What is a morpheme?

Definition A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in the grammar of a language. Discussion Current approaches to morphology conceive of morphemes as rules involving the linguistic context, rather than as isolated pieces of linguistic matter. They acknowledge that

meaning may be directly linked to suprasegmental phonological units, such as tone or stress. the meaning of a morpheme with a given form may vary, depending on its immediate environment. Source: Payne, T. 1997a 2021

Examples (English)

Unladylike : un / la / dy / like un lady like The word unladylike consists of three morphemes and four syllables. Morpheme breaks: un- 'not' lady '(well behaved) female adult human' -like 'having the characteristics of' None of these morphemes can be broken up any more without losing all sense of meaning. Lady cannot be broken up into "la" and "dy," even though "la" and "dy" are separate syllables. Note that each syllable has no meaning on its own. Dogs : dogs dog s The word dogs consists of two morphemes and one syllable: dog, and -s, a plural marker on nouns Note that a morpheme like "-s" can just be a single phoneme and does not have to be a whole syllable. Technique : tech / nique - technique The word technique consists of only one morpheme having two syllables. Even though the word has two syllables, it is a single morpheme because it cannot be broken down into smaller meaningful parts.

Morph
Definition: In linguistics, a word segment that represents one morpheme in sound or writing. For example, the word infamous is made up of three morphs--in-, fam(e), -eous- [ in / fam / ous ] { syllable} each of which represents one morpheme. While a morpheme is an abstract unit of meaning, a morph is a formal unit with a physical shape.

Allomorph
Definition:

A variant form of a morpheme. Long and leng(th), for example, are allomorphs of a single morpheme. Adjective: allomorphic. Depending on the context, allomorphs can vary in shape and pronunciation without changing meaning. E.g : man + plural = men [meaning is the same but vary in shape and pronunciation]

Morpheme
Definition:

A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in the grammar of a language

Free Morpheme A morpheme (or word element) that can stand alone as a word.

Bound Morpheme A morpheme (or word element) that cannot stand alone as a word.
Derivational and Inflectional Morpheme

Classification Morphemes may be classified, on the basis of word formation, characteristics into the following types: Morpheme type

Structure simple, made up of a single morpheme; a basis for compounding and affixation

Bound yes/no

Free yes/no

root

stem

may be complex, for affixation made up of one or yes/no more morphemes; a basis

yes/no

affix
o o o o o o

simple prefix infix suffix suprafix simulfix circumfix simple proclitic enclitic

yes

no

clitic
o o

yes (phonologically)

yes (syntactically)

Note: A clitic is a kind of morpheme that does not fit well in the above classification system because it is phonologically bound but syntactically free. Definition A clitic is a morpheme that has syntactic characteristics of a word, but shows evidence of being phonologically bound to another word. Features

Phonologically bound but syntactically free

Function at phrase or clause level Cannot be integrated into standard discourse without being bound to some other form Often have grammatical rather than lexical meaning Belong to closed classes like pronouns, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, and conjunctions Usually attach to the edges of words, outside of derivational and inflectional affixes Often attach to several syntactic categories of words such as head noun, non-head noun, preposition, verb, or adverb Phonologically unstressed

Definition An affix is a bound morpheme that is joined before, after, or within a root or stem. Discussion An affix is joined by derivation or inflection. Kinds Here are some kinds of affixes:

What is an infix? What is a prefix? What is a suffix? What is a circumfix? What is a simulfix? What is a suprafix? What is a separable affix? What is a derivational affix? What is an inflectional affix?

Comparison of kinds of affixes Here is a table showing some kinds of affixes with examples: Affix prefix Relationship to root or stem Occurs in the front of a root or stem Example

unhappy

suffix infix circumfix

Occurs at the end of a root or stem

happiness

Occurs inside of a root or bumili 'buy' stem (Tagalog, Philippines) Occurs in two parts on kabaddangan 'help' (Tuwali both outer edges of a root Ifugao, Philippines) or stem Replaces one or more phonemes in the root or stem

simulfix

man + plural > men

suprafix

Superimposed on one or stress in the words more syllables in the root 'produce, n. and or stem as a pro'duce, v. suprasegmental

Morph
By Richard Nordquist, About.com Guide
Filed In: 1. Grammar & Rhetoric Glossary 2. > Main Clause - Oxymoron

What is Morphology? 2nd ed., by Mark Aronoff and Kirsten Fudeman (WileyBlackwell, 2011)

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Definition:

In linguistics, a word segment that represents one morpheme in sound or writing. For example, the word infamous is made up of three morphs--in-, fam(e), -eous--each of which represents one morpheme. While a morpheme is an abstract unit of meaning, a morph is a formal unit with a physical shape.

See also:

Allomorph Bound Morpheme and Free Morpheme Morphology Phonology

Etymology:
From the Greek, "form, shape"

Examples and Observations:

The Difference Between Morpheme and Morph "The basic unit of grammatical meaning is the morpheme. . . . The unit of grammatical form which realizes a morpheme is called a morph. Generally speaking, the difference between the unit of meaning and the unit of form is theoretical and academic, as in most cases a morpheme is realized by only one morph. Thus, for example, the morpheme meaning table is represented by just one morphological form, the morph table, and the morpheme meaning difficult is realized by only the morph difficult. But in some instances the distinction between morpheme and morph is demonstrably real, that is to say where a single morpheme has several possible morph realisations, depending on the word context. For example, the morpheme meaning 'negative forming' is evidenced in adjectives by the morphs un as in unclear, in - inadequate, im - immoral, il - illegal, ig - ignoble, ir irregular, non - non-existent, dis - dishonest ." (George David Morley, Syntax in Functional Grammar: An Introduction to Lexicogrammar in Systemic Linguistics. Continuum, 2000)

"The term 'morph' is sometimes used to refer specifically to the phonological realization of a morpheme. For example, the English past tense morpheme that we spell -ed has various morphs. It is realized as [t] after the voiceless [p] of jump (cf. jumped), as [d] after the voiced [l] of repel (cf. repelled), and as [d] after the voiceless [t] of root or the voiced [d] of wed (cf. rooted and wedded). We can also call these morphs allomorphs or variants. The appearance of one morph over another in this case is determined by voicing and the place of articulation of the final consonant of the verb stem." (Mark Aronoff and Kirsten Fudeman, What is Morphology? 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011)

Morphemes

Morpheme Free Morpheme Bound Morpheme

Word Parts

Common Word Roots Common Prefixes Common Suffixes

Linguistic Subfields

Morphology Phonology Syntax

Related Articles morpheme - definition and examples of morphemes

allomorph - definition and example of allomorphs free morpheme- definition and examples of free morphemes complex word - definition and examples of complex words bound morpheme - definition and examples of bound morphemes

morpheme
By Richard Nordquist, About.com Guide
Filed In: 1. Grammar & Rhetoric Glossary 2. > Main Clause - Oxymoron

Improving Literacy by Teaching Morphemes, edited by Terezinha Nunes and Peter Bryant (Routledge, 2006)

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Definition:

A meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word (such as dog) or a word element (such as the -s at the end of dogs) that can't be divided into smaller meaningful parts. Adjective: morphemic. Morphemes are commonly classified into free morphemes (which can occur as separate words) and bound morphemes (which can't stand alone as words).

allomorph
Definition: A variant form of a morpheme. Long and leng(th), for example, are allomorphs of a single morpheme. Adjective: allomorphic. Depending on the context, allomorphs can vary in shape and pronunciation without changing meaning. See also: The indefinite article is a good example of a morpheme with more than one allomorph. It is realised by the two forms a and an. The sound at the beginning of the following word determines the allomorph that is selected. If the word following the indefinite article begins with a consonant, the allomorph a is selected, but if it begins with a vowel the allomorph an is used instead . . .." "[A]llomorphs of a morpheme are in complementary distribution. This means that they cannot substitute for each other. Hence, we cannot replace one allomorph of a morpheme by another allomorph of that morpheme and change meaning." (Francis Katamba, English Words: Structure, History, Usage, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2004) Morphs and Allomorphs "[W]hen we find a group of different morphs, all versions of one morpheme, we can use the prefix allo- ( = one of a closely related set) and describe them as allomorphs of that morpheme. "Take the morpheme 'plural.' Note that it can be attached to a number of lexical morphemes to produce structures like 'cat + plural,' 'bus + plural,' 'sheep + plural,' and 'man + plural.' In each of these examples, the actual forms of the morphs that result from the morpheme 'plural' are different. Yet they are all allomorphs of the one morpheme. So, in addition to /s/ and /z/, another allomorph of 'plural' in English seems to be a zero-morph because the plural form of sheep is actually 'sheep + .' When we look at 'man + plural,' we have a vowel change in the word . . . as the morph that produces the 'irregular' plural form men."

(George Yule, The Study of Language, 4th ed. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010)