Morphology, Part 2
HU2910
Summer 2011
Morphology & language types
Analytic (Isolating)
use unattached, separate morphemes
no prefixes or suffixes
(examples written in the International Phonetic Alphabet)
from The Language Files by Ohio State U. (2004)
Morphology: language typology
Analytic (Isolating)
use isolated morphemes
no prefixes or suffixes
e.g., Mandarin Chinese
[wø m\n tan tçin
l\ ]
I PL.
play piano PAST
‘We played the piano.’
Morphology: language typology
Synthetic
- Agglutinating
- Fusional
- Polysynthetic
Morphology: language typology
Synthetic
- Agglutinating
• affixes easily separated from base
• each one has generally one meaning
Morphology: language typology
Synthetic
- Agglutinating
e.g., Hungarian
[ø se:k- ´d
ø ha:z-unk-bøn
vøn]
the chair-your the house-our- in is
‘Your chair is in our house.’
Morphology: language typology
Synthetic
- Fusional
• affixes fused by phonological
processes
• not easily separated into separate
forms or meanings
Morphology: language typology
Synthetic
- Fusional
e.g., Russian
[tßita- j´t]
read- 3/SG/PRES.
‘S/he is reading.’
Morphology: language typology
Synthetic
- Polysynthetic
• several stems and affixes combined
into one word
• usually a verb + nouns
• may = a whole sentence
Morphology: language typology
Synthetic
- Polysynthetic
e.g., Sora (India)
[µ´n - \dΩ- dΩa]
I
dar-
not receive cooked-rice
si-
\m
hand you(sg.)
‘I will not receive cooked rice from your
hands.’
How do we get new words?
Create (based on internal resources)
Beg, borrow, steal?
English is very accepting of new words.
Word formation processes (WFP)
WFP 1) Affixation
Derivational
Inflectional
unfaxable
misfax
faxed
faxes
faxing
WFP 2) Zero Derivation
(also called Conversion)
Noun
father
butter
ship
nail
>
Derived Verb
father
WFP 3) Stress Shift
Verb >
subjéct
contést
survéy
recórd
Derived Noun
súbject
cóntest
súrvey
récord
WFP 4) Compounding
(may be with or without space or hyphen;
note characteristic shift to first syllable
stress)
fire + fly / /
>
lady + bug
>
air + conditioner >
self+determination >
black + board
>
firefly / \
ladybug
air conditioner
self-determination
blackboard
WFP 5) Clipping
(Note that class of word does not change:
a Noun stays a Noun.)
taxicabriolet
professor
mathematics
>
>
>
taxi, cab
prof
math
WFP 6) Acronyms
(pronounceable; contrast with alphabetic
intitalizations: USA, RCA, IBM)
NASA
NATO
radar
sonar
scuba
WFP 6) Acronyms
NASA: National Aeronautics & Space
Administration
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
radar: RAdio Detection And Ranging
sonar: SOund Naviation And Ranging
scuba: Self-Contained Underwater
Breathing Apparatus
WPF 7) Blends
smoke + fog
breakfast + lunch
>
>
smog
brunch
“portmanteau” words from Lewis
Carroll:
gyre, gimble
chortle < chuckle + snort
WPF 8) Backformation
(based on analogy, “folk etymology”:
assumption that a shorter morpheme is
contained within a longer word; usually
a change of category)
revision : revise ::
television : _____
WPF 8) Backformation
enthusiasm
donation
editor
orientation
>
>
>
>
enthuse
donate
edit
orient
(Brit. orientate)
(Note: problem with current speakers:
not knowing history of words)
WPF 9) Onomatopoeia
(iconic sounds; “Batman words”)
whoosh
bang
buzz
splat

Cross-linguistic onomatopoeias

Ideophone/phonosemantic
WPF 10) Suppletion
(irregular paradigm)
go, went (not goed)
WPF 10) Suppletion
(irregular paradigm)
go, went (not goed)
< past tense of wend
am, is, are, was, were
WPF 11) Reduplication
beri-beri, Walla Walla
(but note more frequent change of one+
vowel or consonant sound in English)
hum-drum, mumbo-jumbo
helter-skelter, see-saw
WPF 12) Eponyms
(Proper Names)
Caesar > kaiser, czar (tzar)
boycott
lynch
watt
guppy
Sand+wich
(n.) A narrow port or passage in the rink
or course, flanked by the stones of
previous players.
 (n.) A street; a village; a castle; a
dwelling; a place of work, or exercise of
authority; -- now obsolete except in
composition; as, bailiwick, Warwick,
Greenwick.

WPF 13) Coinage
(see especially product names)
Kodak
Exxon
Brillo
Jello
WFP 14) Folk (false) etymology
ham-burger (compare cheese-burger,
taco-burger...)
-aholic
-gate
-scam
WFP 15) Alternation (Ablaut)
(replacement of one V or C for another)
Verb
abide
>
sell
breathe
sing/sang/sung
Derived Noun
WFP 15) Alternation (Ablaut)
(replacement of one V or C for another)
Verb
abide
>
Derived Noun
abode
sell
sale
breathe
breath
sing/sang/sung
song
WFP 16) Stranded Morpheme
uncouth (no couth)
inept
(no ept)
unkempt (no kempt)
WPF 17) Borrowing
(from foreign languages; sounds often
nativized to English pronunciation rules)
rouge, hors d’oeuvres
tornado, taco
vodka
dandelion (from Fr. dents de lion)