1.

0 MORPHOLOGY

Morphology is the study of word structure and word formation. Words are impossible
to define in absolute terms because they can be thought of as the units that are combined to
form sentences in a language such as English. This language derives a huge number of
words on a daily basis from all the languages of the world and morphology gives you an idea
about the source of the words with rules and regulations on how to form new words.

1.1 COMMON PROCESSES OF WORD FORMATION

Many words are formed or created from combinations of other words, or from
combinations of words with prefixes or suffixes. Thus, there are many possible ways of
forming or creating new words in English.

Derivation

Acronyms Coinage

Clipping Conversion
PROCESS
OF WORD
FORMATION

Blending Borrowing

Back-
Compounding
formation
Coinage

Coinage is the invention of totally new terms of words. The most typical sources are
invented trade names for the company's product which become general terms (without initial
capital letters) for any version of that product. Older examples are aspirin, nylon and zipper.
The more recent examples of words are Kleenex, Teflon and Xerox.

Borrowing

Borrowing is the taking over of words from other languages. Based on the history, the
English language has adopted a vast number of loan-words from other languages. For
example:

(a) Leak, yacht (from Dutch) (b) Barbecue, cockroach (from Spanish)

(c) Piano, concerto (from Italian) (d) Coffee, safari (from Arabic)

(e) Yam, banana (from African)

Compounding

Compounding is combining two or more words together to form a new complex word.
It is very common in languages like German and English. Obviously, there are many
examples we can see in English language.

finger + print = fingerprint

sun + burn = sunburn

post + card = postcard

Blending

The combining of two words to form a new word is called blending. However,
blending is typically accomplished by taking only the beginning of one word and joining it to
the end of the other word. Blending process is different from compounding process of word
formation.

smoke + fog = smog

breakfast + lunch = brunch

motor + hotel = motel

Clipping

Clipping is the shortening of a longer word. This occurs when a word of more than
one syllable is reduced to a shorter form, often in casual speech. Common examples are bra
(brassiere), condo (condominium), gym (gymnasium), lab (laboratory), math (mathematics)
and so on.

Back-formation

A very specialized type of reduction process is known as back-formation. In other

words, back-formation is an actual or supposed derivational affix detaches from the base
form of a word to create a new word. Commonly, a word of one type (usually a noun) is
reduced to form another word of a different type (usually a verb). Examples of words created
by this process are:

(a) donate (from 'donation') (d) emote (from 'emotion')

(b) babysit (from 'babysitter') (e) enthuse (from 'enthusiasm')
(c) opt (from 'option' (f) liaise (from 'liaison')

Conversion

Conversion is a change in the function of a word, as for example, when a noun

comes to be used as a verb (without any reduction). Other labels for this very common
process are 'category change' or 'functional shift'. A number of nouns, such as paper, bottle
and vacation can go through the process of conversion. The words come to be used as
verbs, as in the following sentences:

- He's papering the bedroom walls.

- We bottled the homebrew last night.
- They're vacationing in France.
Acronyms

Acronyms are words created from the initial letters of several words. Some acronyms
can remain essentially 'alphabetisms' such as CD (compact disk) or VCR (video cassette
recorder) where the pronunciation consists of the set of letters. More typically, acronyms are
pronounced as single words as in NATO, NASA or UNESCO. There are other examples that
have kept their capital letters, but many acronyms lose their capitals to become everyday
terms such as laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), radar (radio
detecting and ranging) and scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus).

Recent innovations in banking technologies such as the ATM (automatic teller

machine) and the required PIN (personal identification number) have regularly heard in our
everyday life.

Derivation

Derivation is the word formation process in which a derivational affix attaches to the
base form of a word to create a new word. Affixes, which include prefixes and suffixes, are
bound morphemes. They cannot stand alone but must attach to another morpheme. Prefixes
have to be added to the beginning of a word. Meanwhile, suffixes are added to the end of
the word. All English words formed by this derivational process use either prefixes or
suffixes, or both. Thus, mislead has a prefix, disrespectful has both a prefix and a suffix, and
foolishness has two suffixes.

1.2 KNOWLEDGE OF WORD FORMATION PROCESSES WILL HELP IN

LEARNING ENGLISH

Morphology has an overall purpose which would be the understanding of a language

itself. Learning of word formation processes definitely will help a language learner to learn
the language more effectively, especially English. This knowledge is greatly helpful for the
learners to learn English more effectively because when words have identifiable parts (such
as prefixes or suffixes), they can be predictable at some extent. It can really help us to
improve our writing, speaking, listening and reading.
Help to infer the meaning of words and learn new vocabulary

In context, morphological analysis can help the learners to infer the meaning of some
words and at the same time, they can learn new vocabulary easier than without it. We can
easily see the words in signs on the street, or read in a written text, or hear in spoken
messages. We usually do not realize the learning process that happens in our life. Knowing
the terminations of the words and its meanings can come in handy for English teachers and
students. This situation happens when we do not know exactly the meaning of some words
or when we do not have a dictionary at hand.

Discover the importance of being used to affixes and their roles in words

Hence, learners can discover the importance of being used to affixes and suffixes
and the role they play in words. It helps us to see the flexibility of language. Students can
take the notion of the meaning in the word “like” and transform it into a number of
possibilities (unlike, likely, unlikely, likable, unlikable, likeness, unlikeness) to express their
message more accurately and precisely. This shows that morphological knowledge is very
crucial among the teachers and the students.

Help to be familiar with morphemes

At some time, morphological awareness can help language students to familiarize

with lexical derivations and with the meaning or morphemes. They will be able to distinguish,
for instance, that the suffixes “-ment” or “-ness” form a noun, or that the suffix “-ly” forms an
adverb. Eventually, they will be able to realize that, at some extent, the English language
has a certain morphological logic people follow to know and produce new words. These new
words, reminds us of what we could call, in Chomsky’s words, the transformational-
generative morphology. It is the ability that we humans would have to perfectly produce the
words we have never heard after we understand the roots.

Determine learners’ proficiency in English

Broadly speaking, morphological competence is also one of the essential elements

that determine a higher level of proficiency in ESL or EFL. This is for sure to be one of the
reasons why word-formation exercises (which work on derivational morphology) and
conjugation exercises (which work on inflectional morphology) are very used in advanced
levels and often incorporated in English international examinations such as Cambridge
ESOL’s TOEFL, FCE and CAE.
Better writing skills

Another utility of morphology is that it helps the learners of language to have better
writing skills. Being aware that there are certain morphological irregularities in English
language is important to speak the language properly and coherently. In addition, it may
even have any beneficial effect in auditory skills as the phonological aspect is related with
morphology in spoken language. The relation between morphology with syntax and
phonology is so strong that it led the renowned linguist Kenneth Lee Pike to reject the
division between them in his Tagmemic theory (Pike, 1949; Auroux & Koerner, 2001:1991).
This is because, in the words of Richard Saunders Pittman, they have “inescapable
interdependence” (Pittman, 1954:239, in Pike, 1967:189), which can be the point that
morphology can improve syntax.

Help to see the relation of English with other languages

Another aspect that often diminished by some people, but very interesting for
language students and linguists is that the study of morphology helps us to see the relation
that English has with other languages. When we talk about the roots, for example, we can
notice that some words have their origin in Latin, German and French language. We, as the
learners of the language can see and understand how this morphological knowledge
affected the pragmatic aspects of words, in regard to their degree of formality and
informality.
2.0 KNOWLEDGE OF MORPHOLOGY CAN CONTRIBUTE TO UNDERSTAND
ENGLISH VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR AND HELP IN FUTURE ROLE AS AN
ENGLISH TEACHER

Introduction

Morphology is the field of linguistics that studies the internal structure of words. It is
also known as the branch of linguistics that studies patterns of word-formation within and
across languages. The knowledge of morphology can be applied among the teachers to
increase their vocabulary, improve the teachers’ knowledge in grammar, detect the changes
of word classes, know the word origins and enhances the teachers' mind to think creatively.

Increase the vocabulary in English

Morphology can help the future English teachers to increase their vocabulary in
English as morpheme can be combined to form a new word. As a trainee teacher, we are
newly exposed to the words in a variety of contexts in our studies. In our school before,
morphology is not being integrated into the curriculum. So now, we need to explore
morphology which will provide the most benefit for ourselves in order to create new words.
We can clearly share the knowledge of word formations with the students in schools
especially derivation. It is the basic thing they should learn in school – the uses of affixes to
form words. Informally, word formation rules form "new words".

Help to modify or change the word class

The knowledge of morphology helps an English teacher in modifying or changing the

word class. That is how teachers can improve their vocabulary and grammar in English.
Morphemes are the smallest units of language that carries the information about meaning or
function (Literacy, 2007). Free morphemes can function independently as a word while
bound morphemes will always be in conjunction with a root. Bound morphemes can be
further classified as derivational and inflectional. These features help people to understand
the way a word functions in a sentence, whether it is a noun, verb, an adjective and so forth.
Grammar in English can be understood well by learning morphology. It also helps us in
understanding how a morpheme can create many words.

Help to understand the nature of language system

Knowledge of morphology helps an English teacher because it enables us to

understand the nature of the language system. In simple words, studying in morphology
means studying the system of the language works and how the words are formed and
structured. Besides that, teachers also would be prepared to read more and able to write
better when it comes to writing an essay according to syllabus of education system.
Student’s vocabulary level would increase and so does their writing. This improvement in
English subject among the students and teachers in school can increase the level of
education in Malaysia.

Improve reading skills

English teachers who learn morphology can improve their skills in reading. Teachers
are able to recognize complex words, phrases and sentences. Furthermore, they are able to
get new information by reading. As teachers-to-be, we should have higher knowledge than
our students because we are the one who are going to teach them. It is a shame if a teacher
teaches the wrong thing to the students. If the students do not understand the new words,
they will ask us for sure. In learning process, it is a good thing for them to ask. Students will
not be able to increase their vocabulary if they do not understand what they learn. Teachers
must imply methods of morphology when teaching the students. Let them understand from
the basic of the words.

Understand the meaning of the words

Apart from improving the teachers reading skills, knowledge of morphology also
helps an English teacher to understand and find the meaning of the English words. As
everyone knows that English is the second language to be taught in school. So, second
language learners could have some trouble in understanding or finding the meaning of
words as different languages have different ways of word formation. It is easier for the
teachers to identify the meaning of the words if they master in morphology. For example, the
word ‘brunch’ is from the word formation process called compounding. It is the combining of
two words to form a new word. It is important for teachers and also the students to know the
formation process of the word to get the meaning of the new word.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the knowledge of morphology does help us a lot in comprehending

vocabulary and grammar. Not many of us realize that, ‘when you learn one word, you
actually learn ten’ (Templeton, 2004). Morphology is so beneficial when it comes to the
understanding of nature of words as how words are formed and structured. It helps to
develop both word knowledge and high quality mental representations that contribute to
success in reading in children and in enhancing teacher’s vocabulary. Morphology does not
only benefit the teachers but also the students and increases the level of English vocabulary
among the students. As future English teachers, we need to master morphology in order to
play our role better.
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