SI

REKONPUBLI
CATI
ONS–ENGLI
SHLANGUAGESTUDI
ESI

CHAPTERONE

I
ntr
oduc
ti
on

I
nalmos
tever
yorganiza
ti
on,ther
eishi
erar
chi
calle
vel
.Thisa
rrange
me ntma ybebasedonthe
r
ole
soft
heindivi
dualmembers.Thi
shie
rar
chi
calorde
riswhatwecallrank.Thi
ssuggest
stha
t
e
achmemberisra
nked(posi
ti
oned)bas
edontheirr
ole
s.

Inthesa
meve in,inEngli
shLangua ,t
ge her
earera
nks.Arankisagr
amma t
ica
lunit.Eac
h
grammati
calra
nkpl aysit
sdi
sti
ncti
verol
e.Ther
earedif
fer
entgra
mmati
caluni
ts.Thesear
e
sente
nce
,claus
e ,phr
ase,wor
da ndmorpheme.

Thehi ghes
tgr amma t
ic
a luni
tisthesente
ncewhi lethel owestist
hemor pheme.Thegramma ti
cal
unitsc anbea rr
angedac cor
dingtosiz
e .Whe nthisisdone ,i
tisca l
ledarankscal
e.Thissugges
ts
that,amor phe meispartofawor d,awor dispartofaphr ase,aphraseispar
tofac l
ause,anda
clausei spartofasentence.
Thet er mranks cal
ewa sdevelopedbyMi chaelHa l
liday,whoi sassoci
ate
dwi t
hsyste
ma ti
c
func t
ionalli
ngui s
ti
cs(theschoolofli
nguist
ictheorya ndde s
c r
ipt
ion)

Whatthe ni
sar ankscal
e?
Aranks cal
eisthehier
archi
cala r
rangementoft
hegr a
mma tic
a lrankseit
herfr
omthetop-
down,
orfr
ombot tom-upwards.
Thearrangementcanbefromt helowestunitt
othehighes
tuni t.Whe nthera
nkscal
eisre
ad
fr
omt helowesttothehi
gh e
st,iti
sc a
ll
e dcons
ti
tuentre
lat
ionship( Bot
tom-upvie
w).

Thei
ll
ust
rat
ionbe
lowe
xpl
ai
nsf
urt
her
:
Mor
phe
me

Wor
d

Phr
ase

Cl
aus
e

Se
nte
nce

Wec a
ninterpretthearrowsbys ayingthattheupwa r
da r
rowsreferto"consti
tue
ntrel
ati
ons
hips
”.
Thisme ansthat,thel
owe runitwillbec onsti
tuentofthehigherunitimme dia
tel
yaboveit
.In
otherwords,mor pheme swillcombi netoformwor d,wordscombinephr a
s e
,phras
escombinet
o
formc l
ausea ndclaus
e scombinet of or
ms entence.Intheconst
it
ue ntre
lat
ionshi
p,wec a
nsay
that
:
 Amor phemei sac onst
ituentofawor d.
 Awor
disac
ons
ti
tue
ntofaphr
ase
.
SI
REKONPUBLI
CATI
ONS–ENGLI
SHLANGUAGESTUDI
ESI

 Aphr
as sac
ei ons
ti
tue
ntofac
laus
e.
 Ac
laus
eisac
ons
ti
tue
ntofs
ent
enc
e.
Ontheothe
rhand,i
fiti
sre
a dfr
omt h
ehi
ghes
ttot
hel
owe
st,i
tisc
all
e c
d‘ons
ist
sofr
ela
tions
hip’
(
Top-downvie
w)be t
weentheunit
s,a
sse
enbel
ow;
Se
nte
nce

Cl
aus
e

Phr
ase

Wor
d

Mor
phe
me

Itmustbenote
dthatt
hedownwa r
darr
owsre
fert
otop
-downor"
cons
ist
sofr
ela
tions
hip”
.The
notonof"
i consi
st
sofrel
ati
ons
hip”st
at
est
hat
:

 As
ent
e ec
nc ons
ist
sofoneormor
ecl
aus
es.
 Ac
la ec
us ons
ist
sofoneorphr
ase
s.
 Aphr
asec
ons
ist
sofoneormor
ewor
ds.
dc
 Awor ons
ist
sofoneormor
emor
phe
mes
.

MORPHEMES
Amorphemeisthemi nimalgrammat
ica
lunitofalanguage.Inothe
rwor
ds,morphe
meisthe
s
malle
stsi
gnif
icantme a
ningfulgr
ammati
caluniti
nal anguage.Thi
smea
nstha
t,amorphe
me
c
annotfur
the
rbebr okendown.

Amorphe
meisthemi
nimalorsmal
les
tindi
vis
iblemeani
ngfuluni
tofgr
amma
ti
cala
nal
ysi
s.I
t
c
ons
ist
sofli
ngui
st
ice
leme
ntsthatc
annotbebrokeni
ntofur
theruni
ts
.

Exa
mpl
es:
 InEngl
is
h,thewor
d‘s
toppe
d’i
scompos
edoft
womor
phe
mes
:st
op+pa
stt
ens
ema
rke
r.
Thati
s,"
stop+ed"
 I
nthes
amevei
n,t
hewor
d‘wal
ked’i
scompos
edoft
womor
phe
mes
:‘wa
lk+pa
stt
ens
e
mar
ker
’Tha
tis
,"wal
k+ed.
"
 Si
mil
arl
y,wec
ans
ayt
hat
,‘me
n’ha
stwomor
phe
mes
:ma
n+pl
ura
lma
rke
r.
 Aga
in,wec
ans
ayt
hat
,‘we
nt’ha
stwomor
phe
mes
:go+pa
stt
ens
ema
rke
r.
Fr
omt
hedi
scus
siona
bove
,wec
anc
onf
ide
ntl
ysa
ytha
t:
SI
REKONPUBLI
CATI
ONS–ENGLI
SHLANGUAGESTUDI
ESI

 si
ngularver
bsint
hes i
mpl epre
sentt
ens
ehavetwomor
phe
mes:s
ings=si
ng+s,doe
s=
do+e s
 plur
alnouns(whe
therregula
rorirr
egul
arve
rbs
)havet
womor
phemes:gi
rl
s=gir
l+s,
chil
dre
n=c hil
d+pluralma r
ker(-s
)

 ve
rbs(
whethe
rre
gul
arori
rr
egul
arver
bs)i
nthepa
stha
vet
womor
phe
mes
:da
nce
d=
da
nce+ed,ra
ng=ri
ng+plur
almarke
r(-s
).

TypesofMorpheme
s
The
rea
retwobasict
ypesofmorphemes.Theseaef
r re
emorphe
mesandboundmor
phemes.
 Freemorphemeisakindofmorphemewhi c
hcanst
andoni
tsown.Thi
smeanst
hatt
his
kindofmorphememakessenseonitsown.
 Boundmor
pheme
,ontheot
herha
nd,ist
heki
ndofmorphemewhichca
nnots
tandoni
ts
own.Fore
xampl
e,t
heword‘t
eac
her’ha
stwomorphe
me s–‘t
eac
h’and‘–er
’
Whi le‘t
eac
h’i
sthef
reemor pheme(
beca
usei
tcans
tandoni
tsown),‘
-er
’isabound
morpheme(bec
ausei
tcannotsta
ndonit
sown)
,andi
tc a
nonl
yma kesens
ewhenitis
at
ta
c hedtot
hefr
eemorpheme .

Mor
eexampl
es:
 works
..
fre
emorpheme( work)
,boundmorpheme( -
s)
 tea
che
rs…freemorpheme(tea
ch),boundmorphemes(er
,s)
 impos
sibl
e…fre
emor pheme(possi
ble)
,boundmorpheme(i
m-)
 comes
…f r
eemorpheme(come),boundmorpheme(-s
)

Typesoff
reemor
phemes
 Lexica
lmor
phemes
 Func
ti
ona
lorgr
amma
ti
calmor
phe
mes
Le
xic
almor phe
me s:
 Se tofordinarynouns,verbsandadje
cti
vestha
tc arr
ythec ont
entofmess
age
sweconve
y.
Si
nc ewec ana ddnewl e
xicalmorphemestoth
el anguage,wec a
llt
hes
emorphe
mesopen
cl
asswor ds.Somee xamplesarenic
e,book,walk,house,etc.

 The
sea
remor
phe
mest
hatc
ans
tanda
lone(
exa
mpl
e:go,s
it
,te
ach,e
tc)

 The
yar
ewor
dsont
hei
rown

 The
yha
vedi
ct
iona
ryme
ani
ngs
.

 The
yar
ewor
dsa
tthes
amet
imemor
phe
mes
.
SI
REKONPUBLI
CATI
ONS–ENGLI
SHLANGUAGESTUDI
ESI

 The
yca
nnotbedi
vide
dfur
the
rtof
ormmor
phe
mes
.

Funct
ionalorgrammati
c a
lmorphe
me :
 Thec lassofwordswhichc
onsi
stla
rge
lyoffunc
ti
ona
lwordsinala
nguage.Weal
soca
ll
t
hemc losedcl
asswordsbe
causewecannota
ddnewlexi
calmor
phemestoala
ngua
ge.
De t
erminers;the ,a/a
n
Auxili
ary;ca n,c ould
Conne c
tors;a nd,or
Pronouns;I,me ,he
Subordinati
ngc onjunct
ion;whi
le
,be
caus
e
Preposi
tion;in,of
Int
ensif
ier;ve ry,too
 Thes
earemor pheme
sthatca
nnotstandal
one
 Theinf
ect
ionsaremorphemesbutnotwords
.

 The
yca
nnotbef
urt
herdi
vide
d.

Typesofboundmor phemes
Der
ivat
ionala
ndinfl
e c
ti
onalmorphemes
Ade r
ivat
ionalmorphemeisamorphemethatisaddedt
oaba semorphemetochangei
tspartof
spe
echori t
swordc l
ass.Aderi
vati
onalmorphemeisalsoca
lledaderi
vat
iona
linfl
ect
ion.A
der
ivat
ionalmorphemema ybepre
fixorsuff
ix.

Exampl
es:
 hope(
noun)+f
ul=hope
ful(
adj
ect
ive
)
 t
eac
h(ve
rb)+e
r=t
eac
her(
noun)
 Na
ti
on(
noun)+a
l=na
ti
ona
l(a
dje
cti
ve)
 be
aut
y(noun)+f
ul=be
aut
if
ul(
adj
ect
ive
)
 s
tab
le(
adj
ect
ive
)+i
li
ty=s
tabi
li
ty(
noun)
 pr
ovi
de(
ver
b)+i
on=pr
ovi
si
on(
noun)
 qui
ck(
adj
ect
ive
)+l
y=qui
ckl
y(a
dve
rb)
 a
ssi
st(
ver
b)+a
nt=a
ssi
st
ant(
adj
ect
ive
,noun)
NB:Somede
riva
ti
ona
lmorphe
me sdonotc
hanget
hewor
dcl
as.Exa
s mpl
es:
 boy(noun)+hood=boyhood(
noun)

 hos
t(noun)+e
ss=hos
tes
s(n
oun)
,et
c

 ha
ppy(
adj
ect
ive
)+un=unha
ppy(
adj
ect
ive
)
SI
REKONPUBLI
CATI
ONS–ENGLI
SHLANGUAGESTUDI
ESI

Aninf
lect
ionalmorphemei
samorphemet
hati
sadde
dtot
hes
tembutdoe
snotc
hanget
hepa
rt
ofs
peech(wor dcla
ss)
Exa
mples:
 boy( noun)+s=boys(
noun)
 e
at(
ver
b)+-
ing=e
ati
ng(
ver
b)
 go(
ver
b)+-
es=goe
s(ve
rb)
 t
eac
her(
noun)+s=t
eac
her
s(noun)
 e
asy(
adj
ect
ive
)+i
er/
ie
st=e
asi
er,e
asi
est(
adj
ect
ive
)

Whatisawor d?
Semant
ical
ly,awor disdef
ine
dasaunitposse
ssi
ngasinglemeaningorc
onveyingasi
ngl
eide
a.
Bl
oomf i
el
dde f
ine
dt hewordasthesmall
estuni
ttha
tc anconst
it
uteanutt
erance
.Thi
simpli
es
t
hatnotal
lmor pheme sa
rewords
,bec
auseaboundmor phemeisnotaword.

Letusconsi
derthefol
lowi
ng:
 ‘wickedness
’themorphe
mesarewi
cke
dand-
nes
s.
wicke
d( aword);f
reemorpheme
-ne
ss(notaword)butaboundmorphe
me
Fromthi
sexampl
e,i
tisevi
dentt
hati
tisonl
yaf
reemor
phe
met
hatwec
anc
ons
ide
rasawor
d.A
boundmorphe
meisnotaword.

WORDROOT
Therootistheba se/originofawor d.Ar ootist
hatpar
tofawordwhi chremainsaft
eral
laffi
xes
(pre
fixands uffi
x)ha vebe enr emove d.Forexample,
thewor t
d,‘eac
hers’hastwoa f
fi
xes.The
aff
ixesare‘–er’a nd‘ –s ’.iftheset woa f
fixesar
eremoved,t
hepart
softhewor dwhichwi l
l
remainis‘te
a ch’,whi c hbe come stheroot.Therootofawordcannotbeanalysedofaf
fi
xe s
.
Additi
onalexa mpl es:
 una wa re( un-)=a ware( root)
 i nt
e r
nationa l(inte r
-,- al)=na ti
on( r
oot)
 hi st
or i
ans( -ian,- s)=hi story(root
)
 mi sus ed( mis-,- d)=us e( r
oot)
 mi sma na geme nt( mis-,-me nt
)=ma nage(r
oot)
 pl aying( -i
ng)=pl ay( root)

 Bas
e
The
sea
ref
ir
stl
exi
calmor
phe
mesa
roundwhi
cha
ffi
xes(
pre
fixe
sands
uff
ixe
s)a
rea
tt
ache
d.For
SI
REKONPUBLI
CATI
ONS–ENGLI
SHLANGUAGESTUDI
ESI

e
xampl
e,Af
ri
cani
sei
stheba
seofAf
ri
cani
sat
ion,t
heor
yist
heba
seoft
heor
ise
.

Forac
lea
rerunde
rst
andi
ng,l
etuse
xami
net
hes
ewor
ds:

Bas
e Root
Afr
ica
nisat
ion Afr
ica
nise Afr
ica
Theor
izi
ng The
oris
e Theor
y
Theor
ise The
ory Theor
y
Pl
ayer Pl
ay Pl
ay

 Stem
Thesearewor
dst owhi
chothermor phemesareadded.Bas
ea nds t
em morphe
me scanbethe
sa
me .Thedif
fere
nceisthesubse
que ntmorphemesthata
rea dded.Ifyoufol
low c
lose
lythe
di
scuss
ionsofaryouwil
lrea
lizetha
tt hes
tem morphemerevolve
sa r
oundthebas
eort h
eroot
morpheme.

St
udyt
hefollowinge xampl
es:
1.‘car
e -
le s
s-ness
’
2.‘un-gentle-man-l
y’
3.‘in-
sec ure
-ity’
4.‘foot-
b al
l-er’

Ther
ootmor
phe
mesi
nthewor
dsgi
vena
bovea
r c
e(ar
e,s
ecur
e),(
gent
le
,ma
n),(
foot
,ba
ll
).

Thedi f
fer
encebetwe enabase/rootandas t
emmor pheme
Ba s
e r
/ootisthec oreoft heword,tha tpar
toft hewor dwhichise ss
enti
alf orlookingupi ts
me ani
ngi nthedi ct
ionarybutste
mi st hebasebyi t
sel
ff ort
hebaseplusa nothermor phemet o
whic h othermor pheme sc an be adde d.The t e
rm r ootand s t
em a res ome t
ime sus ed
int
erchangeably.Howe ver,t
hereisas ubtl
ediff
ere ncebetweenthe
m;ar ooti samor phe methat
expressestheme aningofawor dandc a
nnotbef ur
therdivi
dedintosma l
lermor pheme syeta
rootdoe snotne cessa
ril
yc onst
it
uteaf ull
yunde rst
andabl
ewor di na ndofi ts
elf,a not
her
morphe mema yber equir
ed.Forexampl e,‘wi
cke d’isbot habase
/rootandas t
em.I tisas t
em
becauseitisatta
chedt oaba s
eanda notherpar
ti
cle ,‘-
ness’canbeaddedtoi ttoformac omplex
orcompoundwor d.