Morphology in Language Study

The study of the internal structure of words, examining how words are formed and their relationships through morphemes.

The basic unit of meaning in a language, it cannot be broken down into smaller meaningful parts. Examples: 'cat,' 'run,' 'un-', '-ing.'

A morpheme that can stand alone as a word, carrying its own meaning. Example: 'book,' 'run,' 'happy.'

A morpheme that cannot stand alone as a word, needing to attach to another morpheme for meaning. Example: 'un-', '-ing,' '-ly.'

The process of adding one or more morphemes to a base word, changing its meaning or grammatical function. Examples: 'run' + '-ing' = 'running,' 'happy' + '-ly'= 'happily.'

The process of combining two or more free morphemes to create a new word. Examples: 'black' + 'board' = 'blackboard,' 'sun' + 'flower' = 'sunflower.'

Changes in the internal structure of a word without adding any morphemes, such as vowel changes or sound shifts. Examples: 'sing' - 'sang,' 'mouse' - 'mice'.

Words that share the same form but have different meanings, often distinguished by context. Example: 'bat' (animal) vs. 'bat' (baseball).

The study of how words are structured, including morphemes, word formation, and meaning relationships.

The smallest meaningful unit in a language.

The process of adding prefixes and suffixes to a base word to create new words.

The study of how words change form based on grammatical function, like tense or number.

The study of how words are created with new meanings, like adding '-er' to 'teach' to make 'teacher'.

The ability to create new words from existing morphemes.

The collection of all the words in a language, including simple and complex words.

The relationship between the form of a word and its meaning.

The rules that govern how words are structured and formed, including how to create new words.

The investigation into the nature of language systems and how they reflect human cognition.