+01 424 645 5957

+39 347 378 8169

+01 424 645 5957

+39 347 378 8169

What is Morphology‏‎?

Linguistics

MorphologySimply put, Morphology is the study of the words in a language.

It does go deeper, but generally speaking it studies and looks at language in terms of:

  • spelling
  • pronunciation
  • definition
  • part of speech
  • etymology (and obsolete usages)
  • non-standard or slang/taboo usage

Importantly morphology looks at the way in which words are formed and their parts: morphemes, affixes and so on.

Questions which Morphology Asks

Morphology overlaps with other linguistic disciplines, but if ever you were to stumble upon a group of morphologists in earnest discussion they could well be asking and answering questions like these:

  • Is there a rule for which country adjectives end in -ish (Swedish, English) or -ese (Burmese, Chinese)?
  • What is a word? If I use a made-up word like morriconisation then because I’ve used it at least once, does that mean it’s a word now?
  • Why doesn’t sheep have a plural?
  • If faster means more fast; then why doesn’t better mean more bet? Isn’t bet the same as good?
  • Why don’t we get paid more?

Useful Links

What is a Morpheme‏‎? – a look at morphemes, the building blocks of words

Related Articles

ICAL TEFL Resources

The ICAL TEFL site has thousands of pages of free TEFL resources for teachers and students. These include: The TEFL ICAL Grammar Guide. Country Guides for teaching around the world. How to find TEFL jobs. How to teach English. TEFL Lesson Plans....

read more

6 Tips to Make your ESL Classes More Effective

Teaching is undeniably a challenging job, in fact many consider it one of the most difficult careers you could choose. Nevertheless, being a teacher is an enriching experience. Through quality education and effective teaching methodologies,...

read more

0 Comments