ALL ABOUT

MORPHOLOGY
Presentation by: Group 1 Pioneers
Lesson Targets
01
Students will analyze morphemes in complex
words to understand their function in word
morphology and meaning.

Students will identify and apply prefixes,

02 suffixes, infixes, and circumfixes to understand

their role in modifying word meaning and
structure.

03
By studying morphology will enhance
students' vocabulary, reading comprehension,
and language learning skills.
What is Morphology?
Morphology is the study of the structure and formation of words. It
focuses on how words are composed of smaller units of meaning
called morphemes, and how these units combine to create words and
convey meaning.
Who Coined 'Morphology '?
• Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832), a famous German poet, first
used the term to talk about the structure of animals and plants.

• Later on, in the nineteenth century the term was extended to the
branch of grammar that investigates the structure of words (as
opposed to syntax, which investigates sentence structure).
Morphemes
We do not actually have to go to other languages such as Swahili
to discover that “word forms” may consist of a number of elements. We
can recognize that English word forms such as talks, talker, talked and
talking must consist of one element talk, and a number of other
elements such as -s, -er, -ed and -ing. All these elements are described
as morphemes. The definition of a morpheme is “a minimal unit of
meaning or grammatical function.” Units of grammatical function
include forms used to indicate past tense or plural, for example.
Morphemes
A. Free Morphemes
The type of morpheme that can stand alone as complete words with
their own meaning.

Examples:
open boy
tour tree
friend dog
Can stand alone
as own word.

* Free Morphemes have two categories

Free Morphemes Category #1

1. Lexical Morphemes
The first category is that set of ordinary nouns, adjectives and verbs that we think of as the
words that carry the “content” of the messages we convey. These free morphemes are called
lexical morphemes. We can add new lexical morphemes to the language rather easily, so they are
treated as an “open” class of words.

Examples :
girl sad open
man long look
house yellow follow
tiger sincere break
Free Morphemes Category #2

2. Functional Morphemes
Other types of free morphemes are called functional morphemes. This type consists largely
of the functional words in the language such as conjunctions, prepositions, articles and
pronouns. Because we almost never add new functional morphemes to the language, they are
described as a “closed” class of words.

Examples :
and on the
but near that
when above it
because in them
Morphemes
B. Bound Morphemes
The type of morpheme that cannot stand alone and must be attached to
another form to convey meaning. They include prefixes and suffixes like "un-", "-ly", and
"-ness". Moreover, we can say that all affixes (prefixes and suffixes) in English are
bound morphemes.

Examples :
re- -ed
Cannot stand
-ist -s alone
but must be
bound to other
morphemes.
* Bound Morphemes have two categories
Bound Morphemes Category #1

1. Derivational Morphemes
These are what we use to make new words or to make words of a different
grammatical category from the stem. They can be prefixes or suffixes and alter the
meaning or function of the original word.

For example, the suffix "-ness" changes the adjective "good" to the noun "goodness,"
while the prefix "un-" can modify the meaning of an adjective, such as in "happy"
becoming "unhappy."
Bound Morphemes Category #2

2. Inflectional Morphemes
These are not used to produce new words in the language, but rather to indicate
aspects of the grammatical function of a word. Inflectional morphemes are used to
show if a word is plural or singular, if it is past tense or not, and if it is a comparative or
possessive form.

Examples :
boy's boys
cleaning cleans cleaned
taken simplest heavier
Bound Morphemes
• Prefix: bound morphemes that attach to the beginning of a root.
Example: un- as in untie

• Suffix: bound morphemes that attach to the end of a root.

Example: -ness as in kindness

• Infix: a morpheme that goes "in the middle" of a word.

This is common in Borneo and Philippine languages
English has no infixes (e.g. nanimuyo)
• Circumfix: An affix that "surrounds" the word, attached to the beginning and end of the
word.
Example: en-light-en-ment
Morphological Description
Derivational morphemes and inflectional morphemes serve
different functions in modifying words. Derivational morphemes can
change a word’s grammatical category or meaning. For instance,
adding the suffix "-er" to the verb "teach" forms the noun "teacher,"
altering its category from a verb to a noun. In contrast, inflectional
morphemes adjust a word’s form to express grammatical features
such as tense, number, or degree without changing the word’s
category. For example, the suffix "-er" in "older" modifies the adjective
"old" to indicate a comparative degree, but it remains an adjective.
Examples of Word Formation
Processes
A. Blending - a process of combining two words to create a new word.

Examples:
emoticon (a blend of emote + icon)
jeggings (a blend of jeans + leggings)
camcorder (a blend of camera + recorder)
chexting (a blend of cheating + texting)
B. Acronym - a process forming out of the first letter.

Examples:
CHED - Commision on Higher Education
ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nation
NGO - Non-government Organization
SCUBA - Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

C. Clipping - is the reduction of a word into one of its component parts.

Examples:
app from application
demo from demonstration
lib from library
calc from calculator
D. Compound - Combining two or more roots (free
morphemes) to make a new word. Compounds may be
written as one word (eyeglasses), as two hyphenated words
(life-enriching), and as two separate words (football stadium)

Examples:
Doorknob
Guardhouse
Sun Burn
Conclusion
Morphology is a captivating and complex field of linguistics that delves
deep into the study of the structure and form of words. It involves the detailed
analysis of morphemes, which are the smallest units of meaning and
grammatical function in language. By exploring the intricate details of
morphology, linguists gain valuable insights into how words are constructed, the
relationship between different words, and the underlying structure of language.
This understanding is fundamental to unraveling the nuances of language and
communication.
 Thank you for
attentively listening!
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