Saint Joseph College of Sindangan Incorporated

Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte

Introduction to Linguistics

TIME FRAME: Midterm

MODULE 4

Reference:
http://elearning.kocw.net/contents4/document/lec/2013/Hufs/RheeSeongha/
4-2.pdf

The Hierarchical Structure of Words

1. Morphemes within words

 morphemes in words have a strict and systematic linear order

consider the morphological structure of fiendishness under this
definition:

fiend + -ish + -ness

 within words, morphemes are also organized in highly patterned ways

words have an obvious linear order, but they also have a layered
structure

fiend + -ish  fiendish + -ness  fiendishness

( ( (fiend) + -ish) + -ness)

2. Representing the hierarchical structure of words

 in order to provide a more complete representation of the structure of a

word, we need to take into account the following:

 the fact that every simple word contains one root

 the meanings of the derivational affixes in the word
 the fact that each lexical item represents a particular part of speech

 we can convey this additional, necessary information by labeling the

parentheses around each and every constituent

(( (( fiend)Root + ( -ish )DA)Adjective + ( -ness )DA) Noun

 this additional structure is a consequence, as we saw above, of the

recursive application of derivational rules with the result that lexical items
may be embedded in other lexical items.
  the internal structure of words is not a one-dimensional string of
morphemes but a two dimensional hierarchy of related constituents

 nested parentheses are one way of representing hierarchical structures of

this sort, but they have the disadvantage of looking linear

 an alternative representation which makes the hierarchy more apparent is a

branching tree

fiendishness

fiendish -ness

fiend -ish

 the appropriate representation for the morphological structure of words is

a labeled branching tree

fiendishnessnoun

fiendishadjective -ness DA

fiendroot -ish DA

1. The Hierarchical Structure of Words

- Morphemes are added in a fixed order.
Ex.
unsystematically
Rule 1: Noun + actic → Adjective "systematic"
Rule 2: un + Adjective → Adjective "unsystematic"
Rule 3: Adjective + al → Adjective "unsystematical"
Rule 4: Adjective + ly → Adverb "unsystematically"

*unsystem
*un- +noun
refinalizes

cf. unlockable (i) "not able to be locked" (ii) "able to be unlocked"

2. Rule Productivity
- -able can be conjoined with any verb to derive an adjective.
Example:
acceptable, laughable, passable, changeable, breathable, adaptable...
downloadable, faxable... - -

un is very productive.

Example:
unafraid, unfit, un-American...
unbelievable, unpickable...

 see, however, *unsad, *unbrave, *unobvious... - -un is most productive for

adjectives derived from verbs:
Example:
unenlightened, unsimplified, uncharacterized, unauthorized, undistinguished... - -

un is usually acceptable with polysyllabic words

Example:
*unbig, *ungreat, *unred, *unsad, *unsmall, *untall (cf. unfit, uncool, unread...) –
-er is productive.

 examiner, exam-taker, analyzer, lover, hunter... (cf. *chairer...) –

 less productive derivational morphemes

Example:
sincerity (< sincere)
warmth (< warm)
moisten (< moist)
piglet (< pig)
sapling (< sap) –

Meanings can be unpredictable.

unloosen "loosen, let loose"
unrip "rip, undo by ripping"
undo "reverse doing"
untread "go back through in the same steps"
unearth "dig up"
unfrock "deprive (a cleric) of ecclesiastic rank"
unnerve "fluster"

3. Exceptions and Suppletions

Example:
 child/children, man/men, sheep/sheep, criterion/criteria... go/went
 must be stored in the lexicon as suppletive forms
zero-form:
Example:
hit (past), sheep (plural)...
 4. Lexical Gaps
 lexical gaps = accidental gaps
 Accidental gaps are well-formed but non-existing words.
blick, slarm, krobe...
cf. *bnick - Speakers can distinguish between impossible words (*unsystem,
*needlessity..)

possible but nonexisting words

 (curiouser, linguisticism, antiquify...).

 >> Evidence: The morphological component of our mental grammar

consists of not just a lexicon but also of rules that enable us to create and
understand new words, and to recognize possible and impossible words.

5. Other Morphological Processes

5.1 Word from names: (eponyms):
Example:
sandwich, robot, gargantuan, jumbo...

5.2 Back-formations:
peddler, hawk, edit, swindle, pea, enthuse, monokini (!), resurrect, preempt,
televise...

5.3 Compounds:

• diverse combinations:
bittersweet, headstrong, carryall, poorhouse, rainbow, pickpocket, highborn,
spoonfeed, sleepwalk...

• meaning of compounds: blackboard, Redcoat, boathouse, cathouse...

jumping bean, falling star, magnifying glass... vs. looking glass, eating apple,
laughing gas
jack-in-a-box, turncoat, highbrow, bigwig, egghead, flatfoot, ... how about The
University Health Center and The University Rape Center?

• universality of compounding: cross-linguistically common and frequent

5.4 Blends
Example:
smog, motel, informatial, Podcast, urinalysis, chortle, cranapple, broasted,
crocogator, ....

5.5 Abbreviations (clipping):

nark, tec, telly (Br), prof, piano, gym, ad, bike, math, gas, phone, bus, van ... 5.6
Acronyms:
NASA, UNESCO, UNICEF, radar, scuba, AIDS, ... MORF, FAQ, WYSIWYG, POP...

6. "Pullet Surprises"
deciduous "able to make up one's mind"
longevity "being very tall"
fortuitous "well protected"
gubernatorial "to do with peanuts"
bibliography "holy geography"
adamant "pertaining to original sin"
diatribe "food for the whole clan"
polyglot "more than one glot"
gullible "to do with sea birds"
homogeneous "devoted to home life"
She tried many reducing diets, but remained indefatigable.

7. Sign Language Morphology

- Sign languages have root and affix morphemes, free and bound morphemes,
lexical content and grammatical morphemes, derivational and inflectional
morphemes, and morphological rules for their combination to form
morphologically complex signs.

8. Morphological Analysis: Identifying Morphemes

 identification of morphemes from paradigms
Activities:

1. Divide the following words by placing a + between their

morphemes. (Some of the words may be monomorphemic and
therefore indivisible.)

1. retroactive 8. Holiday
2. befriended 9. Grandmother
3. plowman 10. Morphemic
4. margin 11. adventure
5. endearment 12. Mistreatment
6. psychology 13. Deactivation
7. unpalatable 14. Saltpeter
15. airsickness

2. Following are listed some words followed by incorrect

( humorous?) definitions:

Words Definition

Staleman “husband or wife no longer

interested

Effusive “ able to merged”

Tenet “ a group of ten singers”

Dermatology “ a study of derms”

Ingenious “ not very smart

Finesse “ a female fish”

Sexcedrin “ medicine for a mate who says,

‘sorry ,I
Have a headache.”
Testostoroni “ hormonal supplement
administered as
Pasta”

Give some possible reasons for the source of these silly”

definitions”. Illustrate your answers by reference to other
words or morphemes.

For example, stalemate comes from stale meaning : “having

lost freshness” and mate meaning: marriage partner.” When
mates appear to have lost their freshness, they are no longer as
desirable as they once were.