英语语言学讲义Chapter3

Chapter 3 MorphologyMain points:•What is word•Classification of words•Morphology and the types of word formation•Lexical change3. 1 Concept of wordWord, word-form, lexemeνWhat is a word?ν A cat eats rats.νIn visual term s: a word is a meaningful group of letters printed or written horizontally across a piece of paper.1) --- A physical definable unit2) Phonologically, a word is viewed as a sound or combination of sounds which are madevoluntarily with human vocal equipment to convey meaning and its boundaries are indicated by pauses.ν[Əkæt i:ts ræts]3) From an orthographical point of view, each of the forms eat, eats, ate, eaten, eating is a“word” in the sense of word-form.Semantically, however, the five forms share the same basic meaning.Grammatically the five forms are the inflectional variants in the paradigm (范例) of the verb EAT.“Word” used in this sense is known in linguistics as lexeme, i.e. “a minimal free form” in Bloomfield’s terminology. --- the common factor underlying set of formsνSo, Word is a unit of expression that has universal intuitive recognition by native speakers, whether it is expressed in spoken or written form.To sum up, A word is [a minimum free form of a language]. which has [a given sound] and [meaning] and [syntactic function].νThere are three factor to identify words1) stability2) a minimum free form3) relative un-interruptiblityν A lexeme (词位) is a word in an abstract sense. When it “occurs” (in a metaphorical sense of “occur”) in a certain context, it is a word-form, which has a particular phonological ororthographical shape.νThe actual occurrence of a lexeme in speech or writing always has phonological or orthographical form.νThe phonological or orthographical form is the realization of the lexeme.νLexeme is the standard form that enters the dictionary.νSentences Language is not only a linearityν-- clauses structure but also a hierarchyν-- word group structure.ν-- wordsν-- morphemes According to Bloomfield’s theoryν-- syllables Sentence is the maximum free formν-- phonemes Word is the minimum free form.ν-- distinctive featuresν-- super-segmental features3.2 Classification of wordsWords can be classified by different criteria into different types:1) variable and invariable words2) grammatical and lexical words3) close-class and open-class word4) part of speech1) variable and invariable wordsνWords cab be classified according to their variability.variable words:e.g. follow, following, follows, followedInvariable words: The words which do not have inflective endings.e.g. when, Hi, seldom, through etc.2) grammatical words and lexical words --- in terms of words’ meaningνBy notion, words can be divided into content words and function words3) Close-class and open-class wordsνClose-word is one whose membership is fixed or limited.νOpen-word is one whose membership is in principle infinite or unlimited. With the mergence of new ideas, inventions, etc.4) Word class and part of speechνAccording to traditional grammar – Latin grammar, there are 8 kinds of word class:νToady, word class displays a wider range of more precisely defined categories: (1) particles; (2) pro-form (3) determiners; (4) auxiliariesFurthermore, there are other standards to classify words.νBy frequency ,words fall into the Basic word stock and Non-basic vocabulary.νBy notion, words can be divided into content words and functional words.νBy origin, words can be grouped into native words and foreign words.νBy Morphology, words can be divided into simple words and compoundsνBy cognition, The vocabulary can be divided into Active Vocabulary and Passive Vocabulary.3.3 Introduction to morphologyMorphology, as a branch of linguistics, is the study of the internal structure, forms andclasses of words.Morphology studies the internal structure of words, and the rules by which words are formed.Word-building or word-formation is an important means of vocabulary enlargement. It refers to the process of word variations signaling lexical relationship.•Introduction to morphemeA morpheme is a minimal unit of meaning or grammatical function.• Two types of morphemes free morpheme and bound morphemeFree morphemes: dog, nation and close.--- All mono-morphemic words.Bound morpheme: “-s”, “dis-” and “-al” they must appear with at least another morpheme. Introduction to free morphemeSome morphemes can stand alone as words, which are called free morphemes.A word must contain an element that can stand by itself, that is ,a free morpheme, such as talk. Such an element is called a root .Introduction to root, stem and basePoly-morphemic words other than compounds may be divided into roots and affixes. ( prefix, suffix, and infix)A root is the base form of word that cannot further be analyzed without total loss of identity. It is that part of the word left when all the affixes are removed.A stem is any morpheme or combination of morphemes to which an inflectional affix can be added.A base is an all-purpose term, referring to a form to which affixes of the kind can be added. Introduction to rootA root is the basic unchangeable part of a word, it conveys the main lexical meaning of the word.Root may be further divided into free roots and bound roots.A root is the basic form of a word which can not be further analyzed without total loss of identity.A root may be free or bound , but an affix is naturally bound. Introduction to stemA stem of a word may be(i) a simple stem consisting of only 1 morpheme, in which case the root and the stem are the same, eg. In works, work is both the stem and the root;(ii) a root plus a derivational affix, eg. in workers, work is the root, worker is the stem;(iii) Two or more roots, e.g. in workshops, both work and shop are roots ,workshop is the stem. Lexical and functional morphemeFree morphemes can be divided into 2 categories.lexical morphemes and functional morphemeslexical morpheme : the set of ordinary nouns, verbs and adjectives which carry the content of message we convey. These free morphemes are called lexical morpheme, since we can create new lexical morphemes for the language rather easily, they are called an open class of words. Functional morphemesfunctional morphemes: consists of the functional words in the language such as conjunctions, articles, prepositions and pronouns. As we almost never add new functional morphemes to the language, they are called a closed class of words.Introduction to bound morphemesBound morphemes: Some morphemes cannot normally stand alone, but function only as parts of words, e.g. –s,-er,-ed and –ing. Bound morphemes are actually affixes.All affixes in English are bound.Bound morphemes also can be divided into derivational and inflectional morphemes according to the their grammatical functionPrefixes, suffixes, and infixesPrefixes: affixes can be joined to the beginning of the root or stem, in which case they are called prefixes. Prefixes can change the meaning or function of the word.Suffixes: Affixes can be joined to the end of the root or stem, in which case they are called suffixes. Suffixes can also change the meaning or function of the word.Infixes: morphemes that are inserted into other morphemes.Derivational and inflectional morphemeDerivational morphemes are used to make new words in the language and are often used to make words of a different grammatical category from the stem.Inflectional morphemes are not used to produce new words, but rather to show aspects of the grammatical function of a word. English has only 8 inflectional morphemesThe eight inflectional morphemes• noun+ -’s (possessive), -s (plural)• verb+ -s(3rd person present singular),•-ing (present participle),•-ed (past tense and past participle),•-en (past participle)• adj.+ -est(superlative),-er(comparative)The differences between inflectional and derivational morphemesInflectional• (1) Does not change meaning or part of speech of the stem••(2) Indicates syntactic or semantic relations between different words in a sentence.•• (3) Occurs with all members of some large class of morphemes.•• (4) Occurs at margins of wordsDerivational(1)Changes meaning or part of speech of the stem(2)Indicates semantic relations within the word.(3)Occurs with only some members of a class of morphemes.(4) Occurs before any inflectional suffixes added.Inflection & Word formationMorphology concerns two fields : Inflections and word-formation.(1)Inflection: It is the manifestation of grammatical relationships through the addition of inflectional affixes.Such as number, person, finiteness, aspect and case.(2)Word-formation: It refers to the process of word variations signaling lexical relationships. It can be further sub-classified into Compound and Derivation.Derivation shows the relation between roots and affixes.Compounding shows the relation between lexical words.Endocentric and Exocentric compoundCompound: refers to those words that consist of more than one lexical morpheme, or the way to join two separate words to produce a single form.(1) Endocentric compound (向心复合词).Such as: self-control, sun-tanned, machine washable(2) Exocentric compound (离心复合词).Such as: sit-down, playboy, take-home, runawayThe Features of compoundsDespite the various formations, all compounds share the following features.1. Orthographically, a compound can be written as one word with or without a hyphen in between, or as two separate words.e.g. armchair, follow-up, thunder bird.How a compound is written is simply a matter of convention, and convention should be respected in this case as it always is.2. Syntactically, the part of speech of the compound is generally determined by the part of speech of the second element,e. g. icy-cold (adj). green-house. (n).But there are many exceptions, especially with those compounds ending with a verb or an adverb or a preposition..For example, follow-up, crackdown, kick-off are all nouns instead of adverbs, and toothpick, snowfall are nouns instead of verbs3 Semantically, the meaning of a compound is often idiomatic, not always being the sum total of the meanings of its components..For example, a blackleg is not a leg that is black, a greenhouse is not a house that is green, a Red coat is not a coat at all, and neither is a hotdog a dog ..To find out the meaning of a compound, one sometimes has to consult thedictionary instead of doing some guess work.4 Phonetically, the stress of a compound always falls on the first element, while the second element receives secondary stress..This is important because it helps us to distinguish –ing forms that are used as a pre-modifier of a noun and those that are used as the first part of a compound word.So the same form "running dog" can possibly be pronounced in two differently ways.Usually the right-hand member nor only determines the category of the whole compound, but it also determines the major part of the sense of the compound. SO the right member serves as the head.4.4 Lexical development1) The disappearance of some old words2) The occurrence of some new words3) The lexical change in words’ form and meaningSuch as: self-control, sun-tanned, machine washableThere are five aspects about the lexical change.The types of lexical change(1) Lexical change proper --- minor means of word- formationIncluding：Invention，Blending, clipping, acronym (首字母拼音法), & Initialism（首字母缩略法）; back-formation; analogical creation(类比构词)，etc.Loanwords: Group1 Loanword (借词) ※Loanblend （混合借词）＝＝Denizen （同化词）& Alien (非同化词)Group 2 Loanshift （转移借词）※Loan－translation（翻译借词）Semantic－loan（借义词）& Translation loan ( 译借词)(2) Phonological change (音位变化) ---Such as, loss of sound; Sound addition; Metathesis; assimilation(3) Morpho-syntactical change (形态-句法变化)Such as: self-control, sun-tanned, machine washable(4) Semantic change 语义变化)(5) Orthographic change （拼写的变化)Old English is an Synthetic language , which full of inflectional changes.Modern English is an analytic language.4) Types of word meaning changesνNarrowing (缩小)A process by which a word of wide meaning acquires a narrow or specialized sense.νExtension /broadening (扩大)It is the name given to the widening of meaning which some words undergo.νTransference / Meaning shift (转移)Refer to some word which were used to designate one thing but later changed to meansomething else which experienced the process of semantic transfer.(1) . Associated TransferThis is what is commonly known as figurative extension of word meaning.(2) Transfer between Abstract and Concrete meaning(3) Transfer between Subjective and Objective meaningνDegradation (降格)It is a process whereby words of good origin fall into ill reputation or non-affectivewords come to be used in derogatory sense.νElevation (升华)It refers to the process by which words rise from humble beginnings to positions ofimportance.Cause of word-meaning change1.Extra-linguistic factorsHistorical reasons; Class reasons; Psychological reasons.2. Linguistic factorsLanguage system; The influence of borrowings; Analogy。