Morphology In Grammar

Grammar is traditionally subdivided into two inter-related studies: Morphology and Syntax. Morphology is the study of how words are formed out of smaller units called morphemes. For example, Derivational Morphology is a word building process by which we generate (or derive) the Noun teacher from out of two smaller morphological segments: the verb stem {teach} + suffix {er}. Syntax, on the other hand, is concerned with how Words are strung together to form larger units of expressions such as (partial) @link Phrases, @link Clauses, and (full) @link Simple Sentences. As an example, it is owing to an infringement on syntax (and not morphology) which prevents us from speaking the ill-formed sentence *John likes to teacher (=John likes to teach).

So overall, all three linguistic branches of study are ultimately involved with the learning of the basic word: Phonology (sound), Morphology (meaning), and Syntax (class). (See §0.3 for the role of syntax in word learning). Much of Feature Theory is concerned with the “morphology” aspect of grammar; however, as we shall see later on, Features may spill-over or percolate from one word to another thus affecting the overall syntax of a sentence. So, it is appropriate not only to think about the specific features of a word (per se), but also how such features contribute to the overall make-up of the sentence. In this sense, we shall talk about specific Lexical Features (at the word level itself), as well as how such features take on morphological properties which may affect other neighboring words in ways that bring about a constructing of syntax (putting words together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences). In one sense, the most basic level of morphology is in fact the word--in the sense that morphology is defined as the smallest unit of (free) meaning. Clearly, the ‘word’ constituents the smallest unit of meaning--as opposed to the morphological (bound) affixes -ing (progressive), -ed (past tense), etc. which (i) can’t stand alone, (ii) have no real bearing on meaning and (iii) only serve in some capacity as a function of grammar. What makes the ‘word’ so recognizable is the substantive nature to which the word relates. This relationship is typically referred to as a one-to-one relation between sound and meaning (or concept). For instance, the sound /tri/ equates to the concept of tree as it would be conceptualized in the speaker/listener’s mind. Then, “word” can be defined as a morphological unit that contains some amount of meaning that can be conceptualized: tree/bush, car/bike, book/paper, walk/run, sleep/wake,