B - B6 - Questions On The Construction of Words
B - B6 - Questions On The Construction of Words
B - B6 - Questions On The Construction of Words
Group members:
What is morpheme?
1. What is a morpheme?
2. What do you call for the morphemes that can stand alone?
3. What do you call for the morphemes that cannot stand alone?
4. What is LEXEME?
Answer: New lexemes formed with prefixes & suffixes on a base (derived words)
What are bound bases?
Answer: Bound bases are morphemes that cannot stand alone as words, but are not prefixes or
suffixes
Answer: Prefixes and suffixes are not the same as bound bases, the reason it’s because
prefixes and suffixes have fix position, meanwhile bound bases relatively more
mobile in position.
Answer: Prefixes and suffixes are considered to have fixed positions because they typically
attach to specific parts of a word in a consistent manner. Prefixes are added to the
beginning of a word, while suffixes are added to the end. For example, the prefix
“un-“ is commonly added to the beginning of adjectives to indicate negation, such as
“unhappy”, “uncomfortable”, while the suffix “-ness” is added to nouns to form
abstract nouns, such as “happiness”, “kindness”.
Answer: A word is a basic unit of language that carries meaning and can stand alone or be
combined with other words to form sentences. On the other hand, a lexeme is an
abstract unit of vocabulary that represents a set of words with similar meanings and
grammatical properties.
Answer:
- A base is any form to which can be added an affix (any derivational or inflectional
morpheme)
- A root is the morpheme that carries the major component of the word’s meaning
and which belongs to a lexical unit category
- A stem is a base to which an inflectional affix is added
1. What is lexicology?
Answer: Lexicology is the branch of linguistics that focuses on the study of words,
particularly the structure of a lexicon. It examines the general properties and
features of words across languages.
2. What is lexicography?
Answer: The main similarity between lexicology and lexicography is that they both deal
with the study of words and the lexicon. While lexicology focuses on the general
properties of words, lexicography concentrates on compiling dictionaries and the
specific details of individual lexical units.
Answer: The key difference between lexicology and lexicography lies in their focus and
approach. Lexicology studies the structure and general features of words, while
lexicography is concerned with compiling dictionaries and the specific details of
individual lexical units.
Answer: Lexicology concerns itself with the study of the structure of a lexicon, focusing
on the general properties and features of words as basic lexical units.
Answer: Lexicography, on the other hand, is concerned with compiling dictionaries and
studying the individuality of each lexical unit. It focuses on the art of writing
dictionaries and the science of compiling them.
1. What is a word?
Answer: A word, as defined in dictionaries, is a single distinct meaningful element of
speech or writing that is used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence. It
is typically separated by spaces when written or printed
2. According to Halliday a word is not a simple matter, why?
Answer : According to Halliday, a word is not a simple matter to describe because
even literate English-speaking adults often struggle to determine where a word begins
and ends. This ambiguity is evident in examples like "English-speaking" (is it one
word or two?), and the variations in writing sequences like "lunchtime," "lunch-time,"
or "lunch time".
How do we decide sequence words: lunchtime, lunch-time, or lunch time dinner-time, breakfast
time, Isn’t pick-me-up, CD
Answer: When deciding how to sequence words, it often depends on style guides, language
conventions, and the specific context in which the words are used. For compound words like
"lunchtime," the trend is towards merging them into one word over time. However, style
preferences and evolving language usage can influence whether to hyphenate or separate words
in phrases like "dinner-time," "breakfast time," "pick-me-up," and "CD".
EXERCISE WEEK 2 WORD LEXEME-TYPES-TOKEN
a.members f. grammar
b. prioritize g. writer
c.handsome h. rewind
d. fizzy i. reject
e.dizzy j. alligator
If you have difficulty deciding whether particular words are simple or complex, explain why you
find them problematic.
Answer :
1. Simple: complex:
- Members - Grammar
- Handsome - Prioritize
- Fizzy - Writer
- Dizzy - Rewind
- Alligator - Reject
2. Do the words in the following pairs belong to the same lexeme or to different lexemes?
a. revolve revolution
b. revolution revolutions
c. revolve dissolve
d. go went
e. wash rewash
Answer :
a. "revolve" and "revolution" - Different lexemes. While both are related conceptually, "revolve"
is a verb, and "revolution" is a noun derived from it.
c. "revolve" and "dissolve" - Different lexemes. These are two different verbs with different
meanings.
d. "go" and "went" - Same lexeme. "Went" is the past tense form of the verb "go."
e. "wash" and "rewash" - Different lexemes. "Rewash" is a verb formed by adding the prefix
"re-" to "wash," but it has a distinct meaning.
a. I say now, just as I said yesterday, that the price of a wombat is high but the price of a
platypus is higher.
b. I’ve just replaced my printer with a new one that prints much faster.
4. In sentence (3b), what sorts of problems does the word I’ve pose for our definition of
‘word’?
Answer: The word "I've" in sentence (3b) poses a problem for our definition of 'word' because it
consists of two parts: "I" and "'ve" (a contraction of "have").
If we strictly define a 'word' as a sequence of characters separated by spaces, then "I've" would
be considered a single word. However, if we consider a 'word' as the smallest unit of language
that carries meaning and can stand alone, then "I've" would be considered two separate words
("I" and "'ve").
This highlights the ambiguity in defining what constitutes a 'word' in the context of contractions
and how different linguistic perspectives may interpret it differently.
Answer:
Words that belong to the same word family or lexeme as "sing" include:
1. Singer
2. Singing
3. Sung
4. Song
5. Singable
6. Sing-along
7. Singingly
These words are all related to the root word "sing" and share similar meanings or derivations.