inflection expresses grammatically required features or relations (e.g. agreement, tense, etc.)

Inflectional morphemes occur outside of derivational morphemes: ration-al-iz-ation-s

English inflectional morphology

Nominal suffixes Plural Possessive

Adjectival suffixes comparative superlative

Verbal suffixes Present (3rd person) Past tense Participle Progressive

Question for discussion We have talked about the allomorphs of

the plural morpheme (an inflectional suffix)

Do the other inflectional morphemes also have different allomorphs? Find as many allomorphs of the other

inflectional morphemes as you can

Derivation Derivation: Creates a new word with a

different meaning that may belong to a different or to the same grammatical category

Example:RE + WRITE = rewrite “write

again”, verbWRITE + ER = writer “one who

writes”, noun

Some properties of derivation Derivation may not change the syntactic

category of the root e.g. judge (V) judgement (N)

Derivation changes the lexical meaning of the root

Derivational morphemes occur inside of inflectional morphemes: ration-al-iz-ation-s

Derivation: ExamplesMorpheme Function-ion verb noun

transmit, transmiss-ion-al noun adjective

institution, institution-al-ize noun verb

color, color-ize-hood noun noun

child, child-hood

Derivation may cause a change of syntactic category Noun to Adjective

boy (N) +- ish boyish (A) Elizabeth (N) + -an Elizabethan (A) affection (N) + -ate affectionate (A) friend (N) + -ly friendly (A)

Noun to Verb moral (N) + -ize moralize (V)

Verb to Noun sing (V) + -er singer (N) predict (V) + -ion prediction (N)

More examples of change of category Verb to Adjective

predict (V) + -able predictable (A)

Adjective to Adverb exact (A) + -ly exactly (Adv)

Adjective to Noun specific (A) + -ity specificity (N)

happy (A) + -ness happiness (N)

But sometimes there is no change of category

friend (N) + -ship friendship (N) pink (A) + -ish pinkish (A) re- + print (V) reprint (V)

Another look at unpredictability In many cases, the same kind of derivational

pattern shows differences in form; take e.g. verb noun:1) -al refuse refus-al

arrive arriv-al2) -ion confuse confus-ion

extend extens-ion3) -ation derive derivation

confirm confirm-ation4) -ment confine confine-ment

treat treat-ment

Inflection vs. Derivation Inflectional morphemes

signal grammatical information

In English, they are only found in suffixes

There is no change of meaning 

They never change the syntactic category of the words or morpheme to they which they are attached.

In English, inflectional morphemes follow derivational morphemes

Derivational morphemes derive a new word by being attached to root morphemes or stems

In English, they are either prefixes or suffixes

There is always a change of meaning 

There may be a change of the syntactic category of the base to which they attach

In English, derivational morphemes precede inflectional morphemes

Two types of morphology

With morphology we study the relationships that words have to one another, and to the morphemes that are assembled into complex structures

We can distinguish two different types of processes (or different types of morphology): Inflectional morphology Derivational morphology

Inflection

Inflection: Creates new forms of the same word with the addition of grammatical properties; the basic meaning (and the category) of the word is the same

Example:Play and Played describe the same

action, but situate it differently in time.

Some properties of inflection

Inflection does not change syntactic categories. E.g. kick-s is still a verb, even with its inflectional suffix

Inflection expresses grammatically required features or relations (e.g. agreement, tense, etc.)

Inflectional morphemes occur outside of derivational morphemes: ration-al-iz-ation-s

English inflectional morphology

Nominal suffixes Plural Possessive

Adjectival suffixes comparative superlative

Verbal suffixes Present (3rd

person) Past tense Participle Progressive

Question for discussion

We have talked about the allomorphs of the plural morpheme (an inflectional suffix)

Do the other inflectional morphemes also have different allomorphs? Find as many allomorphs of the other

inflectional morphemes as you can

Derivation

Derivation: Creates a new word with a different meaning that may belong to a different or to the same grammatical category

Example:RE + WRITE = rewrite “write again”, verbWRITE + ER = writer “one who writes”,

noun

Some properties of derivation

Derivation may not change the syntactic category of the root e.g. judge (V) judgement (N)

Derivation changes the lexical meaning of the root

Derivational morphemes occur inside of inflectional morphemes: ration-al-iz-ation-s

Derivation: Examples

Morpheme Function-ion verb noun

transmit, transmiss-ion

-al noun adjectiveinstitution,

institution-al-ize noun verb

color, color-ize-hood noun noun

child, child-hood

Derivation may cause a change of syntactic

category Noun to Adjective

boy (N) +- ish boyish (A) Elizabeth (N) + -an Elizabethan (A) affection (N) + -ate affectionate (A) friend (N) + -ly friendly (A)

Noun to Verb moral (N) + -ize moralize (V)

Verb to Noun sing (V) + -er singer (N) predict (V) + -ion prediction (N)

More examples of change of category

Verb to Adjective

predict (V) + -able predictable (A)

Adjective to Adverb exact (A) + -ly exactly (Adv)

Adjective to Noun specific (A) + -ity specificity (N)

happy (A) + -ness happiness (N)

But sometimes there is no change of category

friend (N) + -ship friendship (N) pink (A) + -ish pinkish (A) re- + print (V) reprint (V)

Another look at unpredictability

In many cases, the same kind of derivational pattern shows differences in form; take e.g. verb noun:1) -al refuse refus-al

arrive arriv-al2) -ion confuse confus-ion

extend extens-ion3) -ation derive derivation

confirm confirm-ation4) -ment confine confine-ment

treat treat-ment

Inflection vs. Derivation

Inflectional morphemes signal grammatical information In English, they are only found in suffixes There is no change of meaning  They never change the syntactic category of the words or

morpheme to they which they are attached. In English, inflectional morphemes follow derivational

morphemes

Derivational morphemes derive a new word by being attached to root morphemes or stems

In English, they are either prefixes or suffixes There is always a change of meaning  There may be a change of the syntactic category of the

base to which they attach In English, derivational morphemes precede inflectional

morphemes

Two types of morphology With morphology we study the

relationships that words have to one another, and to the morphemes that are assembled into complex structures

We can distinguish two different types of processes (or different types of morphology): Inflectional morphology Derivational morphology

Inflection Inflection: Creates new forms of the

same word with the addition of grammatical properties; the basic meaning (and the category) of the word is the same

Example:Play and Played describe the same

action, but situate it differently in time.

Some properties of inflection Inflection does not change syntactic

categories. E.g. kick-s is still a verb, even with its inflectional suffix

Inflection expresses grammatically required features or relations (e.g. agreement, tense, etc.)

Inflectional morphemes occur outside of derivational morphemes: ration-al-iz-ation-s

English inflectional morphology

Nominal suffixes Plural Possessive

Adjectival suffixes comparative superlative

Verbal suffixes Present (3rd person) Past tense Participle Progressive

Question for discussion We have talked about the allomorphs of

the plural morpheme (an inflectional suffix)

Do the other inflectional morphemes also have different allomorphs? Find as many allomorphs of the other

inflectional morphemes as you can

Derivation Derivation: Creates a new word with a

different meaning that may belong to a different or to the same grammatical category

Example:RE + WRITE = rewrite “write

again”, verbWRITE + ER = writer “one who

writes”, noun

Some properties of derivation Derivation may not change the syntactic

category of the root e.g. judge (V) judgement (N)

Derivation changes the lexical meaning of the root

Derivational morphemes occur inside of inflectional morphemes: ration-al-iz-ation-s

Derivation: ExamplesMorpheme Function-ion verb noun

transmit, transmiss-ion-al noun adjective

institution, institution-al-ize noun verb

color, color-ize-hood noun noun

child, child-hood

Derivation may cause a change of syntactic category Noun to Adjective

boy (N) +- ish boyish (A) Elizabeth (N) + -an Elizabethan (A) affection (N) + -ate affectionate (A) friend (N) + -ly friendly (A)

Noun to Verb moral (N) + -ize moralize (V)

Verb to Noun sing (V) + -er singer (N) predict (V) + -ion prediction (N)

More examples of change of category Verb to Adjective

predict (V) + -able predictable (A)

Adjective to Adverb exact (A) + -ly exactly (Adv)

Adjective to Noun specific (A) + -ity specificity (N)

happy (A) + -ness happiness (N)

But sometimes there is no change of category

friend (N) + -ship friendship (N) pink (A) + -ish pinkish (A) re- + print (V) reprint (V)

Another look at unpredictability In many cases, the same kind of derivational

pattern shows differences in form; take e.g. verb noun:1) -al refuse refus-al

arrive arriv-al2) -ion confuse confus-ion

extend extens-ion3) -ation derive derivation

confirm confirm-ation4) -ment confine confine-ment

treat treat-ment

Inflection vs. Derivation Inflectional morphemes

signal grammatical information

In English, they are only found in suffixes

There is no change of meaning 

They never change the syntactic category of the words or morpheme to they which they are attached.

In English, inflectional morphemes follow derivational morphemes

Derivational morphemes derive a new word by being attached to root morphemes or stems

In English, they are either prefixes or suffixes

There is always a change of meaning 

There may be a change of the syntactic category of the base to which they attach

In English, derivational morphemes precede inflectional morphemes

Task: Surf the internet and look for prefixes and

suffixes. Select 20 prefixes and suffixes Attach these prefixes and suffixes to any

free morphemes. Decide whether the new words formed

are either inflectional or derivational morphology.

Examples: {s) – cat cat{s} = inflectional

morphology (does not change meaning just the grammatical function)

{er} – play play{er} player – derivational morphology ( from verb to noun)