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S4- MODULE 15
INITIATION TO CORE LINGUISTICS

MORPHOLOGY

Prof. Karim Bensoukas

Spring 2014

Morphology
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Activity 1: Point the odd one out.

happy
conscious
reliable
do
avoidable
trustworthy

unhappy
unconscious
unreliable
undo
unavoidable
untrustworthy

Can you think of other words that resemble the word you singled out?
Why is it different from the others?
What does that tell us a bout words?
Consider the remaining words? What do you notice? Are the parts equal
in status?

Morphology
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Possible answer: The odd one = undo

Other possible words:
untie

unfasten

unlock

unhook

unbutton

unzip

Difference: - Meaning of un (opposite/reversative)

- Category of the word (adj./verb)
What does this tell us?
Words have an internal structure. Words are not primitives; they can
be broken down into smaller constituents.

Remaining words: Further internal structure + some parts can

stand alone (rely, avoid, trust)
un+reli+able

un+avoid+able un+trust+worthy

Summary so far
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Words have internal structure

That is called morphology.

The smaller parts of words are called morphemes.
The word in itself is not a primitive of morphology; it can be
segmented into further morphemes.
Morphemes are of two kinds: Those that can stand alone (free
morphemes) and those that cannot (bound morphemes)

Words belong to different categories

Morphological operations are sensitive to category

Morphology

Dyirbal- a language of the Pama-Nyungan family, formerly

spoken in Australia
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Try to work out the various words in the following expressions.

a. algaunu
from a boy
b. yaaaru
like a man
c. gugulaaru
like a platypus
d. banabaun
proper water
e. waalbaun
proper boomerang
f. yaabaun
proper man
g. yaagabun
another man
h. yaaaran
two men
i. baguyaran
two frogs
j. yugubila
with a stick
k. waalaranbila
with two boomerangs
l. miagabununu
from another camp
m. gugulabaunaru
like a proper platypus
n. yaagabunaran
two other men

Morphology

Dyirbal data organized- The beginning of a solution

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d. banabaun
e. waalbaun
f. yaabaun
g. yaagabun
h. yaaaran
i. baguyaran
n. yaagabunaran
b. yaaaru
c. gugulaaru
m. gugulabaunaru
l. miagabununu
a. algaunu
k. waalaranbila
j. yugubila

proper water
proper boomerang
proper man
another man
two men
two frogs
two other men
like a man
like a platypus
like a proper platypus
from another camp
from a boy
with two boomerangs
with a stick

badun= proper
bana= water
waal= boomerang
yaa= man

Morphology

Dyirbal data - Answer

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Dyirbal- Answer
yaa
aru
gugula
baun
bana
gabun
waal
aran

man
like a
platypus
proper
water
another
boomerang
two

Morphology
Zulu data
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Consider the following nouns in Zulu and proceed to look for the recurring
forms.
umfazi married woman
umfani boy
umzali parent
umfundisi teacher
umbazi carver
umlimi farmer
umdlali player
umfundi reader

abafazi
abafani
abazali
abafundisi
ababazi
abalimi
abadlali
abafundi

married women
boys
parents
teachers
carvers
farmers
players
readers

a. What is the morpheme meaning singular in Zulu?

b. What is the morpheme meaning plural in Zulu?
c. List the Zulu stems to which the singular and plural morphemes are
attached, and give their meanings.

Morphology
Zulu data- How to proceed
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Syntagmatically
umfazi married woman
abafazi married women
umfani boy
abafani
boys
umzali parent
abazali
parents
umfundisi teacher
abafundisi
teachers
umbazi carver
ababazi
carvers
umlimi farmer
abalimi
farmers
umdlali player
abadlali
players
umfundi reader
abafundi
readers
Paradgimatically
Results: Sg. = {um+}, Pl. = {aba+}
Stems: fazi, fani, zali, fundisi, bazi, limi, dlali, fundi

Summary so far
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Words have internal structure

That is called morphology.
The smaller parts of words are called morphemes.

Words belong to different categories

Morphological operations are sensitive to category

The method of morphological discovery (analysis)

Looking for recurrent patterns- morphemes (bound or
free) with the same sound makeup and the same
meaning.

Exercise 7. (Fromkin et al. 2011)

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7. Here are some nouns from the Philippine language Cebuano.

sibwano a Cebuano
ilokano an Ilocano
tagalog a Tagalog person
inglis an Englishman
bisaja a Visayan

binisaja the Visayan language

ininglis the English language
tinagalog the Tagalog language
inilokano the Ilocano language
sinibwano the Cebuano language

a. What is the exact rule for deriving language names from ethnic group names?
b. What type of affixation is represented here?
c. If suwid meant a Swede and italo meant an Italian, what would be the words for the
Swedish language and the Italian language?
d. If finuranso meant the French language and inunagari meant the Hungarian language,
what would be the words for a Frenchman and a Hungarian?

Exercise 7. (Fromkin et al. 2011)

How to proceed
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First thing: Read the instructions carefully.

a. What is the exact rule for deriving language names from ethnic group names?
b. What type of affixation is represented here?
c. If suwid meant a Swede and italo meant an Italian, what would be the words for the Swedish language
and the Italian language?
d. If finuranso meant the French language and inunagari meant the Hungarian language, what would be the
words for a Frenchman and a Hungarian?

Then, organize the data (most of the time, data is scrambled)

sibwano

a Cebuano

sinibwano

the Cebuano language

ilokano

an Ilocano

inilokano

the Ilocano language

tagalog

a Tagalog person tinagalog

the Tagalog language

inglis

an Englishman

ininglis

the English language

bisaja

a Visayan

binisaja

the Visayan language

In real life, organize the data, consider the data carefully and ask
yourself these questions

Exercise 7. (Fromkin et al. 2011)Hypothesis 1

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Basic step in morphological analysis: segmentation based on recurrent

patterns
sibwano

a Cebuano

sinibwano

the Cebuano language

ilokano

an Ilocano

inilokano

the Ilocano language

tagalog

a Tagalog person tinagalog

the Tagalog language

inglis

an Englishman

ininglis

the English language

bisaja

a Visayan

binisaja

the Visayan language

Problem: double!
The base tagalog becomes tigalog!!
The affix is na instead of ni in all the other forms.
Most probably, our segmentation is not good; we identified the morpheme in the
wrong way.
Lets test another segmentation.

Exercise 7. (Fromkin et al. 2011)

Hypothesis 2
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sibwano

a Cebuano

sinibwano

the Cebuano language

ilokano

an Ilocano

inilokano

the Ilocano language

tagalog

a Tagalog person tinagalog

the Tagalog language

inglis

an Englishman

ininglis

the English language

bisaja

a Visayan

binisaja

the Visayan language

The bases are the same.

The affix is the same {in}
Very good!
However, there is still complexity: Nature of the affixPrefix/infix

Exercise 7. (Fromkin et al. 2011)

Hypothesis 2
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Next question: Why so? Here we need to explain why this alternation
(prefixation vs. infixation)
Again, organize.
sibwano

a Cebuano

sinibwano

the Cebuano language

tagalog

a Tagalog person tinagalog

the Tagalog language

bisaja

a Visayan

binisaja

the Visayan language

ilokano

an Ilocano

inilokano

the Ilocano language

inglis

an Englishman

ininglis

the English language

You will notice context changes:

vs.

words that are vowel-initial in+

words that are consonant-initial +in+

Exercise 7. (Fromkin et al. 2011)Answers

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a. What is the exact rule for deriving language names from ethnic
group names?
We affix {in} (affixation is a general term).
b. What type of affixation is represented here?
Prefixation, if the base is V-initial and infixation after the first
consonant if the base is C-initial.
c. If suwid meant a Swede and italo meant an Italian, what would
be the words for the Swedish language and the Italian language?
s+in+uwid [sinuwid]
in+italo [initalo]
d. If finuranso meant the French language and inunagari meant the
Hungarian language, what would be the words for a Frenchman and a
Hungarian?
finuranso [furanso]
inunagari [ungari]

Exercise- Tashlhit feminine nouns

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Consider the following data from Tashlhit:

afunas
bull
afrux
boy
agrzam
lion
un
wolf
izi
fly
asli
bridgroom

tafunast
tafruxt
tagrzamt
tunt
tizit
taslit

a. What is the feminine affix in Tashlhit?

b. What is the feminine of the following words:
(1) amazi
(2) arab
(3) afransawi
(4) afullus

Exercise- Tashlhit feminine nouns

Answer
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Step 1: Morphological segmentation- recurrent patterns

afunas
bull
tafunast
afrux
boy
tafruxt
agrzam
lion
tagrzamt
un
wolf
tunt
izi
fly
tizit
asli
bridgroom
taslit
a. What is the feminine affix in Tashlhit? The circumfix {t++t}
b. What is the feminine of the following words:
(1) amazi
tamazit
(2) arab
tarabt
(3) afransawi
tafransawit
(4) afullus
tafullust

What can we conclude again?

Types of affixes- Position
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Words have internal structure: That is called morphology; the

smaller parts of words are called morphemes.

Words belong to different categories

Morphological operations are sensitive to category

The method of morphological discovery (analysis)

Looking for recurrent patterns- morphemes (bound or free) with
the same sound makeup and the same meaning.

Affixes are of different types

Prefix/Suffix(ation)
Circumfix(ation)
e.g. English
e.g. Tashlhit

un+avoid+able

t+afunas+t

Infix(ation)
e.g. Cebuano

s+in+ibwano

Exercise 10. (Fromkin et al. 2011)

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We mentioned the morphological process of reduplication- the formation of new words

through the repetition of part or all of a word- which occurs in many languages. The
following examples from Samoan illustrate this kind of morphological rule.
manao

he wishes

mananao

they wish

matua

he is old

matutua

they are old

malosi

he is strong

malolosi

they are strong

punou

he bends

punonou

they bend

atamaki he is wise

atamamaki

they are wise

savali

he travels

pepese

they sing

laga

he weaves

a. What is the Samoan for: (1) they weave (2) they travel (3) he sings
b. Formulate a general statement (a morphological rule) that states how to form the
plural verb form from the singular verb form.

Exercise 10. (Fromkin et al. 2011)

How to proceed+ Hypothesis 1
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1. Read carefully: the morphological process of reduplication- the formation of new

words through the repetition of part or all of a word.
2. Morphological segmentation: recurrent patterns
manao

he wishes

mananao

they wish

matua

he is old

matutua

they are old

malosi

he is strong

malolosi

they are strong

punou

he bends

punonou

they bend

atamamaki

they are wise

atamaki he is wise
savali

he travels

pepese

they sing

laga

he weaves

Exercise 10. (Fromkin et al. 2011)

Hypothesis 2
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1. Read carefully: the morphological process of reduplication- the formation of new

words through the repetition of part or all of a word.
2. Morphological segmentation: recurrent patterns
manao

he wishes

mananao

they wish

matua

he is old

matutua

they are old

malosi

he is strong

malolosi

they are strong

punou

he bends

punonou

they bend

atamamaki

they are wise

atamaki he is wise
savali

he travels

pepese

they sing

laga

he weaves

Exercise 10. (Fromkin et al. 2011)

Answers
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Two possible ways of answering- Advanced morphology!

manao

he wishes

mananao

they wish

manao

he wishes

mananao

they wish

What will decide?

a- Additional facts from the language
b- Deeper insight based on the theory of morphology
Lets keep it simple:
a. What is the Samoan for: (1) they weave (2) they travel (3) he sings
lalaga

savavali

pese

b. Formulate a general statement (a morphological rule) that states how to form the
plural verb form from the singular verb form.

In Samoan, in order to form the plural verb form from the singular
verb form, reduplicate the penultimate syllable.

English word-formation
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Consider the following words from English:

Handbag, blackboard, table-tennis, football. Can you analyze
these words morphologically?
Kleenex, xerox. What is the meaning of these words?
call, scream, break, bite, drag, push. What grammatical category
does each of these words belong to? Can these words be
considered morphologically complex?
lab, info, tech. Can you analyze these words morphologically?
modem, brunch, smog. Can you analyze these words
morphologically?
Edit. Has this word undergone any morphological process?
Laser, scuba, UK, USA, KSA, UAE. Can you analyze these words
morphologically?

What can we conclude again?

Morphological processes
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Major processes morphological processes:

Affixation
Compounding (handbag)
Reduplication
Conversion: call (v.) call (n.)

Minor morphological processes:

Blending: : e.g. brunch (breakfastlunch)
Clipping : e.g. info
Backformation: e.g. edit
Coinage : e.g. xerox
Acronyms : e.g. USA [ju: es e) and
initialisms : e.g. laser [lezr]

Summary so far
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Words have internal structure: That is called morphology; the smaller parts
of words are called morphemes.
Words belong to different categories
Morphological operations are sensitive to category
The method of morphological discovery (analysis)
Looking for recurrent patterns- morphemes (bound or free) with the
same sound makeup and the same meaning.
Affixes are of different types:
Prefixes/suffixes
Infixes
Circumfixes
Morphological processes:
Major morphological processes: Affixation, reduplication,
compounding, conversion
Minor morphological processes: Blending, clipping, coinage,
backformation, acronyms & initialisms

Exercise- English
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After you segment the following English words,

(i) can you list some of the differences between the
affixes?
(ii) Can you put the affixes in any order you want? Justify
your answer.
Happy
Organize
Teach
Happy
Organize
Organization
Teacher

happiness
organization
teacher
happier
organizes
organizations
teachers

Inflection and derivation

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Inflection and derivation are two different components of

morphology
There are many arguments to show that there is a
difference:

Category change: Derivational may change categ. While

inflection does not.
Productivity: If one affix attaches to a member of a class
(category), it attaches to all the members of that class
Inflection is fully productive, derivation is semi-productive
Affix order: Derivation is closer to the base than inflection
Infl. + Der. + BASE + Der. + Infl.
Relevance to syntax: Inflection is relevant to syntax.

Exercise- Different languages

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Compare the following morphological structures from different languages.

What do you notice?
Swahili:
nilianguka I fell
ulianguka you (sg) fell tulianguka we fell
mlianguka you (pl) fell ninaanguka I am falling

Morocan Arabic/Amazigh:
ma, a, mat
idda he left

immut he died

Vietnamese:
Mai ti lm ci

Ti lm ci hm qua.

tomorrow I do CL that
I will do that tomorrow

I do CL that yesterday
I did that yesterday

Nishnaabemwin:
dew-nik-e
book-jaan-e
gaagiij-ndb-e

have an ache in ones arm

have a broken nose
have a sore head

Typology 1- Agglutinative
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Swahili:
ni-li-anguka

u-li-anguka

tu-li-anguka m-li-anguka ni-na-anguka

Turkish: A more complex example: one word that means were you one of
those whom we are not going to be able to turn into Czechoslovakians?
ekoslovakyallatramayacaklarmzdanmydnz
ekoslovakya - l -

la -

tr -

ama - yacak - lar - mz -

Czechoslovakia - from - become - CAUSE unable - FUT -

dan - m -

PL - 1PL -

yd - nz

ABL INTERR - PAST - 2PL

Agglutinative languages have complex words formed from a number

morpheme in sequence.

Typology 2- Isolating/analytic
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Vietnamese: Each meaning associated with a separate word

Mai t i lm ci

T i lm ci hm qua.

tomorrow I do CL that

I do CL that yesterday

I will do that tomorrow

I did that yesterday

Isolating or analytic language: Each word consists of

one and only one morpheme.

Typology 3- Fusional
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Moroccan Arabic/Amazigh:
a/ i-dda- Morphological information:
Meaning of verb
3rd person- only in MA (Amazigh i+)
masc.
sing.
action completed
Moroccan Arabic/Amazigh: Fusional
A fusional language, like an agglutinative language, allows complex
words, but its morphemes are not necessarily easily segmentable:
several meanings may be packed into each morpheme, and
sometimes it may be hard to decide where one morpheme ends and
another one starts. (Lieber, 2009)

Typology 4- Polysynthetic
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Nishnaabemwin (an Algonquian language spoken in southern Ontario,

Canada):
dewnike have an ache in ones arm
dew sore nik arm e have
bookjaane have a broken nose
book broken jaan nose e have
gaagiijndbe have a sore head
gaagiij sore ndib head e have

In a polysynthetic language words are frequently extremely complex,

consisting of many morphemes, some of which have meanings that are typically
expressed by separate lexemes in other languages. (Lieber, 2009).

Summary so far
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Words have internal structure: That is called morphology; the smaller parts
of words are called morphemes.
Words belong to different categories; morphological operations are
sensitive to category
The method of morphological discovery : Looking for recurrent patternsmorphemes (bound or free) with same sound makeup / same meaning.
Affixes are of different types: Prefixes/suffixes, infixes, circumfixes
Morphological processes:
Major morphological processes: Affixation, reduplication,
compounding, conversion
Minor morphological processes: Blending, clipping, coinage,
backformation, acronyms & initialisms
Morphological components: Inflection and derivation (arguments to
distinguish)
Morphological typology: Agglutinative, isolating/analytic, fusional,
polysynthetic

Writing activity
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Write a paragraph on the following:

Define morphology.
Agree

on what to include.
Decide on how to proceed.
Write the paragraph.

Writing activity- Making it clear!

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Write a paragraph on the following:

Define morphology.
Agree on what to include- Content- Morphology (linguistics)
Decide on how to proceed- Writing
The writing process: Prewriting and writing
i- Prewriting:

Decide on ideas/information to include.

Outline

ii- Writing: Write the paragraph.

Draft
Edited copy

Writing activity- Suggestion

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Definition: Components - Outline

Object of study
Methodology
Unit of analysis
Examples

How to proceed:

Paragraph: Self-containment; full development; unity;

cohesion/coherence
Topic sentence
Concluding sentence
Paragraph format