WORDS:

BUILDING
BLOCKS

Aula 3a
WORDS: BUILDING BLOCKS

• If we compare language to a magnificent

building, the blocks with which it is
constructed are words. In other words,
words are the component parts of language
(Pryse, 1984 p.1)
 WORDS: BUILDING BLOCKS

• The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1976)

defines word as a sound or a group of sounds that
forms an independent unit of language.

• It goes further to define it as a representation of those

sounds “as letters or symbols, usually with a space on
either side”. Word is essentially a unit of meaning: every
word must give a sense prompted by general/
conventional or specific/contextual determinism.
 WORDS: BUILDING BLOCKS

• For example: ‘electromagnetic’ is a word. It is however

made up of three parts:
electro + magnet + ic
• Each of these parts exhibits a particular meaning.
• These meaning-bearing parts are the component
morphemes of ‘electromagnetic’.

An English word is made up of one or more

morphemes.
The following words are made up
of one, two, three, four and five
morphemes respectively
 ‘iron’
‘gas+eous’
‘uni+cell+ular’
‘ab+norm+al+ity’
‘dis+en+tangle+ment+s’
TYPES OF WORDS

• There are three types of words that can be

identified. These are different from word classes,
which are eight in number.

• The typology is based on the morphemic

composition of words and the types are simple,
complex and compound words.
REMEMBER?

• It would be observed that some morphemes can

stand on their own while others cannot in the given
examples.

• Those that can stand on their own are called free

morphemes while those that cannot are referred to
as bound morphemes.
 TYPES OF WORDS

• A word made up of a single/free morpheme, such

as: ‘gold’, ‘liquid’, ‘tube’, is a simple word.

• Complex words are made up of a free morpheme

and one or more bound morphemes. Such as:

‘nutrition + al’
‘ecto + parasite + s’
‘de + cod + ifi + cation’
TYPES OF WORDS

• Compound words have free forms, usually two, as

their immediate constituents.

• Compound words include

‘air + line’
‘black + board’,
‘else + where’,
‘key + board’
COMPOUND X GRAMMATICAL
STRUCTURE

1) PRINCIPLE OF DIVISIBILITY
Compound words can’t be divided by their insertion of
intervening material between the two parts.
Grammatical structures can.
a) She is a sweetheart
b) She has a sweet heart
COMPOUND X GRAMMATICAL
STRUCTURE

• AMBIGUITY
She loves sweet potatoes

White potatoes that are sweet (GS)

The yellow kind of potatoes (CD)

COMPOUND X GRAMMATICAL
STRUCTURE

2) PRINCIPLE OF PARTICIPATION
In compound words, its members can’t participate in a
grammatical structure.

hard ball baseball

modifier noun
Very baseball
Very hard ball*
COMPOUND X GRAMMATICAL
STRUCTURE

Sparkling Water (CD)

An ordinary water that sparkles

COMPOUND X GRAMMATICAL
STRUCTURE

3) PRINCIPLE OF STRESS PATTERNS

In compound words, both components are stressed.
Primary stress falls on the first component (even if
words are written separately). USUALLY the second
component is a noun.
The first compound can be a NOUN, a GERUND, an
ADJECTIVE or a VERB.
COMPOUND X GRAMMATICAL
STRUCTURE

FOOTball – noun + noun

ARMchair - noun IF THE RESULTING
MAILbox - noun WORD IS A
WRITing desk – gerund + noun NOUN, WE
STRESS THE FIRST
SWIMing pool - gerund
COMPONENT
HIGH school – adjective + noun
HOT dog - adjective
CRYbaby – verb + noun
PUSHcart - verb
COMPOUND X GRAMMATICAL
STRUCTURE

If the compound (word + word) generate a different

meaning, such as ‘greenhouse’ the stress falls in the
first element.
GREENhouse
(A place where we grow plants)
 COMPOUND X GRAMMATICAL
STRUCTURE

If the compound (word + word) refers to an attribute

of the second element we stress the second word.
green HOUSE
(A that is painted green)
PRACTICE

• Make the first cut in the words bellow that permit

such cutting. Then classify each word (S) for simple
and (CX) for complex.
knave knavish purist oyster misanthrope

graph telegraph aquanaut bicycle pure

 PRACTICE

• Identify the following items with these symbols:

(S) Simple Word
(CX) Complex Word
(CD) Compound Word
(GS) Grammatical Structure
PRACTICE
Act Import Dictation Waitress

React Unearth Blaze Vulnerability

Rattlesnake Beautify blackBOARD Talked

PASSbook Geometry Keyboard Dances

Glowworm Outlast SHARPshooter STONEage