MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: WAYS OF CLASSIFYING WORD-PARTS

Marselliah, Haslina, Pitri, Tifani patti

English Education Department, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, University of
Borneo Tarakan

Abstract
Morphology is the branch of linguistics that deals with the study of the structure and
formation of words. One of the fundamental concepts in morphology is the idea of
morphemes, which are the smallest units of meaning in a language. Morphemes can
be classified in different ways based on their function and position within a word.
This classification of morphemes is essential for understanding how words are
constructed and how they convey meaning in a language. In this context, this article
will provide an introduction to the ways of classifying word parts in morphology. We
will discuss the different types of morphemes, including root morphemes, affixes,
inflectional and derivational morphemes, as well as the distinction between bound
and free morphemes and content and function morphemes. We will also explain the
significance of morphological analysis in understanding the structure and meaning of
words. By the end of this article, readers will have a better understanding of the
various ways in which morphemes can be classified and how this knowledge can
contribute to a deeper understanding of language.

I. Introduction
Morphological analysis is the study of the structure and formation of words. It
involves identifying and analyzing the smallest units of meaning within words, called
morphemes. Morphological analysis helps to understand how words are constructed
in a language and how they convey meaning. The process of morphological analysis
includes identifying root morphemes, affixes, inflectional and derivational
morphemes, as well as classifying morphemes based on their function and position
within a word. By breaking down words into their parts and analyzing their meaning
and function, the morphological analysis provides insight into the mechanics of
language and helps to better understand the structure and meaning of words.
Morphological analysis is an important tool for linguists, language learners, and
anyone interested in the study of language.
Words can be classified into their constituent parts or morphemes based on
various criteria. Some of the most common ways of classifying word parts include:
Free and Bound Morphemes: This is one of the most basic classifications of
morphemes. Free morphemes are those that can stand alone as independent words, on
the other hand, bound morpheme cannot stand alone and must be attached to a free
morpheme to form a complete word.
Inflectional and Derivational Morphemes: Inflectional morphemes are affixes
that are added to a word to indicate its grammatical function, such as tense, number,
or case. Derivational morphemes, on the other hand, are affixes that change the
meaning or part of speech of a word. Prefixes, Suffixes, and Infixes: This
classification is based on the position of the morpheme within a word. A prefix is a
morpheme that appears at the beginning of a word, A suffix appears at the end of a
word, and An infix is a morpheme that appears in the middle of a word. Allomorphy,
concerned as it is with differences in how a morpheme is pronounced, may seem at
first to have little connection with meaning.
 Research suggests that morphological awareness is the strongest consistent
predictor of success in reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, and spelling
(Baumann et al. 2003; Baumannet et al. 2002; Guo et al. 2011; Mountain 2005;
Cunningham and Allington 2007; Nation 1990; Nation 2006; Bauer and Nation 1993;
Schmitt 2008; Wagner et al. 2007). Effective instruction should not require students to
recite the meanings of the morphemes they encounter, but should have them read texts
with words that use the morphemes and provide them with opportunities to learn
about word origins, derivations, and usage. Such a approach to word learning can
stimulate students' interest in learning more about language and build about language
and build word awareness (Baumann et al. 2003).
The knowledge of roots and affixes has been proven to help students of all
ages and inand in a variety of subject areas. According to Nation (1990), one of the
advantage of using morphological analysis for vocabulary learning is that it can help
advanced learners learn unfamiliar words by associating them with known words or
known prefixes and suffixes. In this way it helps learners to increase and consolidate
their vocabulary by seeing words as part of a word family, i.e. as closely related
derived forms (Nation 2001).
Morphemic analysis leads to stronger word attack and vocabulary skills.
Research shows that morphemic analysis contributes to vocabulary growth. (Nagy
2005; Anglin 1993) and that vocabulary knowledge contributes to reading
comprehension (Stahl 1999). Morphemic analysis also helps learners to spell words
more accurately. For example, if a learner knows the prefix mis- (bad or wrong), then
he/she will understand why the word will understand why the word misspell has two
s's. The same goes for dis+satify; dis+suade, etc.
Ways of classifying morpheme word parts are include:
(1)Sorting words by base/root words (word families), or by prefixes or suffixes
Word Detective - Students break longer words down into their prefixes, suffixes, and
base words e.g. Find the morphemes in multi-morphemic words like: dissatisfied,
(2)unstoppable, ridiculously, hydrophobic, metamorphosis, oxygenate, fortifications.
Word Builder - students are given base words and prefixes/suffixes and see how many
words they can build, and what meaning they might have: Prefixes: un- de- pre- re-
co- con. Base Words: play help flex bend blue sad sat Suffixes: -ful -ly -less -able/-
ible -ing -ion -y -ish -ness -ment. (3) Etymology investigation - students are given
multi-morphemic words from texts they have been reading and are asked to research
the origins (etymology) of the word. Teachers could use words like progressive,
circumspect, revocation, and students could find out the morphemes within each
word, their etymology, meanings, and use.

1.1 free morpheme

The morpheme that can stand alone as a single word (as a meaningful unit) is
called a free morpheme. The free morphemes are roots that are identical to words.
Free morphemes are a set of separate English word forms such as basic nouns, verbs,
adjectives, etc. When a free morpheme is used with bound morphemes, the basic word
forms are technically known as stems or roots.
Examples of free morphemes:
Sun (noun), dog (noun), walk (verb), and happy (adjective)
A free morpheme can stand alone and cannot be subdivided further. ‘Sun’ or ‘dog’ are
free morphemes because they cannot be further split up, therefore the stems that
cannot divide further are also called roots.
1.2 bound morpheme
Segments that cannot stand alone and occurs with another root/stem are called
Bound Morphemes. Bound morphemes are also called affixes (prefixes, suffixes) in
English. Two bound morphemes cannot occur together but a bound morpheme must
occur with a root/stem.
Examples of bound morphemes:
Opened: (Open + ed) = root + suffix
Reopen: (Re + open) = Prefix + root
Men: (Man + plural) = root + infix (infix makes a change inside a root word)
The set of affixes that make up the category of bound morphemes can also be
divided into two types. Derivational Morphemes: Derivational morphemes change
the grammatical categories of words. For example, the word ‘bake’ (verb) is a root
word (free morpheme) and when we add the bound morpheme ‘er’(a suffix) to the ith
stem: it becomes baker (a noun), So the grammatical category was changed from
verb to noun. Inflectional Morphemes: An inflectional morpheme is a suffix that is
added to a word to assign a particular grammatical property to that word. For
example, liste +ing = listening or boy+s = boys. They do not change the essential
meaning or the grammatical category of a word. Inflectional morphemes serve as
grammatical markers that indicate tense, number, possession, or comparison.

II. Review of literature

In every language, words play an important grammatical role. They are built
out of smaller elements by certain patterns and put together to form sentences by
different patterns. Morphology is a branch of linguistics that has with the study and
analysis of structure, forms, and classes of the word. Nida (1967:1) states that
morphology is the study of morphemes and their arrangements in forming words.
Booij (2007:24) claims that morphology is the study of the internal structure of words
that concerns word formation. While Bloomfield (1933:207) mentions that the
morphology of a language means the construction in which bound forms appear
among the construction, by definition, the resultant for more bound forms but never
phrases. Based on these statements, it could be stated that morphology as the branch
of linguistics is concerned with the study of morphemes within their different forms
and the way they combine in word formation.
A morpheme may be defined as the basic unit of morphological analysis,
(Bauer, 1983: 13). Morpheme is categorized into two groups: free morpheme and
bound morpheme. A free morpheme can stand alone as an independent word. It is
supported by Yule’s opinion (2009: 63) that free morphemes are morphemes that
stand by themselves as single words, for example, close and journey. For instance, the
plural morpheme –s, which can only occur attached to nouns and certain bound
morphemes are known as affixes (Akmajian, 2001: 18).
According to Yule (2009: 64), free morphemes are categorized into two
categories; lexical morphemes and functional morphemes. Lexical morphemes are the
set of nouns, adjectives, and verbs as the words which bring the content of the
messages. free morphemes are functional morphemes which are set of conjunctions,
prepositions, articles, and pronouns (Yule, 2009: 64). Still Yule (2009: 64) divides
bound morphemes into two types; derivational morphemes and inflectional
morphemes. Derivational morphemes are prefixes(re-, pre-, mis-, co-, un-, en-, and
many more) and suffixes (-ful, -ness, -ly, -ment, and so on) which are used to make
new words.
 Inflectional morphemes are to indicate that a word is a singular or plural, past
tense or not, and comparative or possessive form (Yule: 2009: 64). In English, the
inflectional morphemes are suffixes; -‘s (possessive) sometimes –s’ (ending with s,
for example, girls’) and –s (plural) are attached to nouns, -s (third-person singular), -
ing (the present participle), -ed (past tense) are attached to the verbs, -est (superlative)
and –er (comparative) are attached to the verbs.

III. Methods
This study uses a descriptive qualitative method. In the descriptive method,
the data collected is not numbers but in the form of words such as sentences or
descriptions of something. According to Djajasudarma, (2010:1), the data collected
may be in the form of scripts, interviews, notes, videotapes, and so on. Along with the
opinion of Hammersley (2013: 12), qualitative researchers can use any documentary
data such as official reports, magazines, newspapers, maps, photographs, and
notes/field notaries without searching to quantify their content in the manner.
Based on the theory of Silverman (2009: 234), the technique of analyzing data in this
research uses three steps of qualitative analysis, they are reducing data, displaying
data, and making conclusions. The first step the researcher took was collecting data
by searching for English text in just one paragraph. After the data is collected, the
next step is to analyze the morpheme in the text.

IV. Discussion
Based on the findings of this research, the researchers find some free and bound
morphemes which are found in the English text. The description as are below:
A. free morpheme
The morpheme that can stand alone as a single word (as a meaningful unit) is
called a free morpheme. The free morphemes are roots that are identical to words.
Free morphemes are a set of separate English word forms such as basic nouns, verbs,
adjectives, etc. When a free morpheme is used with bound morphemes, the basic word
forms are technically known as stems or roots.
Examples of free morphemes:
Sun (noun), dog (noun), walk (verb), and happy (adjective).
B. bound morpheme
Segments that cannot stand alone and occurs with another root/stem are called
Bound Morphemes. Bound morphemes are also called affixes (prefixes, suffixes and
infixes) in English. Two bound morphemes cannot occur together but a bound
morpheme must occur with a root/stem.
Examples of bound morphemes:
Opened: (Open + ed) = root + suffix
Reopen: (Re + open) = Prefix + root
Men: (Man + plural) = root + infix (infix makes a change inside a root word)
Table 1. text by Moses, R. and Mohamad, M. (2019) Challenges Faced by Students
and Teachers on Writing Skills in ESL Contexts: A Literature Review. Creative
Education, 10, 3385-3391.

No Data Free morpheme Bound allomorph Time

morpheme
1 Students student S’ /stuːdnts/ 2
2 readiness Ready, read -ness 4
3 another other -er 1
4 challenges challenge -s /ˈtʃælɪndʒz/ 1
5 learning learn -ing 2
6 writing write -ing 3
7 supported support -ed /səˈpɔːrtid/ 1
8 According accord -ing 2
9 complete complete 1
10 task task 1
11 successfully Success, full -y 1
12 important. import 1
13 physical physic -al 1
14 mental mental 1
15 preparedness pared -pre, -ness 1
16 occurring occur -ing 1
17 having have -ing 1
18 mentally mental -ly 1
19 prepared pared -pre 1
20 learn learn 1
21 classroom Class, room 1
22 ready read -y 2
23 before before 1
24 enter enter 1
25 motivating motivate -ing 1
26 attracting attract -ing 1
27 attention attent -ion 1
Total 30 20 36

Related to the findings above, some free and bound morphemes are found n
the English text. Free morphemes are morphemes that can stand alone and have
meaning. Free morphemes are also known as root morphemes, which are morphemes
that are the basic form of word formation. It is called the basic form because it has not
undergone morphological changes. Based on some of the statements above, it can be
concluded that free morphemes are morphemes that can stand alone and have
meaning. Bound morphemes are morphemes that must first be combined with other
morphemes to be used in speech.
Bound morphemes are also known as affix morphemes. A bound morpheme is
a morpheme that is always attached to another morpheme or can have meaning after
joining a free morpheme. Based on the analysis of the English text, 36 data were
found, consisting of free morphemes and bound morphemes. From the 138 data, the
free morphemes found in the English text are 30 data consisting of morphemes. There
are 20 bound morphemes in the text.

V. Conclusion
Based on the table above, shows that in both the free and bound morpheme in
the text, The total Morpheme Found is 30 data In the free morpheme, in the round
morpheme is found 20 data. It shows that the most often dominant morpheme is found
is a free morpheme. Free Morpheme is more commonly found in the text because the
free morpheme is morpheme root, namely morpheme which is a basic form in the
formation of the word. It is called the basic form because it has not changed
morphologically.

VI. References

Aronoff, Mark., Fudeman, Kirsten. (2011). What is Morphology? (Second Edition).

West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bauer, L. (2007). Introducing Linguistic Morphology. Edinburg, Germany: Edinburgh
University Press.
Bauer, Laurie. (1988). Introducing Linguistic Morphology. British: Edinburg:
University Press.
Hammersley, M. (2013). What is Qualitative Research? A&C Black.
Handoko, M. Dini. (2019). English Morphology. Lampung: CV. IQRO.
Hornby, John. (1985). Poetry Devices. In Trehearne, Brian, ed 2010. Canadian Poetry
19201960. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.