MORPHOLOGY

The concept of "word" may not always be regular and easily identifiable, even in written English.
The assumption that written words are clearly defined and separated by spaces may not be applicable to all linguistic forms.
The process of word formation can be complex and may involve unusual or unrecognizable forms, such as "bambification".

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

While the concept of "bambification" is not directly applicable to Vietnamese, it can be compared to the phenomenon of anthropomorphism, where animals or objects are given human-like characteristics. This is a common theme in Vietnamese literature, folklore, and cartoons.
In Vietnamese, the concept of word formation is also complex and influenced by the language's tonal and grammatical structures. However, the written form of Vietnamese words is generally more phonetic and less space-separated than English, which can affect the way we perceive and process language.

MORPHOLOGY

In many languages, what appears to be a single word may actually contain multiple morphemes (e.g., Swahili "nitakupenda" which conveys "I will love you").
The distinction between morphemes and words is important in understanding the structure of language.
Morphemes can be combined to form words or phrases, and different languages may have different morphemes and ways of combining them.

Examples

unhappines ( English)

un- (prefix: not)
happy (root: adjective)
-ness (suffix: state or quality of)

evlerinizden ("from your houses") ( Turkish )

1. ev (house)
2. -ler (plural suffix)
3. -iniz (your, possessive suffix)
4. -den (from, ablative suffix)

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

In Vietnamese, like Swahili, there are many words that are composed of multiple morphemes (e.g., "Tôi sẽ yêu em" which means "I will love you", similar to Swahili "nitakupenda").
Vietnamese also uses a system of suffixes and prefixes to modify words, similar to the way morphemes are combined in Swahili.
However, the specific morphemes and combinations used in Vietnamese may differ from those used in Swahili.

MORPHEMES

English word forms can be broken down into smaller elements, known as morphemes.
These morphemes can have different functions, such as indicating past tense or plural.
By analyzing the morphology of words, we can identify the different elements that make up a word.

A morpheme that includes:

1 phoneme: eye, a- (asleep),-er
2 phonemes: an, the, re-, -ing
3 phonemes: sit, take, dis-
4 phonemes: blame, six, inter-, -logy
5 phonemes: seven, straight

Examples

The word "talks":

talk: Morpheme means "to talk"

-s: Morpheme has a plural function

The word "talker":

talk: Morpheme means "to talk"

-er: Morpheme has a function of indicating the person doing the action

The word "talked":

talk: Morpheme means "to talk"

-ed: Morpheme has a function of indicating the simple past tense

The word "talking":

talk: Morpheme means "to talk"

-ing: Morpheme has a function of indicating the present continuous tense

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

In Vietnamese, the concept of morphemes is similar to that in English. In Vietnamese, morphemes can be syllables or parts of syllables that carry meaning or grammatical function. For example, the suffix "-t" in the word "đi-t" (to go) is a morpheme that indicates the direction of movement. Similarly, the prefix "từ-" in the word "từ-xa" (sent) is a morpheme that indicates the source of the action.
In Vietnamese, however, morphemes are often more closely tied to the sound and pronunciation of a word, whereas in English, morphemes may be more abstract and related to meaning or grammatical function. For example, in Vietnamese, the morpheme "-ng" is often pronounced as a distinct sound, whereas in English, the morpheme "-ng" may be

FREE AND BOUND MORPHEMES

There are two types of morphemes: free morphemes (stand-alone words) and bound morphemes (attached to other forms).
All affixes (prefixes and suffixes) in English are bound morphemes.
Free morphemes can be identified as basic English word forms, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
When bound morphemes are attached to free morphemes, the resulting form is a stem.

Examples

Word: dislike

- 1. dis- (bound morpheme, prefix) + like (free morpheme)
  2. Meaning: to not like something

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

In Vietnamese, the distinction between free and bound morphemes is not as clear-cut as in English. Vietnamese words often have multiple morphemes that can be separated or combined to form different words.
Vietnamese has a more complex system of bound morphemes, including prefixes, suffixes, and infixes that can be attached to roots to form different words.
Unlike English, Vietnamese does not have a clear distinction between stems and roots, and many words can have multiple roots or stems.

LEXICAL AND FUNCTIONAL MORPHEMES

Free morphemes: A type of morpheme that can stand alone and has a meaning.

Lexical morphemes: A type of free morphemes that carry the "content" of the message, such as ordinary nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. They can be easily added to the language, making them an "open" class of words.

Functional morphemes: A type of free morphemes that serve a grammatical function, such as articles, conjunctions, prepositions, and pronouns. They are rarely added to the language, making them a "closed" class of words.

Examples

Lexical: sing, bright, bird
Functional: or, but, if

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

In Vietnamese, there are also two categories of free morphemes: lexical morphemes (such as ordinary nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) and functional morphemes (such as particles, auxiliary verbs, and grammatical markers). Like English, lexical morphemes in Vietnamese are also an "open" class of words, meaning that new ones can be added to the language. However, Vietnamese functional morphemes are more complex and varied than those in English, with many particles and grammatical markers having multiple functions and meanings. Additionally, Vietnamese has a more complex system of tone marking, which affects the meaning of words and phrases.

DERIVATIONAL MORPHEMES

Derivational morphemes can change the grammatical category of a stem (e.g. verb -> noun).
Examples of derivational morphemes include -ment, -ify, re-, pre-, ex-, mis-, co-, un-.
These morphemes can be used to make new words or to change the meaning of a stem.

Examples

quiet → quietly (adverb from adjective)
- -ly (derivational suffix)
modern → modernize (verb from adjective)
- -ize (derivational suffix)

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

In Vietnamese, derivational morphemes are not as common as in English, and are often used to indicate grammatical function rather than meaning.
Vietnamese has a simpler system of affixes than English, with fewer prefixes and suffixes.
However, Vietnamese has a rich system of tone and vowel marking, which plays a crucial role in determining the meaning of words.

INFLECTIONAL MORPHEMES

Inflectional morphemes are used to show grammatical function, such as plural or singular, past tense or not, and comparative or possessive form.
In English, there are eight inflectional morphemes, all suffixes, which attach to nouns, verbs, adjectives, and other parts of speech.
Examples of inflectional morphemes include -'s (possessive), -s (plural), -ing (present participle), -ed (past tense), -er (comparative), and -est (superlative).

Examples

play → plays (3rd person singular)
- -s (inflectional suffix for 3rd person singular present tense)
big → bigger (comparative)
- -er (inflectional suffix for comparison)

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

However, in general, Vietnamese is an agglutinative language, which means that it uses suffixes and prefixes to indicate grammatical function, similar to English. For example, Vietnamese uses suffixes such as -(e) choi (comparative) and -(e) nhất (superlative) to indicate comparison.
It's worth noting that while both English and Vietnamese use inflectional morphemes to indicate grammatical function, the forms and patterns of these morphemes can be quite different between the two languages.

MORPHOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION

Inflectional morphemes do not change the grammatical category of a word, whereas derivational morphemes can change the grammatical category of a word.
The same morpheme (-er) can be both inflectional (as part of an adjective) and derivational (as part of a noun).
When both derivational and inflectional suffixes are used together, they always appear in that order.

Examples

Derivational Morphemes:

create (verb) → creation (noun)
create (stem) + -ion (derivational suffix)
appear (verb) → disappear (verb, with opposite meaning)
dis- (derivational prefix) + appear (stem)

Inflectional Morphemes:

run (verb) → runs (3rd person singular)
run (stem) + -s (inflectional suffix)
fast (adjective) → fastest (superlative)
fast (stem) + -est (inflectional suffix)

Free and Bound Morphemes:

laugh (free morpheme) + -ing (bound morpheme) = laughing
laugh (stem) + -ing (inflectional suffix)
happy (free morpheme) + un- (bound morpheme) = unhappy
un- (derivational prefix) + happy (stem)

Lexical and Functional Morphemes:

Lexical: sleep, car, blue
Functional: or, in, he

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

In Vietnamese, the distinction between derivational and inflectional morphemes is not as clear-cut as in English. Vietnamese grammar is more analytical, and word formation is often done through compounding and modifying existing words.
However, Vietnamese does have some inflectional morphemes that modify the form of words, such as the possessive marker -của (e.g., "con của" means "my child") or the plural marker -s (e.g., "mèo" means "cat" and "mèo-s" means "cats").
Vietnamese also has derivational morphemes that change the meaning or grammatical category of words, such as the suffix -t (e.g., "tín" means "trust" and "tín-t" means "trustful") or the prefix kh- (e.g., "kh-ho" means "good" and "khai-ho" means "good luck").

MORPHS, ALLOMORPHS AND SPECIAL CASES

English morphology has outstanding problems, such as irregular plural forms like sheep and men, which require special treatment.
Regular differences in inflectional morphemes can be described using variation in morphological realization rules.
Morphs can be analyzed into two parts: lexical morphemes and inflectional morphemes.
The "plural" morpheme has multiple allomorphs, including /-s/, /-z/, and /-əz/.
Irregular plural forms like sheep and men may be treated as having a "zero-morph" or as separate lexical morphemes.
The "past tense" inflectional suffix -ed is used in typical derivation, but irregular forms like go/went and be/was/were are treated as separate lexical morphemes.

Examples

Special cases :

Change the root: e.g: chick -> chicken
Remain the same: e.g: read -> read
Replace the root: e.g: be -> am/is/are
Stress: 'content (n) -> con'tent (v)

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

In Vietnamese, the concept of inflectional morphemes is less complex, as the language has a more limited system of inflectional morphology.
Vietnamese words typically have a single syllable and do not have multiple allomorphs like English does.
Vietnamese has a more regular system of plural formation, with -s being added to most nouns to form the plural.
Vietnamese has a more limited system of irregular forms, with fewer exceptions to the regular pattern.

OTHER LANGUAGES

The morphology of other languages can be analyzed to identify different forms and patterns that realize the basic types of morphemes.
The study of morphology involves identifying how morphemes are combined to form words and how they are used to convey meaning.

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

In English, morphemes are often combined in a linear sequence, such as "unhappy" (un- + happy) or "bookshelf" (book + shelf).
In Vietnamese, morphemes are often combined in a non-linear sequence, with tones and diacritical marks playing a crucial role in distinguishing between words. For example, the word "mẹ" (mother) is written with no diacritical marks, but its tone changes its meaning to "mể" (to ask).
Both languages use morphemes to convey meaning, but English relies more on word order and Vietnamese relies more on tones and diacritical marks.

KANURI

In Kanuri language, the prefix nəm- is used to derive nouns from adjectives.
For example: "excellent" becomes "karite" (nəmkarite), "big" becomes "kura" (nəmkura), "small" becomes "gana" (nəmgana), and "bad" becomes "dibi" (nəmdibi).
This process is similar to the use of the suffix -ness in English, such as creating the noun "bigness" from the adjective "big".

Examples

English Example: "happy" → "happiness" (adding "-ness" to form a noun)
Vietnamese Example: "tốt" (good) → "sự tốt" (goodness) (adding "sự" to form a noun)

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

In English, suffixes such as -ness are used to derive nouns from adjectives. For example, "big" becomes "bigness", "happy" becomes "happiness", etc.
In Vietnamese, suffixes are not typically used to derive nouns from adjectives. Instead, Vietnamese often uses prefixes and infixes to create new words. For example, the prefix "tố" is used to create nouns from adjectives, such as "tố trọng" (serious) becoming "tố trọng tính" (seriousness).
However, Vietnamese also uses compounding words to create nouns from adjectives. For example, the word "đại" (big) can be combined with other words to create compound nouns such as "đại học" (university), which literally means "big learning".

GANDA

Different languages use different means to produce inflectional marking on forms.
In Ganda, a language spoken in Uganda, inflectional marking is achieved through the use of prefixes omu- and aba-.
The examples from Ganda illustrate how the singular form of a noun is marked with omu-, while the plural form is marked with aba-.

Examples

English Example: In English, "-s" is commonly used to mark plurals, as in "book" → "books."
Vietnamese Example: Vietnamese uses words like "những" or "các" to indicate plural nouns. For example, "cô gái" (girl) → "những cô gái" (girls).

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

While both languages have inflectional marking for singular and plural forms, the means of producing these markings differ. In English, inflectional marking is mainly achieved through the use of suffixes (-s, -es, -ies) and irregular patterns, whereas in Vietnamese, it is primarily achieved through the use of prefixes and suffixes (e.g., -s for plural nouns). For example:

English: cat (singular) - cats (plural)

Vietnamese: con mèo (singular) - các mèo (plural)

ILLOCANO

In Ilocano, a language of the Philippines, the plural form is marked by reduplication, where the first part of the singular form is repeated.

Examples

+ úlo (singular) -> ulúlo (plural) - "head" -> "heads"

+ dálan (singular) -> daldálan (plural) - "road" -> "roads"

+ bíag (singular) -> bibíag (plural) - "life" -> "lives"

+ múla (singular) -> mulmúla (plural) - "plant" -> "plants"

The plural form taltálon ("fields") can be broken down into its singular form tálon ("field") by following the observed pattern of reduplication.

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

In English, the plural form is typically marked by adding -s or -es to the singular form, such as cat -> cats or house -> houses.
In Vietnamese, the plural form is typically marked by adding -t or -s to the singular form, such as con (singular) -> con-t (plural) - "dog" -> "dogs", or nhà (singular) -> nhà-s (plural) - "house" -> "houses".
Unlike Ilocano, English and Vietnamese do not use reduplication to mark plurals.

Examples

English Example: Though rare, reduplication occurs in English in words like "bye-bye" or "goody-goody."
Vietnamese Example: In Vietnamese, reduplication is common for emphasis or plurality. For instance, "sách" (book) → "sách sách" (many books).

TAGALOG

In Tagalog, the first form of each verb (e.g. "basa", "tawag", "sulat") can be considered a stem.
The second form of each verb (e.g. "bumasa", "tumawag", "sumulat") is derived by inserting an infix -um- after the first consonant or syllable onset.
The third form of each verb (e.g. "babasa", "tatawag", "susulat") is derived by reduplication, which involves repeating the first syllable of the stem.
These forms can be used to indicate different grammatical features, such as tense or aspect.

Examples

English Example: Though English doesn't use infixes, it uses suffixes like "-ed" to mark past tense, as in "walk" → "walked."
Vietnamese Example: In Vietnamese, reduplication can be used for emphasis or future tense in verbs. For example, "đi" (go) → "đi đi" (go ahead).

Comparison between English and Vietnamese

Vietnamese does not have a direct equivalent to the Tagalog system described above. However, Vietnamese does use infixes and reduplication to indicate grammatical features.
Infixes: Vietnamese uses infixes to indicate grammatical features such as tense, aspect, and mood. For example, the infix -d- is used to indicate the past tense, while the infix -m- is used to indicate the present tense.
Reduplication: Vietnamese also uses reduplication to indicate grammatical features such as plurality or emphasis. For example, the word "đô" means "person", but when reduplicated as "đồ đồ", it means "people" or "crowd".
In terms of key points, both Tagalog and Vietnamese use morphological processes such as infixes and reduplication to indicate grammatical features. However, the specific forms and meanings of these processes differ between the two languages.

BẢNG TỔNG HỢP KIẾN THỨC

docs.google.com/document/d/1c7rlDFr3FSVJWb__sSn93vYkwOVwWGgzVsKl9XcaJXw/edit?usp=sharing

STUDY QUESTIONS

1 How many morphemes are there in the word terrorists?

There are 2 morphemes in the word "terrorists": "terrorist" (root) and "-s" (plural suffix).

2 What kind of morpheme is the suffix in slowly?

The suffix "-ly" in "slowly" is an adverbial suffix, which is a type of derivational morpheme.

3 What are the functional morphemes in the following sentence? When she walked into the room, the doctor asked me if I had a sore throat or an annoying cough.

The functional morphemes in the sentence "When she walked into the room, the doctor asked me if I had a sore throat or an annoying cough" are:
* "when" (indicating time)
* "if" (indicating condition)
* "had" (indicating past tense)
* "or" (indicating alternatives)

4 (i) List the bound morphemes in these words: fearlessly, happier, misleads, previewer, shortening, unreconstructed

(ii) Which of these words has a bound stem: consist, deceive, introduce, repeat?

(iii) Which of these words contains an allomorph of the morpheme “past tense”: are, have, must, sitting, waits?

(i) The bound morphemes in the given words are:

* "re-" in "fearlessly"
* "-er" in "happier"
* "-s" in "misleads"
* "pre-" in "previewer"
* "-ing" in "shortening"
* "un-" in "unreconstructed"

(ii) The words with bound stems are:

* consist
* deceive
* introduce

(iii) The words containing an allomorph of the morpheme "past tense" are:

* sits (allomorph of -ed)

5 (i) Which word(s) in the following sentence would you put in a closed class? Bob brought hot donuts to class.

(ii) Which word(s) in the following sentence would you put in an open class? I put it on the shelf near you and him.

(i) The word "class" in the sentence "Bob brought hot donuts to class" would be classified as a closed-class word (a noun).
(ii) The words "it", "you", and "him" in the sentence "I put it on the shelf near you and him" would be classified as open-class words (pronouns).

6 How many regular inflectional morphemes are there in English?

There are 7 regular inflectional morphemes in English: -s, -ed, -ing, -ly, -er, -est, and -en.

7 What are the inflectional morphemes in these expressions?

(a) Have you eaten yet?

(b) Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?

(d) We looked through my grandmother’s old photo albums.

(e) My parents’ parents were all from Scotland.

(a) The inflectional morpheme is -ed (past tense).
(b) The inflectional morpheme is -'ve (auxiliary verb).
(c) The inflectional morphemes are -s (possessive) and -'s (possessive).
(d) There are no inflectional morphemes in this sentence.
(e) The inflectional morpheme is -s (possessive).

8 What are the allomorphs of the morpheme “plural” in the following set of English words?

criteria, dogs, oxen, deer, judges, stimuli

The allomorphs of the morpheme "plural" in the given set of English words are:
* -s for nouns ending in -s, such as "dogs"
* -en for nouns ending in -n, such as "oxen"

9 In Indonesian, the singular form translating “child” is anak and the plural form (“children”) is anakanak. What is the technical term used to describe this relationship?

The technical term used to describe the relationship between the singular and plural forms of Indonesian words like anak-anak is called "zero derivation".

10 Provide equivalent forms, in the languages listed, for the English translations shown on the right below.

Ganda omuloŋgo (“twin”) – (“twins”) ____________

Ilocano tawtáwa (“windows”) – (“window”) ____________

Ilocano tálon (“field”) – (“fields”) ____________

Kanuri nəmkəǰi (“sweetness”) – (“sweet”) ____________

Tagalog bili (“buy”) – (“will buy”) ____________

Tagalog kain (“eat”) – (“Eat!”) ____________

The equivalent forms for the English translations are:

* Ganda omuloŋgo ("twin") – ("twins") Gandaŋgo
* Ilocano tawtáwa ("windows") – ("window") Tawtawa
* Ilocano tálon ("field") – ("fields") Talon
* Kanuri nəmkəǰi ("sweetness") – ("sweet") Nəmkə
* Tagalog bili ("buy") – ("will buy") Bibili
* Tagalog kain ("eat") – ("Eat!") Kain!

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