Word Study Vocabulary for Parents

morphology - sequencing and structure of meaning etymology - interconnection of meaning between words phonology - the pronunciation of meaning morphemes - the smallest unit of meaning which cannot be further reduced without losing or changing that meaning. grapheme - a letter or letter string that represents a single phoneme. phonemes - the smallest unit of sound represented in writing by graphemes word sum - a visual representation of how a word is built or broken into morphemes. word web - a visual representation of a family of words connected by meaning

flow chart - a tool for applying morphological conventions when building words matrix - a tool for building families of words from a common base base element - the essential structural element of any word that is the kernel of its meaning and structure. free base - needs no affixes (prefix or suffix) bound base - cannot stand on its own without an affix root - the etymological origin from which a give element has developed. affix/prefix/suffix - bound elements which are added to a base or another affix attached to a base