Morphology

Morphology: Morph, Morpheme, and Allomorph

1.      Introduction

Morphology is the branch of linguistics that studies the internal structure of words and the rules by which words are formed. Leonard Bloomfield (1933) in  Language describes “Morphology deals with the constructions in which bound forms appear among the constituents.” Bloomfield emphasizes that morphology studies word structure, especially the way bound morphemes combine with other forms.

The term is derived from the Greek words morphē (form) and logos (study). Thus, morphology literally means the study of forms.

Morphology deals with:

• Word structure

• Word formation processes

• Inflection and derivation

• Grammatical categories such as number, tense, gender, case, etc.

It examines how smaller meaningful units combine to form words.

Example:
unhappiness → un + happy + ness

Here, the word consists of smaller meaningful units called morphemes.

2. Morpheme

Definition

A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of language. It cannot be divided further without losing meaning.

Examples:

• book → one morpheme

• books → book + -s (two morphemes)

• teacher → teach + -er

A morpheme may or may not stand alone as a word.

Types of Morphemes

1. Free Morphemes

A free morpheme can stand independently as a word.

Examples:

• book

• happy

• run

• kind

These are also called independent morphemes.

2. Bound Morphemes

A bound morpheme cannot stand alone; it must attach to another morpheme.

Examples:

• -s (plural)

• -ed (past tense)

• un- (negation)

• -ness (noun-forming suffix)

Example:
unhappy → un- (bound) + happy (free)

Functional Classification of Morphemes

(A) Lexical Morphemes

These carry the main meaning of the word.
Example:

• boy

• run

• green

They are also called content words.

(B) Grammatical Morphemes

These express grammatical relationships.

Examples:

• plural -s

• past -ed

• comparative -er

These are also called function morphemes.

Derivational and Inflectional Morphemes

1. Derivational Morphemes

• Create new words

• Often change word class

Examples:

• happy → happiness

• kind → kindness

• teach → teacher

Characteristics:

• Change meaning and/or category

• Not required by grammar

• Occur closer to the root

2. Inflectional Morphemes

• Do not create new words

• Express grammatical information

English has eight inflectional morphemes:

1. Plural -s (cats)

2. Possessive -’s (boy’s)

3. 3rd person singular -s (runs)

4. Past tense -ed (worked)

5. Past participle -en/-ed (taken)

6. Present participle -ing (working)

7. Comparative -er (taller)

8. Superlative -est (tallest)

Inflectional morphemes:

• Do not change word class

• Occur after derivational morphemes

Example:
modernization
modern + -ize + -ation
Here -ize and -ation are derivational.

3. Morph

A morph is the actual phonetic or written form of a morpheme.

In simple terms:

• Morpheme = abstract unit of meaning

• Morph = its physical form

Example:
The plural morpheme in English has different pronunciations:

cats → /s/
dogs → /z/
buses → /ɪz/

Each of these sound forms is a morph representing the plural morpheme.

4. Allomorph

Definition

An allomorph is a variant form of a morpheme. It is a different pronunciation or spelling of the same morpheme, occurring in different environments.

Thus:

• Morpheme = abstract meaning unit

• Allomorph = its different realizations

Examples of Allomorphs

1. Plural Morpheme (-s)

The plural morpheme has three allomorphs:

Word Pronunciation Allomorph

cats /s/ /s/

dogs /z/ /z/

buses /ɪz/ /ɪz/

The meaning (plural) is same, but pronunciation changes.

2. Past Tense Morpheme (-ed)

The past tense morpheme also has three allomorphs:

Word Pronunciation

worked /t/

played /d/

wanted /ɪ/

3. Negative Prefix (in-)

The negative prefix “in-” changes form depending on the following sound:

Word Allomorph

impossible im-

illegal il-

irregular ir-

inactive in-

These are phonologically conditioned allomorphs.

Types of Allomorphs

1. Phonologically conditioned – change depends on sound environment (cats/dogs).

2. Morphologically conditioned – change depends on grammatical context.

3. Lexically conditioned – irregular forms (go → went).

Relationship Among Morpheme, Morph, and Allomorph

Term Meaning

Morpheme Abstract unit of meaning

Morph Physical realization of a morpheme

Allomorph Variant form of a morpheme

Example:
Plural (morpheme) → /s/, /z/, /ɪz/ (allomorphs) → each is a morph in speech.

Conclusion

Morphology studies the internal structure of words and the smallest meaningful units called morphemes. Morphemes may be free or bound, derivational or inflectional. The physical representation of a morpheme is called a morph, and its different variant forms are known as allomorphs. Understanding these concepts is fundamental for analyzing word formation, grammatical structure, and linguistic patterns in English.