完整语言学 Morphology.docVIP

Chapter 4: Morphology Learning Objectives I. Definition of word and word classification II. Morphology morpheme III. Word formation rules I. Words Lexicon: the mental dictionary Cf. Vocabulary How many words are there in English? In Webster’s Third International Dictionary of the English Language, more than 450,000 entries are listed. What is Word? A Vague definition: A unit of expression that has universal intuitive recognition by native speakers, whether it is expressed in spoken or written form. Three senses are involved in defining 搘ord? none of which is satisfactory. Three Senses of “Word” 1. A physical unit: a cluster of sound segments or letters between two pauses or blanks, e.g. Phonological: Orthographic: It is wonderful. Three words are recognized. However, in casual speech or writing, it often becomes: Phonological: Orthographic: It’s wonderful. Are they two words or three? 2. A Lexical item or a lexeme A lexical item is an entry in a dictionary. Problem: A lexeme WRITE includes all of its grammatical forms: write, writes, writing, wrote, written 3. A grammatical unit: sentence clause phrase word morpheme Problem: love; hate Identification of Words 1. Stability: stable linguistic units. chairman, but not *manchair 2. Relative uninterruptibility: cannot pause and add another component in between, as in *disinterestappointment. But we can add another word between words: Paul, (John) and Mary ... 3. A minimum free form: the smallest unit that can constitute a complete utterance by itself, e.g. —Is Jane coming tonight? —Possibly. Hi. Wonderful. Question: Can articles be independent? Word Classification 1. Variable words vs. invariable words Criterion: with or without inflective changes Examples: follow since cat when nice through 2. Content words vs. function words Content words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Function words: conjunction, preposition, articles, pronouns, etc. Criterion: With or without semantic content 3. Closed-