MORPHOLOGY – FINAL TERM 1 TEST

(Ngô Hoài Thương – 22CNATMDT01)

1. What is the difference between word and morphemes? Give examples for
illustration.
- WORD is the (minimal) free form. It is the one that can occur in isolations.
- MORPHEME is the smallest meaningful lexical item in a language. A
morpheme is not a word.
→ So, the difference between Word and Morpheme is that: A WORD on any
definition always stands alone. Meanwhile a MORPHEME sometimes does not
stand alone. And WORD can be broken down further. And WORD consist of
many meaningful parts in it. The parts in words are the MORPHEME.
Ex:
 Hunters (a free form/ a word); hunt, -er, -s are morphemes.
 Teacher (word); teach, -er (morpheme).
2. What is the difference between free and bound morphemes? Give examples
for carification.
- There are two types of morphemes: FREE morphemes and BOUND
morphemes.
- "FREE morphemes" can stand alone with a specific meaning and can
constitute a word on its by itself.
Ex: teachers -> MF: teach, drivers -> MF: drive, centralization -> MF: centre.
- "BOUND morphemes" cannot stand alone with meaning. And BOUND
morpheme must beattached to another element or free morpheme.
Morphemes are comprised of two separate classes called roots and affixes.
Ex: teachers -> MB: (-er, -s), drivers -> MB: (-er. -s), centralization -> MB (-al, -
ize, -ation).
3. How can simple words and complex ones be differentiated? Clarify.
- SIMPLE WORDS: words cannot be broken down into smaller meaningful
unit, e.g: gentle, quick, fire, joke...
- COMPLEX WORDS: words can be divided into morphemes.
 Gentle (adj) derived from: gentleman (n), gentlemanly (adj),
gentlemanliness (n).
 Agree (v) derived from: agreeable (adj), agreeableness (n).
For example:
  Incomprehensibility: sự bất  Antidisestablishmentarianim
khả thi :chủ nghĩa chống phân ly
MF: comprehend (v) nhà nước giáo hội ở Anh
MB: -ible, in-, -ibility MF: establish (v)
 Disadvantagously: một cách MB: dis-, -ment, anti-,
bất lợi -arian, -ism
MF: advantage (v)  Impraticality: sự phi thực
MB: dis-, -ous, -ly tiễn
 Revitalization: sự hồi sinh MF: pratice (v)
MF: vital (adj) MB: -al, im-, -ity
MB: -ize, re-, -ation  Inharmoniously: một cách
 Internationalization: sự toàn thiếu đồng nhất
cầu hóa MF: harmony (n)
MF: nation (n) MB: -ous, in-, -ly
MB: -al, inter-, -ize, -ation  Insensibility: tính vô cảm
MF: sense
MB: -ible, in-, -ibility
4. Tell me the difference of closed categories and open ones. Exemplify.
- CLOSED CATEGORIES: words that are rarely developed (pronoun: đại từ),
(preposition: giới từ), (determiner: từ hạn định), (conjunction: liên từ),
(interjection: thái từ).
For example:
 PRONOUNCES: anything, what, he, mine, yourself...
 PREPOSITION: about, in, on, at...
 DETERMINER: the, a, an, every, each, a few...
 CONJUNCTION: for, and, afer, although, not only...but also,...
 INTERJECTION: well, ah, hey....
- OPEN CATEGORIES: words that can be developed (noun, adjective, verb,
adverb) for communicative purposes. For example: happy- unhappy-
happiness...
5. With what dictionaries should a student of business English be equipped?
- Oxford ADVANCED LEARNER’S Dictionary.
- Oxford COLLECTION Dictionary.
- Oxford LEARNER’S THESAURUS.
- Oxford BUSINESS ENGLISH.
- Oxford UNIVERSITY PRESS Dictionary.
- Oxford COLLOCATIONS Dictionary.
6. How can English affixes be classified? Illustrate, pls.
- There are three main types of affixes (a bound morpheme that is added to a
word): PREFIXES, INFIXES, and SUFFIXES.
- PREFIXES is a bound morpheme that is added to the beginning of a word,
e.g: un- (unhappy).
- SUFFIXES is a bound morpheme that is added to the end of a word and that
normally changes the meaning function of a word (wonder-ful, depend-ent,
act-ion, use-less).
- INFIXES is a bound morpheme that is added within a word . Only
expletives (từ chêm vào) are used as infixes and in only a limited number of
words, e.g: abso- bloody-lutely, guaran-damn-tee.
7. What is the difference between root and base? Clarify.
- ROOT: is the minimal free form/free morpheme of a word.
- BASE: is a word to which affix(es) can be added.
For example:
 Illiteracy: nạn mù chữ  Incredibility: sự bất tín
R: literate (adj) R: credit (n)
B: literate, il- B: credit, -ible, in-
MF: literate MF: credit
MB: il-, -acy MB: -ible, in-, -ibility
 Commercialization: sự thương  Impressionability: tính nhạy
nghiệp hóa cảm
R: commerce (n) R: press (n)
B: commerce, -al, -ize B: press, im-, -ion, -able
MF: commerce MF: press
MB: -al, -ize, -ation MB: im-, -ion, -able, -ability
 Reorganization: sự cải tổ  Denationalization: sự tư nhân
R: organ (n) hóa
B: organ, -ize, re- R: nation (n)
MF: organ B: nation, -al, -ize, de-
MB: -ize, re-, -ation MF: nation
MB: -al, -ize, de-, -ation
8. What does it mean by reduplication. Give examples.
- Reduplication refers to words formed through repetition of syllable,
morpheme or word, e.g in English advertising slogans.
For example:
 Gillete: Look sharp, feel sharp.
  Jaguar: Grace, space, pace. Don’t dream it, drive it.
 Coleman Footgear (=Footwear): Better choice, better joys.
 Finance Time: No FT, no comment.
 Quavers Snack: Do me a Quaver! (favour)
 Tie Tae Candy: Tic Tac. Surely the best tactic (chiến thuật).
9. How can conversion and stress shift be differentiated? Clarify.
- CONVERSION means creating a new word of different category without
using affixation.
E.g: to show – a show, to head – a head, to hope – a hope, to call – a call,...
- STRESS SHIFT means inventing a new word by shifting the place of stress.
E.g:
 ‘Record (n) : information about someone or something that is stored by
someone.
 Re’cord (v): to store sounds or moving pictures using electronic
equipment so that they can be heard or seen.
 ‘Present (n): something that you are given, without asking for it, on a
special occasion, especially to show friendship, or to say thank you.
 Pre’sent (v): To give, show, provide, or make known; to introduce a
person.
E.g: CONVERSION ONLY : Surprise (n,v), water (n,v), acess (n,v): tiếp
cận, support (n,v).
10. What does it mean by ablaut? Exemplify.
- ABLAUT is the change of a vowel or consonant with a different vowel,
consonant.
E.g:
 speech (N) - speak (V)  food (N) - feed (V)
 advice (N) – advise (V)  song (N) - sing(V)
 life (N) – live (V)
11. How different are compound noun and noun phrases? Clarify.
- When NOUN PHRASES unchanged original meaning, COMPOUND
NOUN almost changed origianl meaning.
- The process of combining two or more words (free morphemes) to create a
new word (commonly a noun, verb, or adjective).
- There are three types of compound nouns: CLOSED compound nouns,
HYPHENATED compound nouns, and OPEN compound nouns.
  CLOSED CN: lighthouse, butterfly, earthquake...
 HYPHENATED CN: five-year-old, son-in-law, great-grandfather...
 OPEN CN: post office, apple tree, high school...
E.g:
 The White House:
NP: a house which is painted full of white.
CN: a place is where the President and First Family of the United States
live and work.
 Hot Dog:
NP: a dog that is hot.
CN: a type of sausage typically eaten on a bun.
12. What does it mean by clipping? Clarify.
- A process whereby a new word is created by shortening a polysyllabic word.
Shortening of a word by cutting off its elements.
Ex: shortening - original form; cello - violoncello; flu - influenza; ad -
advertisement; blog – weblog.
- There are 4 types of clipping:
 Back-clipping.
Ex: Cig - Cigarette, Ad - Advertising, Doc - Document, Exam -
Examination.
 Fore-clipping.
Ex: Plane - airplane, Phone - telephone, Burger - hamburger.
 Middle clipping.
Ex: Flu - influenza, Tec - detective, Scrip - prescription, Fridge -
refrigerator.
 Two back-clipping.
Ex: Telex - Teleprinter exchange, Interpol - international police, Phys-ed
- physical education, Sitcom - situation comedy.
13. What does it mean by blending? Clarify.
- Blends are words that are created from parts of two already existing lexical
items.
- There are 2 ways to create a blend word:
 Match the beginning of this word and the end of that word.
Ex: Brunch = BReakfast + luNCH; Endutainment = EDUcation +
enterTAINMENT; Smog = SMoke + fOG; Motel = MOtor + hoTEL.
 Match the first part of two words.
Ex: Huda = HUe + DAnmach; Engvid = ENGlish + VIDeo.
14. What does it mean by acronym?
- Acronyms are formed from the initial sounds or letters of string of words,
such as the name of an organization or a scientific expression.
- Most ACRONYM can be written as the first letter of a word (capitalized).
Ex :
AIDS -> Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
NATO -> North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
UNESCO -> United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization.
Laser -> Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
Radar -> RAdio Detection And Ranging.
Scuba -> Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.
WHO -> Word Health Organization.
BBC -> British Broadcasting Corporation.
IELTS -> International English Language Test System.
CFL -> College of Foreign Language.
NATO -> North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
15. What does it mean by back-formation? (back-derivation) (>< derivation)
- The process of creating a new lexeme, usually by removing actual or
supposed affixes.
Ex: Back-form (Back-formation), Enthuse (Enthusiasm) , Opine(Opinion),
Insert(Insertion), Act( Actor), Build(Builder).
- Compararision:
 Clipping : Shorten the word but does not change the part of the sentence
and the meaning.
 Back-formation: Can change the part of the sentence or the meaning of
the word.
16. What does it mean by derivasion? Exemplify.
- Derivation morphology is a process where one word is changed into another.
The process takes a word stem and adds affixes to make a new word.
- It is used to convert nouns, adjectives and verbs into one another.
Ex :
 Suffixes: -able + V: fix -> Adj: Fixable.
-action + V: realize -> N: Realization.
 Prefixes: In- + Adj: complete -> Adj: incomplete.
Un- + Adj: comfortable -> Adj: uncomfortable.
Re- V: think -> V: rethink.
17. How different are inflection and derivation? Clarify.
- Inflection: the progress of adding an affix to a word or changing it in some
other way according to the rules of grammar of a language.
Ex: play -> plays, playing, played...
- Inflection: grammatically different (time, singular plural) but the meaning
remains the same.
Ex: play (verb)-> played (verb).
- Derivation: create words with different meanings, change word types.
Ex: teach (verb) -> teacher (noun).
- I’m learning (inflection) English ≠ The learning (derivation) of English is
useful.
18. What does it mean by gender?
- Gender: (in some languages) each of the classes (masculine, feminine and
sometimes neuter) into which nouns, pronouns and adjectives into these
different genders.
- Different genders may have different endings.
Ex: window ≠ windower (người góa vợ)
No WFs MALE FEMALE EXAMPLES
1 - -ESS
-O - Negro / negress
2 - -INE Hero / heroine
Derivation
3 -(ER) -(R)ESS Enchanter / enchantress
4 -ER - Windower / window
5 -CÉ -CÉE Fiancé / fiancée
6 MALE- FEMALE- Male-cat / female-cat
7 HE- SHE- He-goat / she-goat
8 BULL- COW- Bull-elephant / cow-elephant
9 COCK- HEN- Cock-sparrow / hen-sparrow
Compoun
10 DOG- BITCH- Dog-otter / bitch-otter
d
11 JACK- JENNY- Jack-ass / Jenny-ass
12 -MAN -WOMAN Best-man / best-woman
-MAID Milkman / milkmaid
13 -LORD -LADY Landlord / landlady
14 Nephew / niece
15 Monk / nun
16 Others Groom / Bride
17 Horse / mare
18 Bachelor / spinster
19. How different are homophone, homonym and homograph? Clarify.
- Homophone: are words identical in pronunciation only but different in
spelling or meaning.
Ex: buy-by-bye; write-rite-wright-right...
- Homonym: are words identical in spelling or pronunciation but different in
meaning.
Ex: can-can; tear-tear...
- Honograph: are words identical in spelling only but different in meaning (or
pronunciation).
Ex: bow-bow, wind-wind...
Types Pronunciation Spelling Meaning
Homophone + - -
Homonym (+) + -
Homograph - + -