The Basics of

Morphology

Supplementary
Readings

Motivating
Morphology

Basic Concepts
and Notation
The Basics of Morphology More Suffixation
Rules

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Supplementary Readings Morphology

Supplementary
Readings

Motivating
Morphology

The following readings have been posted to the Moodle Basic Concepts
and Notation
course site: More Suffixation
Rules
I Contemporary Linguistics: Chapter 4 (pp. 115-127)
Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity
The following reading (on Moodle) is not essential, but
might be helpful:
I Language Instinct; Chapter 5 (119-152)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The System Thus Far Morphology

The Fundamental Question:

Supplementary
What are the rules and mental representations that Readings
underlie our ability to speak and understand a language? Motivating
Morphology
The Mental Lexicon

The Answer Thus Far: Words and Rules

I Mental Representations: Basic Concepts

and Notation
I A memorized representation of the phonemes making up More Suffixation
the word. Rules

Prefixes
I The Rules:
Morphological
I Phonology: Rules affecting how the word is pronounced. Structure and
Ambiguity
I The Syllabification Rule
I The Aspiration Rule
I The V-Lengthening Rule
I (...and a whole bunch more...)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The System Thus Far Morphology

The Fundamental Question:

Supplementary
What are the rules and mental representations that Readings
underlie our ability to speak and understand a language? Motivating
Morphology
The Mental Lexicon

The Answer Thus Far: Words and Rules

I Mental Representations: Basic Concepts

and Notation
I A memorized representation of the phonemes making up More Suffixation
the word. Rules

Prefixes
I The Rules:
Morphological
I Phonology: Rules affecting how the word is pronounced. Structure and
Ambiguity
I The Syllabification Rule
I The Aspiration Rule
I The V-Lengthening Rule
I (...and a whole bunch more...)

Fact:
There are also rules for forming words of a language.
I Morphology = Rules for forming words.
. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Mental Lexicon Morphology

Supplementary
Readings

Motivating
Vocabulary: Morphology
The (Mental) Lexicon = the information about words that you The Mental Lexicon
Words and Rules

store in memory. Basic Concepts

and Notation
I For each word, you memorize a ton of stuff: More Suffixation
Rules
I its phonemic representation Prefixes
I its meaning Morphological
I its ‘part of speech’ (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) Structure and
Ambiguity
I ...etc....
I Part of our knowledge of English is a huge database of
words (a mental lexicon).

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Picture of the Mental Lexicon Morphology

Dog: Supplementary
Readings
I Sound: /dAg/ Motivating
Morphology
I Part of Speech: Noun The Mental Lexicon
Words and Rules
I Meaning: canis familiaris Basic Concepts
and Notation

More Suffixation
Cat: Rules

I Sound: /kæt/ Prefixes

Morphological
I Part of Speech: Noun Structure and
Ambiguity
I Meaning: felis domesticus

Love:
I Sound: /l2v/
I Part of Speech: Verb
I Meaning: To feel strong affection for
. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Words and Rules Morphology

Key Fact:
Supplementary
I The mental lexicon doesn’t store all the words that we know. Readings

Motivating
I Some words you know but haven’t ‘memorized’. Morphology
The Mental Lexicon
Words and Rules

Basic Concepts
and Notation

More Suffixation
Rules

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Words and Rules Morphology

Key Fact:
Supplementary
I The mental lexicon doesn’t store all the words that we know. Readings

Motivating
I Some words you know but haven’t ‘memorized’. Morphology
The Mental Lexicon
Words and Rules

Illustration: Basic Concepts

and Notation

I Imagine I told you this was a technical term in linguistics: More Suffixation
Rules
I ‘Blorking’ = to ask really long-winded questions at
Prefixes
linguistics talks
Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Words and Rules Morphology

Key Fact:
Supplementary
I The mental lexicon doesn’t store all the words that we know. Readings

Motivating
I Some words you know but haven’t ‘memorized’. Morphology
The Mental Lexicon
Words and Rules

Illustration: Basic Concepts

and Notation

I Imagine I told you this was a technical term in linguistics: More Suffixation
Rules
I ‘Blorking’ = to ask really long-winded questions at
Prefixes
linguistics talks
Morphological
I Now suppose I said the following to you: Structure and
Ambiguity
I “Seth Cable is a notorious blorker.”
I You would understand the word blorker, even though
you’d never actually heard it before...

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Words and Rules Morphology

Key Fact:
Supplementary
I The mental lexicon doesn’t store all the words that we know. Readings

Motivating
I Some words you know but haven’t ‘memorized’. Morphology
The Mental Lexicon
Words and Rules

Conclusion: Basic Concepts

and Notation
Since you’d never heard blorker before... More Suffixation
I It wasn’t memorized in your “mental lexicon”... Rules

Prefixes
I So, your knowledge of its meaning came from somewhere else...
Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Words and Rules Morphology

Key Fact:
Supplementary
I The mental lexicon doesn’t store all the words that we know. Readings

Motivating
I Some words you know but haven’t ‘memorized’. Morphology
The Mental Lexicon
Words and Rules

Conclusion: Basic Concepts

and Notation
Since you’d never heard blorker before... More Suffixation
I It wasn’t memorized in your “mental lexicon”... Rules

Prefixes
I So, your knowledge of its meaning came from somewhere else...
Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity
The Rule:
For any verb V, adding “er” to the end of V makes a noun that
means “one who Vs”
(“blorker” = one who ‘blorks’)

Major Conclusion:
English (and other languages) has rules for forming words.
I Morphology = Rules for forming words.
. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Vocabulary Time! Morphology

Morpheme:
Supplementary
A sequence of phonemes to which meaning is assigned. Readings
I /blOôk/ = to ask long-winded questions at linguistics talks Motivating
Morphology
I /1ô/ = one who performs a given activity
Basic Concepts
and Notation
Some Basic Concepts
Free Morpheme: Some Basic Notation

A morpheme that can ‘stand alone’ as a complete word. More Suffixation

Rules
I /blOôk/ “Seth Cable loves to blork.” Prefixes
I /plej/ “My cat loves to play.” Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity
Bound Morpheme:
Morpheme that can’t ‘stand alone’ as a complete word.
I /1ô/ “Seth is a real blorker / player / *er.”

Affix:
A bound morpheme that can attach to a free morpheme
I /1ô/ “Seth is a real blorker / player / *er.”
. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Vocabulary Time! Morphology

Morpheme:
Supplementary
A sequence of phonemes to which meaning is assigned. Readings
I /blOôk/ = to ask long-winded questions at linguistics talks Motivating
Morphology
I /1ô/ = one who performs a given activity
Basic Concepts
and Notation
Some Basic Concepts
Free Morpheme: Some Basic Notation

A morpheme that can ‘stand alone’ as a complete word. More Suffixation

Rules
I /blOôk/ “Seth Cable loves to blork.” Prefixes
I /plej/ “My cat loves to play.” Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity
Bound Morpheme:
Morpheme that can’t ‘stand alone’ as a complete word.
I /1ô/ “Seth is a real blorker / player / *er.”

Suffix:
An affix that attaches to the end of a morpheme.
I /1ô/ “Seth is a real blorker / player / *er.”
. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Towards Morphological Rules Morphology

Let’s work towards the rule for suffix “-er” in English...

Supplementary
Readings

Motivating
Morphology

Basic Concepts
and Notation
Some Basic Concepts
Some Basic Notation

More Suffixation
Rules

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Towards Morphological Rules Morphology

Let’s work towards the rule for suffix “-er” in English...

Supplementary
Readings
Observation 1: Motivating
Morphology
I Suffix “-er” can attach to verbs. Basic Concepts
and Notation
I blorker, player, baker, dancer, etc. Some Basic Concepts
Some Basic Notation

More Suffixation
Rules

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Towards Morphological Rules Morphology

Let’s work towards the rule for suffix “-er” in English...

Supplementary
Readings
Observation 1: Motivating
Morphology
I Suffix “-er” can attach to verbs. Basic Concepts
and Notation
I blorker, player, baker, dancer, etc. Some Basic Concepts
Some Basic Notation

I Suffix “-er” can’t attach to other kinds of words More Suffixation

Rules
I It can’t attach to nouns: Prefixes
piano *pianoer (one who is a piano?) Morphological
book *booker (one who is a book?) Structure and
Ambiguity
I It can’t attach to adjectives:
tall *taller (one who is tall?)
angry *angrier (one who is angry?)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Towards Morphological Rules Morphology

Let’s work towards the rule for suffix “-er” in English...

Supplementary
Readings
Observation 1: Motivating
Morphology
I Suffix “-er” can attach to verbs. Basic Concepts
and Notation
I blorker, player, baker, dancer, etc. Some Basic Concepts
Some Basic Notation

I Suffix “-er” can’t attach to other kinds of words More Suffixation

Rules
I It can’t attach to nouns: Prefixes
piano *pianoer (one who is a piano?) Morphological
book *booker (one who is a book?) Structure and
Ambiguity
I It can’t attach to adjectives:
tall *taller (one who is tall?)
angry *angrier (one who is angry?)

The Generalization, Part 1:

Suffix “-er” can only attach to verbs.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Towards Morphological Rules Morphology

Let’s work towards the rule for suffix “-er” in English...

Supplementary
Readings
Observation 2: Motivating
Morphology
When “-er” attaches to a verb, the resulting word is a noun.
Basic Concepts
blork the blorker (the one who blorks) and Notation
play the player (the one who plays) Some Basic Concepts
Some Basic Notation

dance the dancer (the one who dances) More Suffixation

bake the baker (the one who bakes) Rules

shoot the shooter (the one who shoots) Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Towards Morphological Rules Morphology

Let’s work towards the rule for suffix “-er” in English...

Supplementary
Readings
Observation 2: Motivating
Morphology
When “-er” attaches to a verb, the resulting word is a noun.
Basic Concepts
blork the blorker (the one who blorks) and Notation
play the player (the one who plays) Some Basic Concepts
Some Basic Notation

dance the dancer (the one who dances) More Suffixation

bake the baker (the one who bakes) Rules

shoot the shooter (the one who shoots) Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
The Generalization, Part 2: Ambiguity

Suffix “-er” attaches to verbs, and thereby creates nouns.

Stated as Rule:
A noun (in English) can be created by affixing “er” to the end of
a verb.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
A Formal Notation for Rules Morphology

Supplementary
Readings

Motivating
The Rule (Informally Stated): Morphology
A noun (in English) can be created by affixing “er” to the end of Basic Concepts
a verb. and Notation
Some Basic Concepts
Some Basic Notation

A Formal Notation for Morphological Rules: More Suffixation

Rules

N → V + /1ô/ Prefixes

Morphological
I N = “a noun” Structure and
Ambiguity
I → = “can be created from”
I V = “a verb”
I + = “combined with”

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
A Notation for Morphological Structure Morphology

The morphological composition of a word can be

Supplementary
diagrammed by a “tree structure”. Readings

Motivating
Morphology

The Morphological Structure of “Player” Basic Concepts

and Notation
N Some Basic Concepts
Some Basic Notation

More Suffixation
Rules
V /1ô/
Prefixes

Morphological
/plej/ Structure and
Ambiguity

(“Player” is a noun formed from the V “play” and the suffix “1ô”)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ness” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happiness
Motivating
sad sadness Morphology

blue blueness Basic Concepts

and Notation
round roundness More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ness” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happiness
Motivating
sad sadness Morphology

blue blueness Basic Concepts

and Notation
round roundness More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
Key Observations: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”

I The words on the left are adjectives. Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
I The words on the right are nouns.
Morphological
I The words on the right are just like the words on the left, except Structure and
Ambiguity
that they end with “-ness”.
I For each of these Adj/N pairs, the N means “state of being Adj”

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ness” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happiness
Motivating
sad sadness Morphology

blue blueness Basic Concepts

and Notation
round roundness More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
Key Observations: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”

I The words on the left are adjectives. Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
I The words on the right are nouns.
Morphological
I The words on the right are just like the words on the left, except Structure and
Ambiguity
that they end with “-ness”.
I For each of these Adj/N pairs, the N means “state of being Adj”

Hypothesis: N → A + /nEs/
(A noun can be formed from an adjective followed by the suffix /nEs/)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ness” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happiness
Motivating
sad sadness Morphology

blue blueness Basic Concepts

and Notation
round roundness More Suffixation
Rules

N → A + /nEs/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ness” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happiness
Motivating
sad sadness Morphology

blue blueness Basic Concepts

and Notation
round roundness More Suffixation
Rules

N → A + /nEs/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 1:
Morphological
I Suppose I said that in linguistics, “grug” means lame. Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ness” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happiness
Motivating
sad sadness Morphology

blue blueness Basic Concepts

and Notation
round roundness More Suffixation
Rules

N → A + /nEs/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 1:
Morphological
I Suppose I said that in linguistics, “grug” means lame. Structure and
Ambiguity
I You could probably understand this:
“The grugness of this talk is undeniable.”

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ness” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happiness
Motivating
sad sadness Morphology

blue blueness Basic Concepts

and Notation
round roundness More Suffixation
Rules

N → A + /nEs/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 1:
Morphological
I Suppose I said that in linguistics, “grug” means lame. Structure and
Ambiguity
I You could probably understand this:
“The grugness of this talk is undeniable.”
I You could only understand “grugness” if you had the rule
above.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ness” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happiness
Motivating
sad sadness Morphology

blue blueness Basic Concepts

and Notation
round roundness More Suffixation
Rules

N → A + /nEs/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 2:
Morphological
If we put “-ness” after something that’s not an adjective, it Structure and
doesn’t sound right. Ambiguity

Verbs Nouns
*walkness *chairness
*stealness *treeness
*scrapeness *hatness

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Able” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
ride rideable
Motivating
do doable Morphology

see seeable Basic Concepts

and Notation
like likeable More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Able” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
ride rideable
Motivating
do doable Morphology

see seeable Basic Concepts

and Notation
like likeable More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
Key Observations: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”

I The words on the left are verbs. Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
I The words on the right are adjectives.
Morphological
I The ones on the right are just like the ones on the left, except Structure and
Ambiguity
they end with “-able”.
I For each of these V/Adj pairs, the Adj means “able to be V-ed”

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Able” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
ride rideable
Motivating
do doable Morphology

see seeable Basic Concepts

and Notation
like likeable More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
Key Observations: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”

I The words on the left are verbs. Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
I The words on the right are adjectives.
Morphological
I The ones on the right are just like the ones on the left, except Structure and
Ambiguity
they end with “-able”.
I For each of these V/Adj pairs, the Adj means “able to be V-ed”

Hypothesis: A → V + /@bl/
" verb followed by the suffix /@bl/)
(An adjective can be formed from a
"

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Able” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
ride rideable
Motivating
do doable Morphology

see seeable Basic Concepts

and Notation
like likeable More Suffixation
Rules

A → V + /@bl/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
" The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Able” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
ride rideable
Motivating
do doable Morphology

see seeable Basic Concepts

and Notation
like likeable More Suffixation
Rules

A → V + /@bl/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
" The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 1:
Morphological
I Suppose I said that in linguistics “croob” means ‘analyze’. Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Able” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
ride rideable
Motivating
do doable Morphology

see seeable Basic Concepts

and Notation
like likeable More Suffixation
Rules

A → V + /@bl/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
" The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 1:
Morphological
I Suppose I said that in linguistics “croob” means ‘analyze’. Structure and
Ambiguity
I You could probably understand this:
“This language’s phonology is totally croobable.”

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Able” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
ride rideable
Motivating
do doable Morphology

see seeable Basic Concepts

and Notation
like likeable More Suffixation
Rules

A → V + /@bl/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
" The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 1:
Morphological
I Suppose I said that in linguistics “croob” means ‘analyze’. Structure and
Ambiguity
I You could probably understand this:
“This language’s phonology is totally croobable.”
I You could only understand “croobable” if you had the rule
above.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Able” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
ride rideable
Motivating
do doable Morphology

see seeable Basic Concepts

and Notation
like likeable More Suffixation
Rules

A → V + /@bl/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
" The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 2:
Morphological
If we put “-able” after something that’s not a verb, it doesn’t Structure and
sound right. Ambiguity

Adjectives Nouns
*happyable *chairable
*sadable *treeable
*blueable *hatable

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ing” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
bore boring
Motivating
tire tiring Morphology

excite exciting Basic Concepts

and Notation
annoy annoying More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ing” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
bore boring
Motivating
tire tiring Morphology

excite exciting Basic Concepts

and Notation
annoy annoying More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
Observations: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
I The words on the left are verbs. Another Suffix “-Er”

I The words on the right are adjectives. Prefixes

Morphological
I The ones on the right are just like the ones on the left, except Structure and
they end with “-ing”. Ambiguity

I For each of these V/Adj pairs, the Adj means “tends to V people”

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ing” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
bore boring
Motivating
tire tiring Morphology

excite exciting Basic Concepts

and Notation
annoy annoying More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
Observations: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
I The words on the left are verbs. Another Suffix “-Er”

I The words on the right are adjectives. Prefixes

Morphological
I The ones on the right are just like the ones on the left, except Structure and
they end with “-ing”. Ambiguity

I For each of these V/Adj pairs, the Adj means “tends to V people”

Hypothesis: A → V + /iN/
(An adjective can be formed from a verb followed by the suffix /iN/)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ing” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
bore boring
Motivating
tire tiring Morphology

excite exciting Basic Concepts

and Notation
annoy annoying More Suffixation
Rules

A → V + /iN/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ing” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
bore boring
Motivating
tire tiring Morphology

excite exciting Basic Concepts

and Notation
annoy annoying More Suffixation
Rules

A → V + /iN/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 1:
Morphological
I Suppose I said that in linguistics “drass” means to make Structure and
Ambiguity
angry.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ing” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
bore boring
Motivating
tire tiring Morphology

excite exciting Basic Concepts

and Notation
annoy annoying More Suffixation
Rules

A → V + /iN/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 1:
Morphological
I Suppose I said that in linguistics “drass” means to make Structure and
Ambiguity
angry.
I You could probably understand this:
“That comment on my paper was really drassing.”

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ing” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
bore boring
Motivating
tire tiring Morphology

excite exciting Basic Concepts

and Notation
annoy annoying More Suffixation
Rules

A → V + /iN/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 1:
Morphological
I Suppose I said that in linguistics “drass” means to make Structure and
Ambiguity
angry.
I You could probably understand this:
“That comment on my paper was really drassing.”
I You could only understand “drassing” if you had the rule
above.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Suffix “-Ing” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
bore boring
Motivating
tire tiring Morphology

excite exciting Basic Concepts

and Notation
annoy annoying More Suffixation
Rules

A → V + /iN/
The Suffix “-Ness”
Hypothesis: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Confirmation, Part 2:
Morphological
If we put “-ing” after something that’s not an verb, it doesn’t Structure and
sound right. Ambiguity

Adjectives Nouns
*happying *chairing
*sadding *treeing
*blueing *hatting

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Another Suffix “-Er” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happier
Motivating
sad sadder Morphology

blue bluer Basic Concepts

and Notation
bad badder More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Another Suffix “-Er” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happier
Motivating
sad sadder Morphology

blue bluer Basic Concepts

and Notation
bad badder More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
Key Observations: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”

I The words on the left are adjectives. Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
I The words on the right are also adjectives.
Morphological
I The ones on the right are just like the ones on the left, except Structure and
Ambiguity
they end with “-er”.
I For each of these pairs, ‘Adj+er’ means “more Adj”

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Another Suffix “-Er” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happier
Motivating
sad sadder Morphology

blue bluer Basic Concepts

and Notation
bad badder More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
Key Observations: The Suffix “-Able”
The Suffix “-Ing”

I The words on the left are adjectives. Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
I The words on the right are also adjectives.
Morphological
I The ones on the right are just like the ones on the left, except Structure and
Ambiguity
they end with “-er”.
I For each of these pairs, ‘Adj+er’ means “more Adj”

Hypothesis: A → A + /1ô/
(An adjective can be formed from an adjective followed by suffix /1ô/)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Another Suffix “-Er” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happier
Motivating
sad sadder Morphology

blue bluer Basic Concepts

and Notation
bad badder More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
The Suffix “-Able”
But Wait!: The Suffix “-Ing”

Didn’t we already see that “-er” is a suffix that (i) combines with Another Suffix “-Er”

Prefixes
Vs, (ii) produces Ns, and (iii) means “one who Vs”?
Morphological
play player Structure and
Ambiguity
dance dancer
bake baker
shoot shooter
call caller

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Another Suffix “-Er” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happier
Motivating
sad sadder Morphology

blue bluer Basic Concepts

and Notation
bad badder More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
The Suffix “-Able”
Homophonous Morphemes The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”
I There are many pairs of words that (i) sound exactly the Prefixes
same, but (ii) have totally different meanings:
Morphological
red read Structure and
Ambiguity
blue blew
shed (hair) shed (a building)
bank (river) bank (financial institution)
I Such pairs of words are called homophones.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Another Suffix “-Er” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy happier
Motivating
sad sadder Morphology

blue bluer Basic Concepts

and Notation
bad badder More Suffixation
Rules
The Suffix “-Ness”
The Suffix “-Able”
The Conclusion: The Suffix “-Ing”
Another Suffix “-Er”
Just as with words (free morphemes), affixes (bound
Prefixes
morphemes) can be homophones. Morphological
I One “-er” suffix combines with Vs to make Ns. Structure and
Ambiguity
(N → V + /1ô/)
I Another, homophonous “-er” suffix combines with As to
make As.
(A → A + /1ô/)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Prefix “Re-” Morphology

Prefix:
Supplementary
An affix that attaches to the beginning of a morpheme. Readings

Motivating
Morphology

Basic Concepts
and Notation

More Suffixation
Rules

Prefixes
The Prefix “Re-”
The Prefix “Un-”
Another Prefix “Un-”

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Prefix “Re-” Morphology

Prefix:
Supplementary
An affix that attaches to the beginning of a morpheme. Readings

Motivating
Consider the following pairs of words... Morphology

do redo Basic Concepts

and Notation
type retype More Suffixation
zip rezip Rules

Prefixes
print reprint The Prefix “Re-”
The Prefix “Un-”
Another Prefix “Un-”

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Prefix “Re-” Morphology

Prefix:
Supplementary
An affix that attaches to the beginning of a morpheme. Readings

Motivating
Consider the following pairs of words... Morphology

do redo Basic Concepts

and Notation
type retype More Suffixation
zip rezip Rules

Prefixes
print reprint The Prefix “Re-”
The Prefix “Un-”

Key Observations: Another Prefix “Un-”

Morphological
I The words on the left are verbs. Structure and
Ambiguity
I The words on the right are verbs.
I The ones on the right are just like the ones on the left, except
they begin with “re-”.
I For each of these pairs, ‘re+V’ means “to V again”

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Prefix “Re-” Morphology

Prefix:
Supplementary
An affix that attaches to the beginning of a morpheme. Readings

Motivating
Consider the following pairs of words... Morphology

do redo Basic Concepts

and Notation
type retype More Suffixation
zip rezip Rules

Prefixes
print reprint The Prefix “Re-”
The Prefix “Un-”

Key Observations: Another Prefix “Un-”

Morphological
I The words on the left are verbs. Structure and
Ambiguity
I The words on the right are verbs.
I The ones on the right are just like the ones on the left, except
they begin with “re-”.
I For each of these pairs, ‘re+V’ means “to V again”

Hypothesis: V → /ôi/ + V
(A verb can be formed from a verb, preceded by the prefix /ôi/)
. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Prefix “Re-” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
do redo
Motivating
type retype Morphology

zip rezip Basic Concepts

and Notation
print reprint More Suffixation
Rules

Hypothesis: V → /ôi/ + V Prefixes

The Prefix “Re-”
The Prefix “Un-”
Another Prefix “Un-”

Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Prefix “Re-” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
do redo
Motivating
type retype Morphology

zip rezip Basic Concepts

and Notation
print reprint More Suffixation
Rules

Hypothesis: V → /ôi/ + V Prefixes

The Prefix “Re-”
The Prefix “Un-”
Another Prefix “Un-”

Confirmation, Part 1: Morphological

Structure and
I Suppose I said that in linguistics “croob” means to Ambiguity

analyze.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Prefix “Re-” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
do redo
Motivating
type retype Morphology

zip rezip Basic Concepts

and Notation
print reprint More Suffixation
Rules

Hypothesis: V → /ôi/ + V Prefixes

The Prefix “Re-”
The Prefix “Un-”
Another Prefix “Un-”

Confirmation, Part 1: Morphological

Structure and
I Suppose I said that in linguistics “croob” means to Ambiguity

analyze.
I You could probably understand this:
“We need to recroob this language’s phonology.”

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Prefix “Re-” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
do redo
Motivating
type retype Morphology

zip rezip Basic Concepts

and Notation
print reprint More Suffixation
Rules

Hypothesis: V → /ôi/ + V Prefixes

The Prefix “Re-”
The Prefix “Un-”
Another Prefix “Un-”

Confirmation, Part 1: Morphological

Structure and
I Suppose I said that in linguistics “croob” means to Ambiguity

analyze.
I You could probably understand this:
“We need to recroob this language’s phonology.”
I You could only understand “recroob” if you had the rule
like above.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Prefix “Re-” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
do redo
Motivating
type retype Morphology

zip rezip Basic Concepts

and Notation
print reprint More Suffixation
Rules

Hypothesis: V → /ôi/ + V Prefixes

The Prefix “Re-”
The Prefix “Un-”
Another Prefix “Un-”

Confirmation, Part 2: Morphological

Structure and
If we put “re-” before something that’s not a verb, it doesn’t Ambiguity
sound right.
Adjectives Nouns
*rehappy *rechair
*resad *retree
*reblue *rehat

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
The Prefix “Un-” Morphology

Consider the following pairs of words...

Supplementary
Readings
happy unhappy
Motivating
sound unsound Morphology

cool uncool Basic Concepts

and Notation

More Suffixation
Key Observations: Rules

Prefixes
I The words on the left are adjectives. The Prefix “Re-”

I The words on the right are adjectives. The Prefix “Un-”

Another Prefix “Un-”

I The ones on the right are just like the ones on the left, except Morphological
Structure and
they begin with “un-”. Ambiguity
I For each of these pairs, ‘un+Adj’ means “not Adj”

Hypothesis: A → /2n/ + A
(An adjective can be formed from an adjective, preceded by /2n/)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Another Prefix “Un-” Morphology

Important Fact:
Supplementary
As with “-er”, there is another, homophonous prefix “un-”: Readings

Motivating
do undo Morphology

zip unzip Basic Concepts

and Notation
dress undress More Suffixation
Rules

Key Observations: Prefixes

The Prefix “Re-”

I The words on the left are verbs. The Prefix “Un-”

Another Prefix “Un-”

I The words on the right are verbs. Morphological

Structure and
I The ones on the right are just like the ones on the left, except Ambiguity
they begin with “un-”.
I For each of these pairs, ‘un+V’ means “to reverse V-ing”

Hypothesis: V → /2n/ + V
(A verb can be formed from a verb, preceded by the prefix /2n/)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Summary of Our Morphological Rules Morphology

Supplementary
Morphological Rule Illustrative Word: Readings

Motivating
N → V + /1ô/ player Morphology

N → A + /nEs/
Basic Concepts
happiness and Notation

A → V + /@bl/ doable More Suffixation

A → V + /iN/"
Rules
sickening
Prefixes
A → A + /1ô/ taller Morphological
V → /ôi/ + V reinvest Structure and
Ambiguity
A → /2n/ + A uninteresting
V → /2n/ + V unlock

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Complex Morphological Structures Morphology

Key Fact: These morphological rules can iterate! Supplementary

Readings

I The word output by one rule can be the input to Motivating

Morphology
another rule. Basic Concepts
and Notation

More Suffixation
Input Rule Output Rules

do A → V + /@bl/ doable (able to be done) Prefixes

doable A → /2n/ + A" undoable (not doable) Morphological

Structure and
Ambiguity

dress V → /2n/ + V undress (to reverse dressing)

undress V → /ôi/ + V reundress (to undress again)

I By iterating the rules this way, we can make some

really complex words:
I Antidisestablishmentarianism
(anti-dis-establish-ment-arian-ism)

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Morphological Ambiguity Morphology

Another Key Fact: Supplementary

Readings
Some words can be created in multiple ways, and this Motivating
affects their meaning. Morphology

Basic Concepts
and Notation
Illustration: ‘Unlockable’ More Suffixation
Rules
I able to be unlocked Prefixes

(the door is unlockable; I can open it with my keys) Morphological

Structure and
I not able to be locked Ambiguity

(the door is unlockable; the lock is broken)

Observation:
Our morphological rules predict this ambiguity!
I There are two ways our rules make ‘unlockable’
I Each way of making the word will give a different meaning.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Two Ways of Creating ‘Unlockable’ Morphology

Supplementary
Readings
Derivation One:
Motivating
Morphology
Input Rule Output
Basic Concepts
lock V → /2n/ + V unlock (to reverse locking) and Notation

unlock A → V + /@bl/ unlockable (able to be unlocked) More Suffixation

" Rules

Prefixes

Derivation Two: Morphological

Structure and
Ambiguity
Input Rule Output
lock A → V + /@bl/ lockable (able to locked)
lockable A → /2n/ + A" unlockable (not lockable)

We can represent these two different methods for making

‘unlockable’ by using two different ‘tree structures’.

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Two Different Structures for ‘Unlockable’ Morphology

Supplementary
Readings
Derivation One:
Motivating
Morphology
A
Basic Concepts
and Notation

V /@bl/ More Suffixation

" Rules

Prefixes
/2n/ V Morphological
Structure and
Ambiguity
/lAk/

I The V /lAk/ combines with the prefix /2n/, making the V /2nlAk/
(to reverse locking)
I The V /2nlAk/ combines with the suffix /@bl/, making the A
/2nlAk@bl/ (able to be unlocked) "
"

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Two Different Structures for ‘Unlockable’ Morphology

Supplementary
Readings
Derivation Two:
Motivating
Morphology
A
Basic Concepts
and Notation

/2n/ A More Suffixation

Rules

Prefixes
V /@bl/ Morphological
" Structure and
Ambiguity
/lAk/

I The V /lAk/ combines with the suffix /@bl/, making the A

/lAk@bl/ (able to be locked) "
"
I The A /lAk@bl/ combines with the prefix /2n/, making the A
" able to be locked)
/2nlAk@bl/ (not
"

. . . . . .
 The Basics of
Rules Determine Structure Morphology

Sometimes, our rules only allow a word to have one structure.

Supplementary
Readings
Example: The word ‘redoable’. Motivating
Morphology
Possible Structure Not a Possible Structure Basic Concepts
A A and Notation

More Suffixation
Rules
V /@bl/ /ôi/ A Prefixes
"
Morphological
Structure and
/ôi/ V V /@bl/ Ambiguity
"
/du/ /du/

I Our rules only allow /ôi/ to combine with Vs (not As)

I So, in ‘redoable’, /ôi/ can’t be combining with the A ‘doable’

I Instead, /ôi/ must be combining with the V ‘do’...

I And then ‘redo’ combines with ‘able’ (= able to be done again)

. . . . . .