Words and Word Formation: Introduction to Morphology

9 units · Undergraduate

Fall: 9 units How many words do you know? Is 'gonna' one word or two? How many meanings does 'unlockable' have? If someone can be 'inept', why can't they be 'ept'? In this course we study the linguistics of words and word formation, known as morphology. We begin by asking what a word is, about the internal structure of words, and how new words are formed. Throughout, we will consider these questions from a cross-linguistic perspective, looking at morphological data from a wide range of languages. We will also consider how morphology interacts with other subfields of linguistics, including phonology, syntax and semantics. Finally, we will survey morphological questions from the perspectives of language acquisition, psychology, and cognitive science. Prerequisite: 80-180