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Questions and Answers
There is a universally agreed-upon definition of the term 'word'.
There is a universally agreed-upon definition of the term 'word'.
False
The term 'book' consists of two pieces of meaning.
The term 'book' consists of two pieces of meaning.
True
The term 'walked' consists of one piece of meaning.
The term 'walked' consists of one piece of meaning.
False
According to Bloomfield, what is a word?
According to Bloomfield, what is a word?
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Lexical items refer to entries in a dictionary.
Lexical items refer to entries in a dictionary.
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The term 'fly' can only be a noun.
The term 'fly' can only be a noun.
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How does the pronunciation of the word 'Flaw' change before consonants and vowels?
How does the pronunciation of the word 'Flaw' change before consonants and vowels?
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Syntactic words can only be singular forms.
Syntactic words can only be singular forms.
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Which of the following criteria is used to identify words?
Which of the following criteria is used to identify words?
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You can insert a modifier between the morphemes of the word 'chicken'.
You can insert a modifier between the morphemes of the word 'chicken'.
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The word 'mobile' can only be used in the initial position of a sentence.
The word 'mobile' can only be used in the initial position of a sentence.
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You can say 'This is a room I want.' because the word 'room' is uninterruptible.
You can say 'This is a room I want.' because the word 'room' is uninterruptible.
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What is the smallest unit of meaning or grammatical function in a language?
What is the smallest unit of meaning or grammatical function in a language?
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Morphemes are always the same size.
Morphemes are always the same size.
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The word 'look-ed' contains two morphemes.
The word 'look-ed' contains two morphemes.
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Free morphemes can stand alone as words.
Free morphemes can stand alone as words.
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Prefixes are a type of bound morpheme.
Prefixes are a type of bound morpheme.
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Inflectional morphemes change the core meaning or part of speech of a word.
Inflectional morphemes change the core meaning or part of speech of a word.
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Which of the following is an example of an inflectional morpheme?
Which of the following is an example of an inflectional morpheme?
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Which of the following is an example of a derivational morpheme?
Which of the following is an example of a derivational morpheme?
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Derivational morphemes can create new words.
Derivational morphemes can create new words.
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The morpheme 'cat' in the word 'cats' is a bound morpheme.
The morpheme 'cat' in the word 'cats' is a bound morpheme.
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The morpheme '-s' in the word 'cats' is a bound morpheme that indicates plurality.
The morpheme '-s' in the word 'cats' is a bound morpheme that indicates plurality.
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The morpheme 'believe' in the word 'unbelievable' is a free morpheme.
The morpheme 'believe' in the word 'unbelievable' is a free morpheme.
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Which of the following morphemes in the word 'unbelievable' changes the part of speech of the word?
Which of the following morphemes in the word 'unbelievable' changes the part of speech of the word?
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The morpheme 'run' in the word 'running' is a free morpheme.
The morpheme 'run' in the word 'running' is a free morpheme.
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The morpheme '-ing' in the word 'running' indicates a past tense.
The morpheme '-ing' in the word 'running' indicates a past tense.
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What are allomorphs?
What are allomorphs?
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Allomorphs always have the same meaning.
Allomorphs always have the same meaning.
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The English plural '-s' has three allomorphs: /s/, /z/, and /Iz/.
The English plural '-s' has three allomorphs: /s/, /z/, and /Iz/.
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The English plural '-s' can also be a /ed/ allomorph.
The English plural '-s' can also be a /ed/ allomorph.
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Lexical Conditioning Allomorphs are chosen based on general rules rather than the particular word.
Lexical Conditioning Allomorphs are chosen based on general rules rather than the particular word.
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Study Notes
Unit Six: Words and Pieces of Words
- A universally accepted definition of "word" has not yet been proposed.
- A word is a single piece of meaning (e.g., "play").
- Some words are composed of more than one piece of meaning (e.g., "walked" combines "walk" and "past tense").
- Bloomfield's definition: a word is a minimal free form (can stand alone with meaning).
Types of Words
- Lexical items: dictionary entries (e.g., "fly," a noun and a verb).
-
Phonological words: the pronunciation changes based on the sounds around it.
- "Flaw" (flo:) before consonants, "Flaw" (flo:r) before vowels.
- Syntactic words: "Fly" (n.) has singular and plural forms.
Identifying Words
- Two criteria for identifying words: uninterruptibility and mobility.
- Uninterruptibility: cannot insert a modifier between the components (e.g., "chicken").
- Mobility: Can place modifiers at the beginning (e.g., "little chicken").
Morphemes
- A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning or grammatical function in a language.
- Morphemes can vary in size.
- Example: "The owl looked up at the cloudy sky."
Types of Morphemes
- Free morphemes: stand alone as words (e.g., "look," "book," "run").
-
Bound morphemes: cannot stand alone; must be attached to free morphemes to convey meaning.
- Prefixes: (e.g., "un-," "re-," "dis-").
- Suffixes: (e.g., "-s," "-ed," "-ing").
Two Types of Bound Morphemes
-
Inflectional morphemes: add grammatical information (e.g., tense, plurality, possession) without changing the word's core meaning or part of speech.
- Example: "walk" → "walked" (past tense); "cat" → "cats" (plural); "John's car."
-
Derivational morphemes: create new words or change the word's part of speech.
- Example: "happy" → "unhappy"; "joy" → "joyful."
Examples of Morphemes in Words
- Cats: "cat" (free morpheme); "-s" (inflectional bound morpheme).
- Unbelievable: "believe" (free morpheme); "un-" (derivational morpheme); "-able" (derivational morpheme).
- Running: "run" (free morpheme); "-ing" (inflectional morpheme).
Allomorphs
- Allomorphs are variations of the same morpheme used to express the same grammatical or semantic function.
- Example: the English plural morpheme in "cats, dogs, horses, sheep, oxen, geese."
Types of Allomorphs
-
Phonologically conditioned allomorphs: the form of the morpheme changes due to the sounds around it.
- Example: the English plural "-s" (/s/, /z/, /ɪz/).
- Lexically conditioned allomorphs: some allomorphs are chosen based on the particular word, rather than general rules (e.g., oxen instead of oxes).
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Description
Explore the definitions and types of words in this quiz. Understand lexical items, phonological words, and syntactic words, as well as the criteria for identifying words through uninterruptibility and mobility. Dive into the concept of morphemes as the smallest units of meaning.
