Morpheme: Difference between revisions
New page: A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that holds meaning. For example; 'kangaroo' is one morpheme and 'kangaroos' is two morphemes. 'Kangaroo' and 'plural-s'. 'S', holds the meaning... |
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A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that | A '''morpheme''' is the smallest meaning-bearing unit of language. The term thus refers to the smallest component of a word that (a) seems to contribute some sort of meaning, or a grammatical function to the word to which it belongs, and (b) cannot itself be decomposed into smaller morphemes. | ||
===Examples=== | |||
''Kangaroo'' is one morpheme. ''Kangaroos'' is two morphemes, ''kangaroo'' and plural ''-s''. The ''-s'' expresses the meaning 'many' or 'more than one' in this example. | |||
===Polysemy=== | |||
''Morpheme'' may also be used for 'grammatical morpheme', see [[grammatical morpheme]]. | |||
===Synonym=== | |||
*[[moneme]] (Martinet) | |||
===Origin=== | |||
The term ''morpheme'' was coined by [[Jan Baudouin de Courtenay]] in c. 1880. It is based on Greek ''morph-'' 'form' and the suffix -eme, on the analogy of the term ''phoneme''. See Mugdan (1986) for detailed discussion. | |||
===Controversy=== | |||
The concept "morpheme" is not uncontroversial. A number of linguists dispute the explanatory power of the morpheme as a theoretical construct, and also dispute the notion that the morpheme has any psychological reality (cf. Bochner). Consider, for example, the following singular~plural pairs in English: "kangaroo"~"kangaroos"; "mouse"~"mice"; "child"~"children"; "sheep"~"sheep"; "person"~"people". | |||
===related terms=== | |||
*[[formative]] | |||
*[[morph]] | |||
*[[amorphous]] | |||
===Reference=== | |||
Mugdan, Joachim. 1986. Was ist eigentlich ein Morphem? In: ''Zeitschrift für Phonetik, Sprachwissenschaft und Kommunikationsforschung'' 39(1): 29–43. | |||
=== Links === | |||
[http://www2.let.uu.nl/UiL-OTS/Lexicon/zoek.pl?lemma=Morpheme&lemmacode=562 Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics] | |||
===Other languages=== | |||
*German [[Morphem]] <br> | |||
*Spanish [[morfema]] <br> | |||
*Chinese [[语素]] <br> | |||
*Russian [[морфема]]<br> | |||
{{dc}} | |||
[[Category:Morphology]] | |||
Latest revision as of 06:44, 6 June 2024
A morpheme is the smallest meaning-bearing unit of language. The term thus refers to the smallest component of a word that (a) seems to contribute some sort of meaning, or a grammatical function to the word to which it belongs, and (b) cannot itself be decomposed into smaller morphemes.
Examples
Kangaroo is one morpheme. Kangaroos is two morphemes, kangaroo and plural -s. The -s expresses the meaning 'many' or 'more than one' in this example.
Polysemy
Morpheme may also be used for 'grammatical morpheme', see grammatical morpheme.
Synonym
- moneme (Martinet)
Origin
The term morpheme was coined by Jan Baudouin de Courtenay in c. 1880. It is based on Greek morph- 'form' and the suffix -eme, on the analogy of the term phoneme. See Mugdan (1986) for detailed discussion.
Controversy
The concept "morpheme" is not uncontroversial. A number of linguists dispute the explanatory power of the morpheme as a theoretical construct, and also dispute the notion that the morpheme has any psychological reality (cf. Bochner). Consider, for example, the following singular~plural pairs in English: "kangaroo"~"kangaroos"; "mouse"~"mice"; "child"~"children"; "sheep"~"sheep"; "person"~"people".
related terms
Reference
Mugdan, Joachim. 1986. Was ist eigentlich ein Morphem? In: Zeitschrift für Phonetik, Sprachwissenschaft und Kommunikationsforschung 39(1): 29–43.
Links
Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics