WORD STRUCTURE
I. MORPHEME
“a minimal unit of meaning or grammartical function” (Yule, 2010)
1.1 FREE MORPHEME (HÌNH VỊ TỰ DO)
LEXICAL FUNCTIONAL/GRAMMARTICAL
Feature - stand alone - stand alone
- refer to a thing, quality, state, - grammatical function
action. - little or no meaning
- N, V, Adj, Adv - giới từ, conjunction, mạo từ,
demonstrative, trợ động từ, pronoun
Exampl Book, sleep, play, … In, and, the, my, mine, …
e
I.2 BOUND MORPHEME (HÌNH VỊ PHỤ THUỘC)
- Can’t stand alone
- Have lexical meaning
- Attached to another morpheme
For example: Receive, conceive, retain, implacable, placate, cranberry,
I.3 AFFIXATIONAL MORPHEME
DERIVATIONAL INFLECTIONAL
- Carried out both grammatical
- Not change in meaning and word
& lexical meaning
Feature class
- Change in meaning and word
- Only grammartical meaning
class
Prefix Suffix + s/es: plays, flies
Un- Re- -ness -ful + ing: studying
In- En- -ion -ist + ed: talked
Example Super- De- -ly -er + er: taller
Over- -ive -ment + est: tallest
+ ‘s: Mai’s
+ en: beaten
II.TYPE OF WORD
- Three types of word:
+ Simple word: Only 1 root morpheme
Eg: book, tree, fly, …
+ Complex (Derived) word: 1 root & one or more derivational morpheme
Eg: Childish, undinkable, mentally, …
+ Compound word: At least 2 roots with/without derivational morphemes
Eg: Lady-killer, door- knob, animal-tamer, …
WORD FORMATION
I.PRODUCTIVE
1.AFFIXATION
Negation: unlucky, disagree,
nonsence, misunderstand, incorrect,
Prefix: +Don’t changes
pronunciation & shape of
Reversal or repitition: unlock,
the base.
disconnect, replay
+Rarely form new part of
speech Space and time relationaship:
Prewar, postwar, foreshadowing,
overweight, superman
AFFIXATIO
N Suffix: + affect the stress Noun: hostess, freedom, failure,
pattern of the base (exp: – passage
less & -ness) Adj: helpful, atomic, personal,
+ cause deletion/ reduction creative, colorish
of the syllable
Verb: civilize, classify, shorten
En.ter En.trance
En.te.ring
+Change both grammatical Adv: easily, afterward, otherwise,
and lexical meaning threefold
2.COMPOUNDING (COMPOSITION)
2.1 CRITERIA OF COMPOUND
a) Phonological (Tính âm vị): Stress helps to distinguish between compounds
words & free-word groups.
b) Inseparability (Tính toàn vẹn): Impossible to insert any other word between the
elements of a compound word.
c) Semantic (Tính ngữ nghĩa): A compound word expresses a single idea, and the
meaning of the whole compound word is not the sum of the meanings of its
components
d) Graphic (Tính chữ viết): Rely on the spelling of a word group to discriminate
between free word groups & compounds.
2.2 CLASSIFICATION OF COMPOUND
2.2.1 Semantic classification
a) Idiomatic compound (non-motivated)
- Meanings cannot be deduced since there is no relationship between the
components' (baby-sitter, black sheep)
b) Non-idiomatic compound (motivated)
-Meanings are easily deduced from the meaning of the components (blackboard,
notebook)
2.2.2 Classification of componential relationship
a) Coordinative compound: structurally and semantically independent (actor-
manager, fifty-fifty)
b) Subordinative: one component dominates the other and the second component is
often the determinatum (goal-keeper, spaceship)
2.2.3 Classification according to part of speech
a) Compound noun:
b) Compound verb:
c) Compound adjective:
Type of compound:
2.2.4 Classification according to compositional types:
a) Compounds formed by juxtaposition (đặt cạnh nhau): without connecting
elements among morphemes (backache, heart-broken)
b) Compound formed by morphological means: with vowel or consonant as a
linking element (spokesman, handicraft)
c) Compounds formed by syntactical means: a group of words condensed into one
word (up-to-date, marry-go-happy)
d) Compounds formed by both morphological and syntactical means: phrases
turned into compounds by means of suffixes (warm-hearted, long-legged)
2.2.5 Miscellanea of compound
a) Derivational compounds: word’s structural integrity ensured by a suffix
(honeymooner, teenager, go-getter)
b) Reduplicative compounds: words build by imitating sounds or repeating one of
their components (tik-tak, click-clack, fifty-fifty)
c) Faded compounds: word’s compositional characteristics faded or hardly
recognized (breakfast, Sunday, cupboard)
d) Dead compounds: word’s compositional characteristics discovered by
etymological analysis only (kidnap, husband, England)
3. SHORTENING
3.1 Abbreviation
3.1.1 Acronyms
a) Three types of initialisms in English:
- Initialisms with alphabetical reading, such as UK, BUP, CND
- Initialisms which are read as if they are words, e.g. UNESCO, UNO, NATO
- Initialisms which coincide with English words in their sound form, such
initialisms are called acronyms, e.g. CLASS (Computor-based Laboratory for
Automated School System).
b) Monograms: two or more letters combined in one design, especially in Vnese
wedding invitation.
c) Homonymy-based acronyms: based on identical sound of words & letters (4U,
I.O.U)
3.2 Clipping
*Cutting off two or more syllables of a words
+ Initial clipping (aphaeresis): first part of a word is shortened (phone, car, plane)
+ Final clipping (apocope): last part of word is shortened (lab, sis, prof)
+ Initio-final clipping: both the first and the last are shortened (fridge, flu, tec)
+ Medival clipping: medial part of a word is shortened (maths, specs, h-bomb)
+ Elliptico-conversional clipping(phrasal clipping): combination of ellipsis,
conversion and clipping: ( pub, pop, perm)
3.3 Blending
-Words that combine two (rarely three or more) words into one, deleting materials
from one or both source words
a) Type 1:
Form: existing compounds are shortened to form a new word.
Semantics: first element modifies second element.
b) Type 2:
Form: base words aren’t considered as compounds in their full form.
Semantics: blends denote entities that share the properties of referents of both
elements.
4.CONVERSION
Formation of a new word in a different part of speech without adding any element
4.1 Traditional conversion: Refer to which are commonly and traditionally used
by the public, and they are recorded in dictionaries. (look => a look)
4.2 Ocassional conversion: Refer to individual use of conversion in special
situations, occasions to express one’s idea (humorously), and they are not
presented in dictionaries. (man => to man)
4.3 Partial conversion: Building some nouns from verbs like “have”, “take”,
“make” to form verbal phrases (have a look/ a talk)
5.BACK DERIVATION (BACK FORMATION)
- Building new words by subtracting real/supposed suffixes from words (editor =>
edit)
- Change part of speech of the word >< clipping doesn’t change part of speech
6.SOUND AND STRESS INTERCHANGE
6.1 Sound interchange
- A very unproductive way of word formation
- Building a new word by changing its vowel or consonant of the existing word.
(food => feed)
- Sometimes combine with affixation (long => length)
6.2 Stress interchange
- A very unproductive way of word formation
- Building new words by changing the place of stress on the existing word.
(‘import; im’port)
7.EPONYMY
- Word from from name of person or place ( watt( James Watt))
