NAME: MEGA PUTRI AGATHA KARAENG

NPM: 191220003

CLASS: II B

A WORD AND ITS STRUCTURE

6.1 meaning and structure

Some words are so predictable, indeed, that they do not have to be listed as lexical
items. This predictability of meaning depends on how the structure of complex word forms
guides their interpretation. Even with words that are lexically listed, unless their meaning is
entirely different from what one might expect, such guidance is relevant.

6.2 affixes as a heads

In English derivational morphology, suffixes heavily outnumber prefixes. We saw that

most compounds are headed, with the head on the right. Superficially these two facts are
unconnected. Consider, however, the role played by the head house of a compound such as
greenhouse. As head, house determines the compound’s syntactic status (as a noun), and also
its meaning, inasmuch as a greenhouse is a kind of house for plants. This is relevant to the
distinction between helpful and *-ful-help. In helpful, the affix is what determines that the
whole word is an adjective, and so counts as its head. Accordingly, *-ful-help violates English
expectations not just because the affix is on the wrong side, but also because the rightmost
element is not the head.

6.3 More elaborate word forms: multiple affixation

Many derived words contain more than one affix. Examples are unhelpfulness and
helplessness. Imagine now that the structure of these words is entirely ‘flat’: that is, that they
each consist of merely a string of affixes plus a root, no portions of the string being grouped
together as a substring or smaller constituent within the word

There are some multiple affixation in English:

a) The description is guided by the function of word formation

b) More consideration is given to the relation between word formation and the
lexicon
c) Semantics aspects of word formation rules are taken into account
d) The data are interpreted in an unbiased way
6.4 More elaborate word forms: compounds within compounds

All the compounds that were discussed contained just two parts. This was not an
accident or an arbitrary restriction. To see this, consider for example the noun that one might
use to denote a new cleaning product equally suitable for ovens and windows. Parallel to the
secondary compound hair restorer are the two two-part compounds oven cleaner and window
cleaner. Can we then refer to the new product with a three-part compound such as window
oven cleaner? The answer is surely no. Window oven cleaner is not naturally interpreted to
mean something that cleans both windows and ovens; rather, it means something that cleans
window ovens (that is, ovens that have a see-through panel in the door).

6.5 Apparent mismatches between meaning and structure

Earlier, the point was made that the reliable interpretation of complex words (whether
derived or compounded) depends on an expectation that meaning should go hand in hand with
structure. So far, this expectation has been fulfilled (provided we ignore words with totally
idiosyncratic meanings). Examples:

 Unhelpfulness
 Holiday car trip
 Fresh air fanatic
 Open door policy
 French historian (expert in French history)

There are built up out of the meanings of its two constituent parts, which in turn are built
up out of the meanings of their parts, and so on until we reach individual morphemes, which by
definition are semantically indivisible.