D1. Morpheme Types

This lesson provides a detailed guide to morpheme types in FLEx, explaining word formation, morpheme classification, and how to categorize morphemes in the database. Here’s a summary:

Objective:

• Understand how words are formed and structured.

• Recognize and classify different morpheme types in FLEx.

• Learn how to enter morphemes correctly in a FLEx database.

Key Topics:

1. Syntactic Hierarchy and Word Formation

• Words are composed of morphemes, the smallest units of meaning.

• Words can be formed through:

  • Inflection – Adds grammatical information (e.g., walk → walked).

  • Derivation – Creates new words (e.g., quiet → quietly).

  • Compounding – Joins roots/stems (e.g., foot + path → footpath).

  • Blending – Combines word fragments (e.g., breakfast + lunch → brunch).

  • Borrowing – Adopts words from other languages (e.g., cappuccino from Italian).

  • Calquing – Translates meaning (e.g., honeymoon → lune de miel in French).

2. What is a Morpheme?

• Morpheme: The smallest unit of meaning or grammatical function.

• Types of Morphemes:

  • Free morphemes – Can stand alone (cat, run).

  • Bound morphemes – Must attach to another morpheme (-ed, un-).

3. Morpheme Classification in FLEx

• Roots: The core meaning unit (ject in reject).

• Stems: Roots plus derivational affixes (manly, unmanly).

• Affixes: Attach to roots or stems.

  • Prefix (un-happy).

  • Suffix (walk-ed).

  • Infix (rare, inserted into a root).

  • Circumfix (surrounds the root).

• Clitics: Phonologically attached words (’s in boy’s).

• Particles: Invariable words with grammatical/discourse meaning (um, well).

4. Entering Morphemes in FLEx

• Open Lexicon Edit View.

• Configure the Morph Type column.

• Add morpheme entries:

  • Roots: Mark bound roots with an asterisk (attrap).

  • Affixes: Use hyphens (-age, in-).

  • Change incorrect morph types (e.g., arc-en-ciel from phrase → stem).

5. Best Practices

• Follow consistent grammatical categorization.

• Use correct affix types (derivational vs. inflectional).

• Backup the FLEx project before making major changes.

Completion:

• Includes hands-on activities for adding morphemes.

• A quiz (80% passing score) to reinforce learning.

• Encourages applying these principles to real FLEx projects.

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com