ENGL 1
introduction to linguistics
SUPRASEGMENTAL
refers to a phonological property of more than one sound segment.
also called non-segmental.
coined by American structuralists.
used to refer to functions that are "over" vowels and consonants.
applies to several different linguistic phenomena (pitch, duration, and loudness).
regarded as the "musical" aspects of speech.
SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURES
specific features that are superimposed on the utterance of the speech
COMMON SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURES
Stress
Tone
Duration
Harmony
Nasalization
VOWELS & CONSONANTS
considered as small segments of the speech, which together form a syllable and make the
utterance.
SUPRA-SEGMENTAL OR PROSODIC FEATURES
often used in the context of speech to make it more meaningful and effective.
VARIETIES OF SUPRASEGMENTALS
intonation pattern –whole utterance or a sizable piece of an utterance.
stress
juncture
SUPRASEGMENTAL INFORMATION
signaled in speech with variations in duration, pitch, and amplitude (loudness)
helps the hearer segment the signal into words, and can even affect lexical searches directly.
can be used to identify the location of word boundaries also.
LEXICAL STRESS
serves to distinguish words from each other...for example, compare trusty and trustee.
‘SUPRASEGMENTAL’ – a particular formalization in which a phonological feature can be analyzed
‘PROSODIC’ – can be applied to certain features of utterances regardless of how they are formalized;
prosodic features can be analyzed segmentally as well as suprasegmentally.
In some theoretical frameworks features such as nasality or voice may be treated
suprasegmentally, as having extended beyond the limits of a single segment. In the usage adopted
here, however, such features are not prosodic, even though they may be amenable to
suprasegmental analysis.
ENGL 1
introduction to linguistics
WHAT IS MORPHOLOGY?
study of the structure of words and how words are formed out of smaller meaningful pieces and
other words.
is the study of forms.
branch of linguistics (and one of the major components of grammar) that studies word structures.
study and description of word formation (as inflection, derivation, and compounding) in language
MORPHEME
the smallest meaningful part of a word.
a minimal unit in which there is an arbitrary union of sound (phonological form)and a meaning
(lexical meaning or grammatical function).
TYPES OF MORPHEMES
Free Morphemes
o can function by itself as a word in a language
o content words (n, v, adj, adv) and function words (prep., conj., pron., determiners)
o Examples: boy, gentle, man, want
Bound Morphemes
o cannot stand by itself to form a word, it must be joined to hit has meaning
o must be attached to another morpheme to produce a word.
o Example: -ish, -ness, -ly, -dis
1. AFFIXATION
PREFIX
o letters that are added to the beginning of the word.
o changes the meaning of a word.
SUFFIX
o letters that are added at the end of the word.
o changes the meaning and the word class of a word.
o eg: "powerful" having great power or strength; ful = full of, forming adjective from noun.
ENGL 1
introduction to linguistics
2. COMPOUNDING
a process that forms new words from two or more independent words.
3. REDUPLICATION
process of forming new words by doubling either an entire free morpheme (total
reduplication) or part of it (partial reduplication).
may be used to indicate intensity, in conversational speech.
example: bye-bye, night-night, sit-sit, super-duper
4. ALTERNATIONS
making morphemes internal modifications.
vowel modifications
examples:
[l] – [oe] – [v]: begin – began – begun / ring – rang – rung.
[ai] – [au]: find – found, bind – bound.
5. SUPPLETION
morphological process whereby a root morpheme is placed by a phonologically unrelated
form in order to indicate a grammatical contrast.
examples:
present verb / past tense verb = is / was, go / went
adjective / comparative / superlative = good /better / worst
singular / plural = woman / women
MORPHOLOGICAL TYPES OF LANGUAGES
Analytic Languages
o words that made up of sequences of free morphemes
o each word consists of single morpheme
o used by itself with meaning and function intact
o also called Isolating Languages
o do not use affixes to compose words.
POSITION OF A WORD IN A SENTENCE SHOWS ITS FUNCTION.
People like dogs.
Dogs like people.
ENGL 1
introduction to linguistics
Synthetic Languages
o bound morphemes are attached to other morphemes.
o word may he made up of several meaningful elements.
STEM REFERS TO THAT PART OF THE WORD IN AFFIXES ARE ADDED.
EXAMPLE: RERUN(s)
3 TYPES OF SYNTHETIC LANGUAGES
1. Agglutinating Languages
morphenes are joined together loosely, so it is easy to identify.
2. Fusional languages
the affixed are characteristically fused with the stem.
spanish [ablo: i am speaking], [abla: s/he is speaking], [able: i spoke]
3. Polysynthetic Language
highly complex words may be formed by combining several stems and affixes.
HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE (OF DERIVED WORDS)
a word is not a simple sequences of morphemes.
has an internal structure.
an essential property of human language
can be represented by a tree diagram that indicates the steps involved in the formation of the word.
Ambiguous Morphemes And Wards
words that can be associated with more than one meaning.
example:
ENGL 1
introduction to linguistics
PRE – means before time, the combination of pre- and word will result in a change of meaning
PRE + VERB = VERB PRE + NOUN = ADJECTIVE PRE + ADJECTIVE =
pre-exist preseasion ADJECTIVE
premeditate pregame predental
preboard prewar prehistoric
prefrontal
MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
analysing words into their linguistic competence.
IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING MORPHOLOGY
DECODING
o readers who recognize morphemes read more quickly and accurately.
VOCABULARY
o knowledge of meaning of word parts expands reader's vocabulary.
COMPREHENSION
o knowledge of morphemes helps make meaning from text.
SPELLING
o morphemes are units that can be predictably spelled.
SUMMARY
MORPHEME is a minimal unit of meaning or grammatical function.
Parts Of Speech Are Free Morphemes
o open classes are (Noun, Adj., Adv, Verb)
o closed classes are pronouns (Preposition, Determination, Conjunction)
Bound Morphemes Are Affix And Root
o Derivation
process of creating words out of other words
a new word performs one or more operation on it (affix)
o Inflection
process of creating different gramatical forms of words.
new word still performs the same function.