ENG509 Important Terms

ENG509

➡️ Morphemes

Morphemes are minimal units of meaning within words.

➡️ What is a Word?

A word is a unit of language conveying meaning.

➡️ Types of Words

Free morphemes (standalone words) Bound morphemes (prefixes, suffixes) Inflected words (changed form) Derived words (new meaning)

➡️ Empirical Tests for Wordhood

Tests determine word status:

Phonological criteria Syntactic criteria Semantic criteria

Inflection: modifies word form (tense, number) Derivation: creates new word (prefixes, suffixes)

➡️ Two Approaches to Morphology

Item-and-Arrangement: focuses on morpheme combination Item-and-Process: emphasizes word formation processes

➡️ Primary and Secondary Affixes

Primary affixes: directly attach to roots Secondary affixes: attach to derived words

➡️ Linguistic Exaptation, Levelling, and Analogy

Exaptation: reuses existing structures Levelling: simplifies irregularities Analogy: creates new forms based on patterns

➡️ The Saussurean Sign

The Saussurean sign represents the relationship between signifier and signified.

➡️ Motivation and Compositionality

Motivation: iconic or arbitrary Compositionality: meaning derived from parts

Zero Derivation

Other Derivational Processes

Blending Acronym Clipping Formation

➡️ Regular and Irregular Inflections

Regular inflections: follow predictable patterns Irregular inflections: exhibit unique changes

➡️ Relationship Between Lexemes

Lexemes relate through:

Synonymy Antonymy Hyponymy Meronymy

➡️ Word Class & Conversion

Word class changes through:

Derivation Conversion

➡️ Compound vs. Phrases

Compounds: fixed expressions Phrases: variable expressions

➡️ Blends and Acronyms

Blends: combine sounds and meanings Acronyms: abbreviate phrases

➡️ Morphological Structures

Morphological structures exhibit:

A-Morphous Morphology Exocentricity Bracketing Paradoxes Parasynthesis

➡️ The Semantics of Zero Derivation

Inflection changes word form; derivation creates new words.

➡️ Inflectional morphology includes:

Case Number Tense Aspect Mood

➡️ LEXICAL SOURCE OF ENGLISH WORD FORMATION

English word formation draws from:

Native Germanic Borrowed Latin/Greek

➡️ Evidence for morphological knowledge comes from:

Behavioral studies Neuroimaging

➡️ Morphological processing involves:

Lexical access Word formation

➡️ Influential grammarians include:

Aristotle Dionysius Thrax Apollonius Dyscolus