Morphology, Syntax and Advanced Composition

After the rigid analysis and comprehension on this topic, you are expected to:

Explain how roots, prefixes, suffixes, infixes, suprafixes, and reduplicatives are formed in words; Give examples of each mentioned above, and Notify how important additive morphemes are in constructing words.

The structural relationships of morphemes are of three different morphemic types:

1.Additive 2.Replacive3.Subtractive

Additive MorphemesAdditive morphemes include roots, prefixes, suffixes, infixes, suprafixes, and reduplicatives.

Roots- constitute the basic core of most words.

e.g Unknowledgeable (know), undesirability (desire)

- Some root words aren’t even fully words, such as bio. Bio is the root word for biography or biology. Bio means life.

Here are a few more examples:•Acri - means bitter. Acrimony•Carn - means flesh. Carnivorous•Corp - means body. Corporal punishment•Gen - means birth. Genesis•Lum - means light. Luminary•Sen - means old. Senior

Prefixes- are bound elements which precede the root.e.g disrespect (dis-) , premature (pre-),

• a(n)-not---------------------- ‘without’ e.g atonality , asexuality , amoral , anarchy• aut(o)----------------------------’self’autonomy , autobiography , automobile , autopilot• bi-----------------------------------’two’bicycle , bisection , bilingual , bisexuality

• centi -------’hundred or hundredth’centenary, centimeter, centipede• in-, il-, im-, ir----------------’not’illiteracy , immoral , irrelevant• inter----------’between, from one to another’•intervention , international• intra--------------------’within,interior’intramural, intrapersonal

•un----------------------’not, opposite’Unrelated, unhappy, untidy• uni---------------------’one, single’uniform , unification• zoo--------------’relating to animals’zoomorphic , zoology

Suffixes-are bound element which follow the root.

e.g freedom ‘-dom’ (place or state of being) , trainer ‘-er’ protector ‘-or’ (one who)

• able----------------------‘able to be’excitable, predictable, preventable• -ance------------- ‘state or quality of’brilliance, defiance, annoyance• -ant ------------------- ‘a person who’applicant, immigrant, servant• -ness---------------- ‘state or quality ‘•kindness, shyness, weakness

• -ure ---------------- ‘action, condition’closure, erasure, failure• -ward------------- ‘specifies direction’backward, eastward, homeward• -ware-------------- ‘things of the same type or material’hardware, software, kitchenware

Determine the prefix/suffix being used in each word and identify its root.

1. inaccurately2.triangular3.unusualness4.submerged5.decreasingly6.supermarket7.reappearance 8.transplanting9.misjudged10. dislocation

Put the word in brackets into the correct form. You will have to use prefixes and/or suffixes.1. He was sitting __________________ in his seat on the train. (comfort)2. There was a __________________ light coming from the window. (green)3.He was acting in a very __________________ way. (child)4.This word is very difficult to spell, and even worse, it's __________________. (pronounce)

5. He wants to be a __________________ when he grows up. (mathematics)6. The film was __________________ good. (surprise)7. Failing her driving test was a great __________________ to her. (appoint)8. He decided to study __________________ at university. (journal)9. The company has over 500 __________________ . (employ)10. You need to be a highly trained __________________ to understand this report. (economy)

Infixes- occur within the root.

It is possible to see the general principle at work in certain expressions, occasionally used in fortuitous or aggravating circumstances by emotionally aroused English speakers: Hallebloodylujah! . . .. In the movie Wish You Were Here, the main character expresses her aggravation (at another character's trying to contact her) by screaming Tell him I've gone to Singabloodypore!"

Other examples: 'Fan-FLAMING-Tastic’, ‘guaran-DAM-tee’, ‘"Abso-BLEEDIN'-Lute’(George Yule, The Study of Language, 3rd ed. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006)

In Tagalog, the word ‘um’ in the word ‘bumili’ (bought) the root word id ‘bili’ (to buy)

English has no true infixes, but the plural suffix -s behaves something like an infix in unusual plurals like passers-by and mothers-in-law." (R.L. Trask, The Penguin Dictionary of English Grammar, 2000)

[Infixing is] a complex process with an elaborate set of restrictions. (Kate Burridge, Blooming English: Observations on the Roots, Cultivation and Hybrids of the English Language. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004)

Suprafixes-are morphemes which consist wholly of suprasegmental phonemes and which are added to the root or stem.

Suprasegmental phonemes- one of the phonemes (as pitch, stress, juncture, nasalization, voice or voicelessness in clusters) of a language that occur simultaneously with a succession of segmental phonemes —called also prosodeme.

An example in English is the creation of initial-stress-derived nouns. For instance, the noun próduce /pr dju s/(vegetable or fruit) is an ˈ ɒ ːinitially stressed version of the verb prodúce /prə dju s/ "create" ˈ ːor "bring forth".

Reduplication- consists in the repetition of all or of part of a root or a stem. If the entire system is repeated (e.g Pangasinan –akar ‘to walk’ becomes –akar-akar ‘the act of always walking’we generally treat such a structure as a repetitive compound.

In some constructions, roots may be repeated three times; e.g in San Blas, a language of Panama, the stem mu.a ‘to rise and fall’ occurs also as mu.amu.a ‘to rise and fall successively (as of large waves)’ and mu.amu.amu.a ‘to rise and fall successively (as of little ripples).

Thank You!