Words

Morphological Theory: An Introduction to Word Structure in Generative Grammar (Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics)

2011-11-21T19:04:00.000-08:00

The book opens with an account of the phenomena studied by morphologists, an outline of classical problems and an introduction to the earliest models of morphology proposed within the generative paradigm. Its second part deals with the interface between morphology and phonology and includes a detailed discussion of lexical Phonology, and related models, as well as a variety of types of nonconcatenative morphology.

Part III begins with a comprehensive introduction to more recent theories of word structure, including inflectional morphology. Subsequent chapters examine the interface between morphology and syntax, exploring the processes which affect grammatical relations, such as passives and causatives. Further chapters examine compounding processes and the morphology, phonology and syntax of clitic systems. The final part of the book includes a full discussion of "bracketing paradoxes" and closes with a survey of models of morphology and competing views of the place of morphology in linguistic theory.

Russian Learner's Dictionary: 10,000 Russian Words in Order of Frequency

2009-11-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

The huge and amorphous nature of the Russian vocabulary has made the acquisition of new words difficult for the beginner. Russian Vocabulary-Building Dictionary meets this challenge by presenting a comprehensive guide to 10,000 Russian words. Arranged in order of frequency, the dictionary takes the student from the beginner's level through that of the postgraduate.

Indexed alphabetically and containing instructions on syntax and grammar, the Dictionary includes the core vocabulary of the most important Russian words. The result of five years of research and testing by the author to determine the most successful techniques for learning Russian, a familiarity with all or most of its contents will greatly assist the learner in acquiring a practical mastery of the language.

Electronic English Chinese Translator / Dictionary - Translates English Sentence / Phrase / Words to Chinese and Vice Versa

2009-11-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

Electronic English Chinese Translator / Dictionary - Translates English Sentence / Phrase / Words to Chinese and Vice Versa

For Chinese speaker learning English,including TOFEL,GRE GMAT,IELTS dictionary.Translates English sentences/phrases/words to Chinese sentences/phrases/words, and vice versa. Convenient travel functions: Calendar, World Clock, Alarm, Calculators, and Metric/Currency Converters. size: 4 X 3 inches

Features

* For Chinese speaker learning English
* Translates English sentences/phrases/words to Chinese sentences/phrases/words, and vice versa
* including TOFEL,GRE GMAT,IELTS dictionary
* Convenient travel functions: Calendar, World Clock, Alarm, Calculators, and Metric/Currency Converters
* size: 4 X 3 inches

Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language

2009-06-12T20:05:00.000-07:00

Human languages are capable of expressing a literally endless number of different ideas. How do we manage it--so effortlessly that we scarcely ever stop to think about it? In Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language, a look at the simple concepts that we use to devise works as complex as love sonnets and tax laws, renowned neuroscientist and linguist Steven Pinker shows us how. The latest linguistic research suggests that each of us stores a limited (though large) number of words and word-parts in memory and manipulates them with a much smaller number of rules to produce every writing and utterance, and Pinker explains every step of the way with engaging good humor.

Pinker's enthusiasm for the subject infects the reader, particularly as he emphasizes the relation between how we communicate and how we think. What does it mean that a small child who has never heard the word wug can tell a researcher that when one wug meets another, there are two wugs? Some rule must be telling the child that English plurals end in -s, which also explains mistakes like mouses. Is our communication linked inextricably with our thinking? Pinker says yes, and it's hard to disagree. Words and Rules is an excellent introduction to and overview of current thinking about language, and will greatly reward the careful reader with new ways of thinking about how we think, talk, and write. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

MIT linguist Pinker builds on his previous successes (How the Mind Works; The Language Instinct) with another book explaining how we learn and deploy word, phrase and utterance. Some linguists (notably Noam Chomsky) have argued that everything in speech comes from hidden, hard-wired rules. Others (notably some computer scientists) claim that we learn language by association, picking up raw data first. Pinker argues that our brains exhibit both kinds of thought, and that we can see them both in English verbs: rule application ("combination") governs regular verbs, memory ("lookup") handles irregulars. The interplay of the two characterizes all language, perhaps all thought. Each of Pinker's 10 chapters takes up a different field of research, but all 10 concern regular and irregular forms of words. Pinker shows what scientists learn from children's speech errors (My brother got sick and pukeded); from survey questions (What do you call more than one wug?); from similar rules in varying languages (English, German and Arapesh); from theoretical models and their failings and from brain disorders like jargon anomia (whose victims use complex sentences, but say things like "nose cone" when they mean "phone call"). Sometimes Pinker explains linguists' current consensus; at other times, he makes a case for his own theoretical school. His previous books have been accused of excessive ambition; here he largely sticks to his own fields. The result, with its crisp prose and neat analogies, makes required reading for anyone interested in cognition and language. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Morphological Theory: An Introduction to Word Structure in Generative Grammar

2009-06-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

Morphological Theory: An Introduction to Word Structure in Generative Grammar

This is the first near-exhaustive introduction to the burgeoning field of morphology in generative grammar. Presupposing very little prior knowledge of linguistics, the book guides the reader from absolute basics to the most recent theoretical developments. Written in an accessible style, and including a wealth of exercises, this textbook is designed so that it can be used either on courses explicitly focused on morphology or as an adjunct to other courses, particularly in generative syntax and in phonology.

The book opens with an account of the phenomena studied by morphologists, an outline of classical problems and an introduction to the earliest models of morphology proposed within the generative paradigm. Its second part deals with the interface between morphology and phonology and includes a detailed discussion of lexical Phonology, and related models, as well as a variety of types of nonconcatenative morphology.

Part III begins with a comprehensive introduction to more recent theories of word structure, including inflectional morphology. Subsequent chapters examine the interface between morphology and syntax, exploring the processes which affect grammatical relations, such as passives and causatives. Further chapters examine compounding processes and the morphology, phonology and syntax of clitic systems. The final part of the book includes a full discussion of "bracketing paradoxes" and closes with a survey of models of morphology and competing views of the place of morphology in linguistic theory.

Vocabulary Development: A Morphological Analysis (Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development)

2009-06-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

Vocabulary Development: A Morphological Analysis (Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development)

This monograph studies research conducted for the purpose of investigating the relationship between vocabulary recognition and morphological knowledge during the early and middle elementary school years. The findings suggest that lexical development can be characterized in terms of increasing morphological complexity, and as a child ages, the proportion of known complex words that the child figured out by analyzing their morphological structure increased.

This monograph studies research conducted for the purpose of investigating the growth of recognition vocabulary during the early and middle elementary school years in relation to the development of morphological knowledge. The children were tested on a selection of main entry words from a recent unabridged nonhistorical dictionary by means of definition, sentence, and multiple-choice questions. The focus of the present study, however, was on the contribution made by different morphologically defined word types and by knowledge of morphology and word formation to total recognition vocabulary at different age and grade levels. The findings suggest that lexical development can be characterized in terms of increasing morphological complexity. Further, it was found that the proportion of known complex words for which there was evidence that children figured them out by analyzing their morphological structure increased with age and grade.

Morphological Productivity: Structural Constraints in English Derivation (Topics in English Linguistics, 28)

2009-06-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Morphological Productivity: Structural Constraints in English Derivation (Topics in English Linguistics, 28)

On the basis of a survey of a wide range of English derivational affixes it is proposed that the productivity and combinability of a given affix are primarily the result of its individual structural, i.e., phonological, morphological and semantic, properties and not due to more general mechanisms of the various kinds proposed, for example, by proponents of Lexical Phonology/Morphology.

This point is further developed in an in-depth structural analysis of the rival verbal affixes -ize, -ate, -ify, en-, em-, be-, -en and conversion. First, the productivity of these processes is assessed, using both text-based and dictionary-based measures (Cobuild corpus vs. Oxford English Dictionary). Implementing Optimality Theory and Jackendoff’s Lexical Conceptual Semantics, a large number of 20th century neologisms extracted from the OED are investigated with regard to their phonological, morphological and semantic characteristics. Bridging the gap between broad empirical coverage and significant theoretical insights, the analysis leads to new findings concerning both the structural properties of derived verbs in English and the role of these properties in restricting productivity. It is argued that the choice of a particular affix can be largely predicted on the basis of the affix’s individual properties, without any additional machinery besides token-blocking and local analogy. On the theoretical level the proposed analysis presents evidence against the separation of meaning and form in derivational morphology and for a sign-based, output-oriented model instead.

morphological rules

2009-06-12T19:40:00.001-07:00

Important Vocabulary : The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation

2009-05-20T02:31:00.000-07:00

With so many Bible translations available, how do you make a choice between them? How do you even know what the criteria should be for making a choice?

As an expert in English literature and literary theory, Leland Ryken approaches the translation debate from a practical artistic viewpoint. He believes that many modern translations take liberties with the biblical text that would not be allowed with any other type of literary work. Also, what readers are presented with as biblical text is actually far from the original text. In literature, a simplified version of Milton’s work is not Milton, and neither is an edition written in contemporary English. Anyone who is interested in Milton would find any version that changes his words unacceptable for serious study. Ryken argues that the same dedication to reproducing literature texts as closely as possible needs to be present in biblical translation. To do so it is necessary to take into account the difficulty of working with original languages. Only an essentially literal, "word for word" translation of the Bible can achieve sufficiently high standards in terms of literary criteria and fidelity to the original text.

Ryken does not contest that many modern translations have been used for good, and believes that there is a place for a range of Bible translations, including children’s Bibles and Bible paraphrases. His purpose is not to say that the only Bible available should be one that is essentially literal. Instead, he defines the translation theory and principles that would result in the best Bible for English-speaking people and serious students of the Bible, and also for the English-speaking church as a whole. He believes that an essentially literal translation is the natural result of following these principles.

Along with a short history of translation, Ryken evaluates presuppositions that impact translation theory. He also examines fallacies about the Bible, translations in general, and Bible readers that influence what translation decisions are made. Believing that those who undertake the serious work of translating God’s Word have an obligation both to God and to others, he assesses the theological, ethical, and hermeneutical issues involved and surveys difficulties with modern translations. Ryken’s literary expertise gives him the perspective needed to provide Christians with a standard for comparing contemporary Bible translations, as well as an understanding of why some translations may not convey the very words of God.

American English Idiomatic Expressions in 52 Weeks: An Easy Way to Understand English Expressions and Improve Speaking

2009-05-20T01:47:00.002-07:00

his week-by-week calendar of idioms will assist learners of English to understand the meanings of American idioms found in common usage. The American English Idiomatic Expressions in 52 Weeks consists of 3,300 frequently used idioms, provides concise and clear definitions of each idiom, and includes examples to show the context in which particular idioms are used.

About the Author

Dr. John Holleman is the director of MBA Program Administration at the University of Mississippi.

Englisg idiomatic words

2009-05-20T01:47:00.001-07:00

Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction

2009-05-09T02:14:00.000-07:00

Review
"Vocabulary is the bedrock supporting academic language proficiency. Without any doubt, speech-language pathologists recognize the critical importance of vocabulary learning for children and adolescents struggling with language and literacy learning. The challenge is how we can better support genuine vocabulary learning so that struggling students will be better positioned to meet the new reading and writing standards. This book offers speech-language pathologists a strong conceptual framework and evidence-based strategies for achieving the goal of functional
vocabulary learning. The rich and detailed strategies are presented in a highly readable way. This accessibility allows the creative speech-language clinician to find many ideas that can easily be adapted into meaningful strategies for boosting the authentic word knowledge that most students with language learning disabilities urgently need for attaining academic language proficiency."--Elaine R. Silliman, PhD, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Florida

"This little book is a gem. It shows how teachers can teach word meanings so powerfully that students of all ages will be able to grasp an author's meaning or communicate their own more effectively. The book offers a well-organized and first-rate plan for teaching vocabulary, presented by a team of researchers with a genuine grasp of the practical."--Timothy Shanahan, PhD, Center for Literacy, University of Illinois at Chicago

"This book succinctly addresses the challenges of teaching and developing vocabulary, providing research-based, clearly spelled-out strategies and many, many rich examples. It gives teachers the tools they need to effectively increase students' vocabularies. Reflecting the authors' own expertise with words, the book is written clearly enough for undergraduates, yet has a level of depth that will lend new insights to even the most advanced student of language and literacy. This book should be required reading in teacher and reading specialist preparation programs and should be used in in-service programs with reading, language arts, and English teachers as well as with content area teachers. If the strategies and suggestions offered in this book were widely and intensely implemented, we would see significant increases in students' verbal abilities and reading comprehension scores."--John J. Pikulski, PhD, School of Education, University of Delaware

"Bringing Words to Life lives up to its title. It made me want to gather a group of kids immediately, so I could start putting these sensible, practical, novel, and intriguing ideas about building vocabulary into practice. Beck, McKeown, and Kucan show how much fun learning words and teaching words can be. Every early childhood and elementary teacher should have this book on their bedside table for inspirational reading."--Catherine E. Snow, PhD, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University
-- Review

Review
"Vocabulary is the bedrock supporting academic language proficiency. Without any doubt, speech-language pathologists recognize the critical importance of vocabulary learning for children and adolescents struggling with language and literacy learning. The challenge is how we can better support genuine vocabulary learning so that struggling students will be better positioned to meet the new reading and writing standards. This book offers speech-language pathologists a strong conceptual framework and evidence-based strategies for achieving the goal of functional vocabulary learning. The rich and detailed strategies are presented in a highly readable way. This accessibility allows the creative speech-language clinician to find many ideas that can easily be adapted into meaningful strategies for boosting the authentic word knowledge that most students with language learning disabilities urgently need for attaining academic language proficiency."--Elaine R. Silliman, PhD, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Florida

"This little book is a gem. It shows how teachers can teach word meanings so powerfully that students of all ages will be able to grasp an author's meaning or communicate their own more effectively. The book offers a well-organized and first-rate plan for teaching vocabulary, presented by a team of researchers with a genuine grasp of the practical."--Timothy Shanahan, PhD, Center for Literacy, University of Illinois at Chicago

"This book succinctly addresses the challenges of teaching and developing vocabulary, providing research-based, clearly spelled-out strategies and many, many rich examples. It gives teachers the tools they need to effectively increase students' vocabularies. Reflecting the authors' own expertise with words, the book is written clearly enough for undergraduates, yet has a level of depth that will lend new insights to even the most advanced student of language and literacy. This book should be required reading in teacher and reading specialist preparation programs and should be used in in-service programs with reading, language arts, and English teachers as well as with content area teachers. If the strategies and suggestions offered in this book were widely and intensely implemented, we would see significant increases in students' verbal abilities and reading comprehension scores."--John J. Pikulski, PhD, School of Education, University of Delaware

"Bringing Words to Life lives up to its title. It made me want to gather a group of kids immediately, so I could start putting these sensible, practical, novel, and intriguing ideas about building vocabulary into practice. Beck, McKeown, and Kucan show how much fun learning words and teaching words can be. Every early childhood and elementary teacher should have this book on their bedside table for inspirational reading."--Catherine E. Snow, PhD, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

"All educators who are lovers of the English language will thoroughly enjoy and reap the benefits of this articulate book. The authors present a brilliant rationale for delivering lively and direct vocabulary instruction. They offer excellent advice on how to select rich words, present them to students, and help them revel in their usefulness!"--MaryAnne Rossbach, MEd, sixth-grade teacher, Sunrise Valley Elementary School, Reston, VA

"This wonderful book provides a very practical introduction to effective vocabulary instruction....This book is an excellent example how 'research-into-practice' should be done -- it is very readable, informative, practical, and concrete."--BalancedReading.com

The Boy Who Loved Words

2009-05-09T02:13:00.001-07:00

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4-Schotter blends magical realism with a tongue-tingling narrative to create an ode to the power and purpose of language. Selig is passionate about words-their sounds (tintinnabulating!), their taste (tantalizing!), and the way they moved his heart. An avid word-hoarder, he delights in discovering new terms, recording them on paper scraps, and stowing them in pockets. Unable to comprehend their son's strange predilection, his practical-minded parents worry about his future, and his
classmates cruelly add oddball to his collection. After dreaming about a Yiddish Genie who advises him to embrace his passion and seek his life's poipose, Selig embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Feeling weighted down by his vocabulary slips, he climbs a tree and carefully attaches them to the branches. Fantastically and fittingly, several of them blow into the hands of a poet who is struggling for the right adjectives to finish his verse. Selig realizes that his mission is to bestow his word wealth upon others. He tosses out luscious to accentuate a baker's wares, halts an argument with harmony, and invigorates an elderly man with spry. He grows up to find personal fulfillment and even true love. The author shares her own affection for language through the descriptive, lyrical text, italicizing particularly delectable but possibly unfamiliar terms and defining them in a two-page glossary. Potter's folk-art paintings echo the story's whimsy and set the action in an idyllic-looking, early-20th-century past. An inspiring choice for young wordsmiths and anyone who cherishes the variety and vitality of language.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Some people collect shells or stones; young Selig collects words. Whenever he hears a new one he likes, he jots it down on a slip of paper and stuffs it into a convenient pocket, a sock, a sleeve, or a hat. When you're a kid, such eccentric behavior doesn't go unnoticed, and soon his classmates have given him a new name, "Wordsworth," and a new word to add to his collection, oddball. Ouch! But with the help of a friendly genie, who calls him "Voidsvoith, a lover of voids," Selig finds his life's purpose and romance, to boot. Potter's signature naive-style art is light and comical, while Schotter's words are a lovely celebration of the power and the music of language. A glossary of Selig's favorite words--from aflutter to windmill--adorns the book's endpapers. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Every Word Has Power: Switch on Your Language and Turn on Your Life

2009-05-09T02:11:00.000-07:00

Words have power. The very words we say and think not only describe our world but actually create it. They have a profound impact on our lives; in fact, our self-talk produces 100 percent of our results. In this pioneering, practical book, Yvonne Oswald teaches us how to fi lter unsupportive words to produce outstanding results, changing our perspective, relationships, and ability to manifest our deepest
desires. The easy-to-follow formula holistically blends the science of language, physical well-being, and emotional cleansing. The "Keys to Success and Happiness" reconnect you with your original empowerment blueprint and develop your understanding for a lifetime of success.

Every Word Has Power charms all of the senses and delivers powerful, easy tools for change. Tips, exercises, scripts, stories, metaphors, and science are interwoven to create a dynamic blend of quantum self-growth that immediately jump-starts your transformation.

Review
"Yvonne's compelling techniques help transform your life using the language of success. When you change your words you change your life."- John Gray, Ph.D., author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

"Of the thousands of words you use today, why not make all of them work for you? Direct your destiny now with your thoughts and language and be prepared for measurable and amazing results!" -- Raymond Aaron, The New York Times top ten-bestselling coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul

"In this fast-forward world, where geographic boundaries are erased via instant communication, there is nothing more vital to success in life than win-win dialogue. Read and internalize [Oswald's] teachings, and you will realize, as well as materialize, your loftiest goals." -- Denis Waitley, author of The Psychology of Winning

"Yvonne Oswald's book will change your life. She takes the complicated world of metaphysics and interpersonal relationships and puts it in a language that even the most novice of readers can absorb and be transformed by. I loved it." -- Master Cameron Shayne, Budokon creator

"In Every Word Has Power, Yvonne Oswald tells us, 'true success is when you feel great about who you are, what you do, and what you have.' This book can help you get there."- Ric Giardina, author of Becoming a Life Balance Master, creative director of The Spirit Employed Company

"Master your spoken words and you direct your life. Master your internal thoughts and you direct your destiny! Take your success to the next level with Every Word Has Power. Yvonne answers questions you didn't even know you had to ask!"- Marcia Martin, BSc, Power Speaking Seminars, transformational trainer

"Every Word Has Power is a must read for anyone that is working with the Law of Attraction. It truly is THE handbook to teach you how to apply the laws in order to create what you desire. It provides easy, simple, and practical ways to raise your vibration. I will recommend it to all my clients!"- Christy Whitman, bestselling author, professional speaker, and certified Law of Attraction coach

"Changing my words consciously has changed my whole attitude and that of my clients. I have seen miraculous results in depression and amazing, healing results from inviting clients to 'switch' their words. The significant changes that I observe daily in my practice is that I achieve results far more quickly, and people appear to be so much more optimistic."- Dr. Ebi Taebi, doctor of naturopathic medicine and specialist in cancer, chronic disease, and depression

"Yvonne Oswald is a brilliant teacher and healer. I highly recommend this book...a truly transformative read."- Colette Baron-Reid, bestselling author of Remembering the Future: The Path to Recovering Intuition

"Being aware of my language has transformed my life in unexpected ways. It has shown me where I need to heal. I learned that any unpleasant thought I had came with a corresponding unpleasant feeling. As I consciously began to change my thoughts, my feelings towards my husband grew more loving and accepting. It felt like my heart was expanding, and I saw him through compassionate eyes. Our interactions became more positive because he was open to using the same tools. Happily, we have fallen in love all over again."- Dr. Carrie Bailey, PhD, psychologist, Connect Department, Canadian Hearing Society

The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English

2009-05-09T02:09:00.000-07:00

This historical tour of the English lexicon considers words as etymological �fossils of past dreams and traumas,� revealing the preoccupations of the ages that produced them. The nineteenth century�s �cult of fine feelings� gave currency to �sensibility� and �physiognomy�; �popery� and �libertine� sprang from the religious skepticism of the sixteen-hundreds. Many such relics began as imports: centuries of Anglophone empire-building have occasioned borrowings from some three hundred and fifty languages, including Arabic (�sash�) and Sanskrit (�pundit�). The chapters are loosely focussed on different themes, but trade is a constant thread: �tycoon� comes from taikun, a Japanese honorific picked up on Commodore Matthew Perry�s eighteen-fifties mission to open the ports of Japan. Hitchings offers a rich array of anecdotes and extracts, but the absence of a strong over-all argument deprives his account of momentum.
Copyright ©2008 Click here to subscribe to The New Yorker

From Booklist
What Hitchings shows us is that the history of our vocabulary is the history of who we really are. Playing up the “acquisitiveness of English,” which has proved hospitable to words from more than 350 other languages, his book has a wide sweep, from pre-Roman Britain to online communities. Each chapter tends to address a particular influx of words, whether rooted in invasion and conquest or in the innovative use of the language by gifted writers. A chapter called “Angst” not only covers the twentieth century’s contribution to the vocabulary via the military, advertising, technology, and the business world, it also incorporates, in digressive but entertaining fashion, the history of coffee, a caustic evisceration of “management speak,” and an explanation of why purists are so resistant to new words. Ever ready with an apt quote, Hitchings makes a delightful and knowledgeable guide, privy to many fascinating facts about the language—those averse to the increasing power of technophiles are given a handful of pithy put-downs, including dot snots and entrepenerds. A well-researched, fluidly written book that wears its scholarship lightly. --Joanne Wilkinson

100 Words To Make You Sound Smart

2009-05-09T02:03:00.000-07:00

The newest title in the popular 100 Words series is an informative and entertaining resource that can help anyone be right on the money when looking for words that will make a point, seal the deal, or just keep folks listening. Chosen by the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries, these words will appeal to anyone who wants to be a more compelling communicator—as a worker, consumer, advocate, friend, dinner companion, or even as a romantic prospect.

The book includes a colorful variety of words, including handy words of just one syllable (such as glib) and words derived from the names of famous people (such as Freudian slip and Machiavellian).
There are expressions from popular culture (Catch-22) and words that date back to classical civilization (spartan and stoic). Each word is clearly defined and shown in context with quotations from contemporary sources: magazines, newspapers, broadcast media, movies, and television. For many words, quotations from distinguished authors and speakers are also given and word histories are explained.

Like its predecessors in this successful series, 100 Words to Make You Sound Smart provides an affordable and enjoyable way to communicate more effectively. It offers the coveted gift of gab to anyone who needs to “say it right”—and to anyone who wants to sound more articulate.

About the Author
The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries and of other reference titles published by Houghton Mifflin Company are trained lexicographers with a varied array of interests and expertise. Most of the editors hold graduate degrees and have studied at least one foreign language. Several have degrees in linguistics or in the history of the English language. Others have degrees in science or sometimes other disciplines. All the editors familiarize themselves with the vocabulary in specific subject areas, collect materials on new developments and usage, and work in association with consultants to ensure that the content of our publications is as accurate and as up-to-date as possible.

SPEAK E-Z CHINESE In Phonetic English

2008-11-15T06:26:00.000-08:00

Now readers can by-pass the complex Pinyin system in favor of user-friendly words and sentences provided in straightforward phonetic English. Packed with humorous slang and favorite Chinese idioms, only SPEAK E-Z CHINESE provides the means to communicate in fresh, contemporary Mandarin at only a glance. Free audio companion offered online at www.CathayCafe.com.

Review
Authors Timothy Green and Zhao Fang worked for two years to create a language book that made learning Mandarin easy and fun. It also had to contain words and phrases that travellers would use. The pair have a sense of humor as the book contains off-colour or potentially offensive phrases that, let's be honest, you might have to use in China. The book is timely. -- Calgary Herald

Concerned about language barriers? Worry no more! SPEAK E-Z CHINESE In Phonetic English (cathaycafe.com) by Zhao Fang and Tim Green is sure to turn a potentially frustrating experience into an enjoyable journey. -- DreamScapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine

If you have never been to Mainland China, please remember this is not Hong Kong SAR, while 80% of Hong Kong speaks English; crossing the border results in only 20% of the population speaking it. Please bring a Mandarin Phrase Book with you. If you want the best one we have come across, then we recommend Speak E-Z Chinese. -- New Step International

The revolutionary book, Speak E-Z Chinese, definitely does its job of teaching a tough language in a fun and realistic manner. Within about 30 minutes of reading you can learn all the basics to hit the ground running in China. If your goal is to get up to speed on basic Chinese as fast as possible, Speak E-Z Chinese is perfect. -- Tango Diva Reviews

This amazing and delightful book serves up a generous amount of helpful travel information, as well as a revolutionary technique for learning the Chinese language easily in phonetic English. -- Travelvideo.TV

A Short History of Chinese Philosophy

2008-11-15T05:54:00.000-08:00

This is a chronicle of Chinese thought from the third millennium sage-kings to the 1911 overthrow of the oldest monarchical system in the world. The book illuminates the most commonly known schools of Confuciansim and Taoism, and it acquaints readers with Mohism, Yin-Yang, Legalism, Neo-Taosim, Neo-Confucianism, and the introduction of Western philosophy.

For the people who want to understand chinese philosophy, it is a positively simple text that allows to pinpoint all the important issues about each person that mattered in History. I recomend it to every student, every person that wants to know about philosopy and even those who are determined to elaborate deeper studies, as a start on the matter.

101 American English Idioms: Understanding and Speaking English Like an American

2008-10-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

American idioms can cause confusion and frustrate many English language learners. This thin, delightful collection 101 idioms uses humor, clear drawings, and witty captions to illustrate the real meanings of odd phrases. Many English teachers love the verbal and visual humor, and add it as a supplemental text for intermediate or advanced ESL students. The mocking tone, however, probably annoys the more prudish folks. Other adult educators might also feel that their precious class time is better spent on more practical life skills.

I understand their reservations, but still strongly recommend it as a real treat. The author, Harry Collis, deserves great praise for creating a very entertaining, informative ESL book.
This satisfying collection seems ideal for self-study, college students, and tutors. Do yourself a favor - read this book!

The Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms (Penguin Reference Books)

2008-10-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

"Power nap," "the Oprah effect," "girl power"-these are just some of the recent figures of speech to have entered our language. This dictionary has been completely revised for its second edition and includes 2,000 new idioms. It provides clear and concise definitions and explains how the idioms should be used. At the same time, the dictionary's thematic arrangement makes it possible not only to study and compare all the idioms in a given subject area, but to match the right one to the right occasion.

A New Chinese-English Dictionary of Function Words

2008-10-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

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mandarin
language learning

Word

2008-10-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Word is a sound or a group of sounds that expresses a meaning and forms an independent unit of a language (Hornby, 1995-1374). Fuad mas'ud classifies word into some types, namely nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interconjunctions (1987:63)

A word at least consists of one morpheme which has a lexical meaning. A word can also consists of two or more morphemes. go, book, good are the examples of the word consisting of one morpheme. books, cooks, beautiful are the examples of words consisting of two morphemes. books consists of the morpheme book and the morpheme -s ; cooks consists of the morpheme cook and the morpheme -s ; and beautiful consists of the morpheme beauty and the morpheme -ful.

References:
Hornby, A.s. 1995. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English. Fifth edition. Great Britain: Oxford University Press.

Mas'ud Fuad. 1987. Essentials of English Grammar. Yogyakarta: BPFE

Derivations: Exploring the Dynamics of Syntax (Routledge Leadinglinguists)

2008-09-24T02:54:00.000-07:00

Description
This book presents an analysis of a variety of central linguistic notions, such as case agreement, obviation, and rigidity, from a derivational perspective.

Derivations in Minimalism (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics)

2008-09-24T02:39:00.000-07:00

Description
This pathbreaking study presents a new perspective on the role of derivation, the series of operations by which sentences are formed. Working within the Minimalist Program and focusing on English, the authors develop an original theory of generative syntax, which provides a pioneering challenge to fundamental assumptions in syntactic theory

Description
This pathbreaking study presents a new perspective on the role of derivation, the series of operations by which sentences are formed. Working within the Minimalist Program and focusing on English, the authors develop an original theory of generative syntax, providing illuminating new analyses of some central syntactic constructions. Two key questions are explored: first, can the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) be eliminated from Minimalist analysis without loss, and perhaps with a gain in empirical coverage; and second, is the construct 'A-Chain' similarly eliminable? The authors argue that neither EPP nor the A-chain is in fact a property of Universal Grammar, but rather their descriptive content can be deduced from independently motivated properties of lexical items, in accordance with overarching principles governing derivation. In investigating these questions, a range of new data is introduced, and existing data re-analyzed, presenting a pioneering challenge to fundamental assumptions in syntactic theory

Morphological Productivity: Structural Constraints in English Derivation (Topics in English Linguistics, 28) (Topics in English Linguistics)

2008-09-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

Description
This book deals with one of the central problems for theories of word-formation, the productivity of morphological processes. On the basis of a survey of a wide range of English derivational affixes it is proposed that the productivity and combinability of a given affix are primarily the result of its individual structural, i.e., phonological, morphological and semantic, properties and not due to more general mechanisms of the various kinds proposed, for example, by proponents of Lexical Phonology/Morphology.

This point is further developed in an in-depth structural analysis of the rival verbal affixes -ize, -ate, -ify, en-, em-, be-, -en and conversion. First, the productivity of these processes is assessed, using both text-based and dictionary-based measures (Cobuild corpus vs. Oxford English Dictionary). Implementing Optimality Theory and Jackendoff’s Lexical Conceptual Semantics, a large number of 20th century neologisms extracted from the OED are investigated with regard to their phonological, morphological and semantic characteristics. Bridging the gap between broad empirical coverage and significant theoretical insights, the analysis leads to new findings concerning both the structural properties of derived verbs in English and the role of these properties in restricting productivity. It is argued that the choice of a particular affix can be largely predicted on the basis of the affix’s individual properties, without any additional machinery besides token-blocking and local analogy. On the theoretical level the proposed analysis presents evidence against the separation of meaning and form in derivational morphology and for a sign-based, output-oriented model instead.

Word by Word Picture Dictionary: English/Chinese Edition

2008-09-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

Review : By Eddie Landsberg

By the authors of SIDE BY SIDE this is a much more colorful and better organized picture dictionary than the formerly more popular OXFORD PICTURE DICTIONARY. Whenever I bring it to class, if the students don't have it, the first thing atleast 70% will ask me is "Where can I get it ?"

- - used with the accompanying flash cards (not included) you can teach entire (and substantive) lessons with just those two things alone... and even without it, you can use it to expand amply from whatever text book you're using. The chapters on the household, occupations, places around town, work activities are especially useful. In my begining classes we learn how to ask each other questions about these subjects, and begin all our classes discussing what we did over the weekend, what we did at work etc. etc. We talk about our house, our family... and all these topics are with Level 1 students, eye to eye (pair work, group work, class discussion)and facilitated by lessons from this book. - - Pictures get students talking and open them up and this is the ultimate resource ! ! !

As a tip, the students love looking at the pictures and discussing them, so to keep activities interactive, have students share books... or make worksheets where the students have to exchange information ! ! !

Using Arabic: A Guide to Contemporary Usage

2008-08-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is a guide to Arabic usage for intermediate-level students and above who wish to extend their knowledge of the language. Focusing on Modern Standard Arabic, it is divided into three sections: A vocabulary chapter showing which words are current and appropriate to different registers; a grammar chapter giving an overview of Arabic grammar with modern-day examples; and a chapter on varieties of Arabic, describing linguistic variation in the Arab world. Clear and readable, it is an essential reference for students seeking to improve their fluency and confidence in Arabic.

This book is well written and clearly presented. There is a long section that reviews how different words are used in Arabic and provides a lot of information I haven't seen in other "textbooks". The section points out differences between English and Arabic usage which is helpful. The last section of the book focuses on grammar, which provides a useful review. I would recommend this book to someone who already is at a high- intermediate level of proficiency.

The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic (The Phonology of the World's Languages)

2008-08-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Arabic is a Semitic language spoken by some 250 million people in an area stretching from Morocco in the West to parts of Iran in the East. Apart from its great intrinsic interest, the importance of the language for phonological and morphological theory lies, as the author shows, in its rich root-and-pattern morphology and its large set of guttural consonants.

Dr Watson focuses on two eastern dialects, Cairene and San'ani. Cairene is typical of an advanced urban Mediterranean dialect and has a cultural importance throughout the Arab world; it is also the variety learned by most foreign speakers of Arabic. San'ani, spoken in Yemen, is representative of a conservative peninsula dialect. In addition the book makes extensive reference to other dialects as well as to classical and Modern Standard Arabic.
The volume opens with an overview of the history and varieties of Arabic, and of the study of phonology within the Arab linguistic tradition. Successive chapters then cover dialectal differences and similarities, and the position of Arabic within Semitic; the phoneme system and the representation of phonological features; the syllable and syllabification; word stress; derivational morphology; inflectional morphology; lexical phonology; and post-lexical phonology. The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic will be of great interest to Arabists and comparative Semiticists, as well as to phonologists, morphologists, and linguists more generally.

This book is the first comprehensive account of the phonology and morphology of Arabic. It is a pioneering work of scholarship, based on the author's research in the region.

Deconstructing Morphology: Word Formation in Syntactic Theory

2008-08-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Description
One of the major contributions to theoretical linguistics during the twentieth century has been an advancement of our understanding that the information-bearing units which make up human language are organized on a hierarchy of levels. It has been an overarching goal of research since the 1930s to determine the precise nature of those levels and what principles guide interactions among them.

Linguists have typically posited phonological, morphological, and syntactic levels, each with its own distinct vocabulary and organizing principles, but in Deconstructing Morphology Rochelle Lieber persuasively challenges the existence of a morphological level of language. Her argument, that rules and vocabulary claimed to belong to the morphological level in fact belong to the levels of syntax and phonology, follows the work of Sproat, Toman, and others. Her study, however, is the first to draw jointly on Chomsky's Government-Binding Theory of syntax and on recent research in phonology.

Ranging broadly over data from many languages—including Tagalog, English, French, and Dutch—Deconstructing Morphology addresses key questions in current morphological and phonological research and provides an innovative view of the overall architecture of grammar.

The Prosody-Morphology Interface

2008-08-23T05:57:00.000-07:00

Description
In many languages, word formation is restricted by principles of prosody that organize speech sounds into larger units such as the syllable. Written by an international team of leading linguists in the field of prosodic morphology, this book examines a range of key issues in the interaction of word formation and prosody. It provides an explanation for nonconcatenative morphology that occurs in different forms (such as reduplication) in many languages, by an interaction of independent general principles of prosodic and morphological well-formedness.

The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology (Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics

2008-08-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

Review

"The book is well-organized and -written, coherent and clear. The author covers a great range of morphological concepts, patterns and issues which are briefly but nonetheless, concisely explained and well-exemplified... Cross-references are also well managed. The conclusive notes of each chapter provide a useful and clear summary of the most fundamental points which have been raised. The most important aspect of this book's value and strength is the fact that it presents a nicely outlined way of 'how to do morphological analysis theoretically.'"-- The Linguist List

Description
This text provides an up-to-date introduction to the morphological analysis of words. Morphology deals with the internal structure of words and how this structure affects their phonological, syntactic and semantic properties. This book covers both inflection (the different forms of a word), and word formation, the ways in which new words can be added to the vocabulary of a language.

The enormous variety of morphological operations that we find in natural languages is quite intriguing. The first part of the book gives a cross-linguistic survey of these operations: affixation, compounding, reduplication, and several kinds of phonological operation. The specific properties of word formation and inflection are dealt with in subsequent chapters.

The second part of the book focuses on the ways in which the morphological structure of words determines their phonological, syntactic, and semantic properties. These different 'interfaces' are dealt with systematically, again with illustrations from a number of languages.

In the last part of the book the reader is introduced to present-day research on the acquisition of morphological knowledge, and on the way in which complex words are processed. This will give insight as to how lexical knowledge is structured and how it is stored in memory.

What is Morphology (Fundamentals of Linguistics)

2008-08-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

Review
"Aronoff and Fudeman have provided an extremely pleasant tour of the issues in modern morphological theory for beginning students. The rich collection of exercises will be a godsend to instructors and students alike, and the thread of discussion of a single language throughout the book is a brilliant stroke that other texts should emulate."
Stephen R. Anderson, Yale University

"This unusual book combines a basic start on morphology with an introduction to Kujamaat Jóola. It is a fine addition to teaching materials on morphology: a book for beginners to use with a teacher, yet one from which any linguist could learn. The authors intend students to develop ‘a lasting taste for morphology’. I think many will."

Greville Corbett, University of Surrey, Guildford

"Morphology has its own organizing principles, distinct from those of syntax, phonology, and the lexicon. Too many morphology textbooks obscure this fascinating fact, but Aronoff and Fudeman refreshingly make it the cornerstone of their exposition."

Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy, University of Canterbury

The Handbook of Morphology (Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics)

2008-08-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

"This impressive volume is the first handbook of morphology. It's pioneering status is confirmed by an unprecedented range of topics, not to be found in any existing monograph in the domain of morphology ... I do not know any other book which offers such easy access to all the basics of modern morphology and to such a wide variety of topics." W.U. Dressler, University of Vienna

"Strongly theoretic, the handbook is none the less pleasingly rich in carefully explored data, and fits in well with the other volumes in the series of Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics" Forum for Modern Language Skills, Vol 39, 2003

Review : By verafides "Lazy Eye
You know why nobody has ever reviewed this book on Amazon? Because shoppers interested in a gigantic collection of academic papers on morphological theory are already AWARE of what it is, and don't need to be told about it. And anyone else will never, in fact, look at this review. So it's entirely a bizarre anachronism - a review that nobody will read, that has nothing useful to say.

This is, of course, a wonderful compilation of papers on morphology. It's chocked full of data (and yes, Mr. Zwicky, I'm consciously using 'chocked'), and tons of careful analysis. Most of the papers are theory-neutral, or nearly theory-neutral, and thus it is actually a nice general reference piece, since it won't become outdated. I think this was the general goal that the editors were shooting for, and they met it fabulously. When I want to know how different languages do something, for example Noun Incorporation, I can open up this book and have piles of lovely examples with intelligent commentary. Morphology being the mess that it is, there's not as much really clear organization as I'd like (lots of "Some languages do this, but others kind of do that, and then there's this thing - that we don't know WHAT...to do with") - but that's more to do with the state of morphology than the state of this book. The syntax, phonology, and semantics books in this series are all beautifully organized, and, paradoxically, much more apt to go out of date.

But you probably already know this. If you didn't, you wouldn't be looking at this book - you'd be off digging up a used copy of "M is for Mush-For-Brains" by Sue Grafton-Higgins Clark. And then you wouldn't have any clue what I'm talking about, and probably too busy being led astray by William Safire or Richard Lederer to bother trying to find out.

This is only one book in the series - it is a behemoth, though, so get a cupcake for the mailman when he delivers it to you.

Studies On Reduplication (Empirical Approaches to Language Typology)

2008-08-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

The systematic repetition of phonological material within a word for semantic or grammatical purposes is known as reduplication, a widely used morphological device in a substantial number of the languages spanning the globe. This paper will provide an overview of the types of reduplicative constructions found in the languages of the world and the function they portray.

Morphology of Jakarta Dialect, Affixation and Reduplication

2008-08-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

Jakarta Dialect is one of dialects in Indonesia. Indonesia is a country consisting of thousands of islands. Therefore, there are a lot of tribes in Indonesia. Consequently, Indonesian has many kinds of dialects. Reduplication is one characteristic found in many dialects in Indonesia. In Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) itself as a national language, there aravarous kinds of reduplication such as rumah rumah (houses), orang orang (people), siswa siswa (students).

Spanish Compound Words: Expand Your Spanish Vocabulary With Derivative Word Lists (Paperback)

2008-08-01T01:14:00.000-07:00

This book isn't a dictionary or a vocabulary guide, but rather an easy to use textbook. It seems targeted at beginning/intermediate students of Spanish.

The book is broken down into small chapters, each of which focuses on derivative words that relate to a simple vocabulary word. After working with it for a few days, I found myself using more advanced vocabulary terms with my Spanish-speaking friends. The author's method of connecting difficult words to easy ones in an intuitive approach to building your skills in the language.

English Words (Paperback)

2008-08-01T01:11:00.000-07:00

Description
From nonsense verse to journalism, from poetry to advertising, Katamba gracefully explores the history of the English language, identifying particular words whose genealogy is marked by sometimes astonishing differences in their past and present usage. Whether Katamba's concern is the cultural logic of the English language or its complex syntaxical roots, English Words proves an introduction which is delightfully lucid and descriptive.

About the Author
Francis Katamba is a Lecturer in Linguistics and English at Lancaster University.

Deconstructing Morphology: Word Formation in Syntactic Theory (Paperback)

2008-08-01T01:09:00.000-07:00

English Words: History and Structure (Paperback)

2008-08-01T01:04:00.000-07:00

Description
English Words: History and Structure is concerned primarily with the learned vocabulary of English, the words borrowed from the classical languages and French. It is both an introduction to some of the basic principles of linguistic analysis and a helpful manual for vocabulary discernment and enrichment. Designed to deepen and strengthen the knowledge acquired in the classroom, exercises to accompany each chapter and further readings on recent loans and the legal and medical vocabulary of English are available online at http://uk.cambridge.org/linguistics/resources/englishwor ds.

- Your First 100 Words Arabic w/Audio CD (Your First 100 Words In...) (Paperback)

2008-07-20T22:19:00.001-07:00

For the first time, Your First 100 Words in Arabic is available with an audio program, making it an even more effective way to hit the ground running when learning the language. You can be confident that you are pronouncing words correctly thanks to this program's clear presentations, simple skill-building exercises, and games. Basic phrases are introduced that will let you use your new vocabulary in sentences and participate in mini-conversations.

- First Thousand Words in Arabic: With Easy Pronunciation Guide (Hardcover)

2008-07-20T22:13:00.001-07:00

"First 1000 Words" is a picture reference book with numerous scenes similar to the picture on the cover of the book. Even though this appears to be a children's book, I recommend it to adults who are trying to learn Arabic, too.

All of the words in the book are nouns, so a more appropriate title might be "First 1000 Nouns in Arabic". The book is really easy to use. Under each picture is the arabic word (in Arabic script). Beneath that is the English transliteration. This is helpful if you don't know how to read Arabic script or aren't very good at is. For example, under the picture of a fish, you will find the Arabic script, then the tansliteration of fish in Arabic, which is "samak".

A glossary in the back of the book helps you easily locate the word you might be looking for and to clear up any confusion caused by a picture that could mean two or more things, like a picture of a wall, the word beneath the picture could be the word for "brick" or for "wall". The glossary eliminate this confusion.

Word-Formation in English (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)

2008-07-18T03:31:00.000-07:00

This textbook provides an accessible introduction to the study of word-formation, focussing specifically on English. Assuming no prior Linguistic knowledge, Ingo Plag explains the fundamentals of word-formation, showing how morphemes--the elements of a word's internal structure--can function both to relate words to other words, and to create new words. Students are encouraged to undertake their own morphological analyses of English words, and are familiarised with the methodological tools to obtain and analyse relevant data. Word-Formation in English will be welcomed by all students of English Language and Linguistics.

Russian Word Formation

2008-07-18T03:28:00.000-07:00

Details

* Paperback: 272 pages
* Publisher: Slavica Publishers (June 1975)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0893570230
* ISBN-13: 978-0893570231
* Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches

Morphology: Word Structure in Generative Grammar

2008-07-18T03:25:00.000-07:00

Details

* Paperback
* Publisher: John Benjamins Pub Co (January 1990)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 155619126X
* ISBN-13: 978-1556191268
* Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches

Morfologia Lexica/ Lexical Morphology: La Formacion De Palabras / The Formation of Words (Ensenanza Y Lengua Espanola / Teachings and Spanish Language

2008-07-18T03:17:00.000-07:00

Details

* Paperback: 128 pages
* Publisher: Gredos (January 19, 2005)
* Language: Spanish
* ISBN-10: 8424927400
* ISBN-13: 978-8424927400
* Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.5 inches

Shaped by the Word: The Power of Scripture in Spiritual Formation

2008-07-18T03:12:00.000-07:00

Mulholland's insistance that we are capable of letting go of what we know in order to freshly approace the scriptures with the intent of allowing ourselves to be shaped by God's Word is the premise of this excellent book. I lend it to friends, but make certain I retrieve it. The author describes the path he has personally trod in his attempt to realize his full God given potential. Examples illustrate his struggle to distinguish the critical difference between the accustomed reading of scripture for information, and the life changing willingness to read for personal spiritual formation. I am grateful for having discovered this fine author, and recommend this book to anyone interested in signposts to guide their spiritual journey.

- Javanese Affixes

2008-07-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

According to Sudaryanto in "Tata Bahasa Baku Bahasa Jawa", the types of Javanese Affixes are prefixes, suffixes, infixes, and circumfixes. The prefix N- added to the word pangan ('food'), for example will, change the word pangan ('food') which is noun to mangan ('eat') which is verb. The example of the Javanese suffix is the suffix -en . The word bleduk (dust) + -en becomes bleduken ('dusty'). The example of Javanese infix is the infix -em-. The Javanese word semega ('the condition of someone who likes to eat much; this condition usuallyrefers to the teenagers') is derived from the word sega ('rice') added ti the infix -em- . The example of Javanese circumfix is the circumfix N- .... -I. The word mbanyoni ('to irrigate'), for example is derived from the word banyu ('water') added to the circumfix N- .... -I.

Reference:
Sudaryanto. 1991. Tata Bahasa Baku Bahasa Jawa. Yogyakarta: Duta Wacana University Press.

- Morphophonemic Processes

2008-07-11T19:41:00.001-07:00

Related to the affixation processes, there is a term called morphophonemic processes (Fromkin, 1990: 141). The term morphophonemic processes is derived from two words, they are “morpheme” and “phoneme”. The word Morphophonemic refers variation in the form of morphemes because of the influence phonetic factor or the study of this variation (Longman). According to Parera, the form change of morpheme is based on the sounds surround it which relates to the correlation between morphemes and phonemes (1982:42). It is also called morphophonemic changes.

According to Ramlan, morphophonemic refers the changes of phoneme as a result from the merging of one morpheme and another (2001:83). He also states that morphophonemic process is a process of form changes in which phoneme and morpheme are involved.

References:
Fromkin, Victoria et.al. 1990. An Introduction to Language. Sidney: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Parera, Jos Daniel. 1982. Studi Linguistik Umum dan Historikal Bandingan. Jakarta: Erlangga.

Ramlan. 1985. Morphology: Suatu Tinjauan Deskriptif. Yogyakarta: CV. Karyono.

- The variants of Morpheme {in-}

2008-06-07T23:10:00.000-07:00

The morpheme {in-} is realized by different phonetic representations depending on the phonemes following it. The phonetic representation (pronunciation) is not always symbolized by the letters. The word incomplete, for example, which is the word formation of the prefix {in-} and the free morpheme complete, is pronounced / iŋk∂mpli:t/ when pronounced rapidly. The phone [ŋ] is not written.

The change of phonetic representation because of the meeting of phonemes in morphological process is called morphophonemic change. The morpheme {in-} which attaches to the bases with bilabial phonemes in initial position will change to im-. In other words, the morpheme {in-} will be pronounced [im] if it meets the bilabial phonemes. The examples are as follows:

Prefix Base /bilabial/ Derived word

in- balance imbalance

in- perfect imperfect
in- moral immoral

The morphophonemic process of the prefix {in-} to im- is illustrated as: {in-} + base (initial bilabial phonemes) --> [im-].

The morpheme {in-} which attaches to the bases with the phoneme /k/ in initial position will change to /iŋ-/. The phone [ŋ] is not symbolized by the orthographic symbol but we can hear this sound when it is pronounced rapidly as explained above. The examples are as follows:

Prefix Base /k/ Derived word

in- complete incomplete / iŋk∂mpli:t/
in- correct incorrect /iŋk∂rekt/
in- consistent inconsistent /iŋk∂nsist∂nt/

The morphophonemic process of the prefix {in-} to [iŋ-] is illustrated as: {in-} + base (the phoneme /k/) --> / iŋ-/.

The morpheme {in-} which attaches to the bases with liquid phonemes in initial position will change to liquid phonemes. The morpheme {in-} in this case will be pronounced like the phone of the liquid phonemes which follow it. The examples are as follows:

Prefix Base /liquids/ Derived word
in- legal illegal
in- rational irrational

The morphophonemic process of the change of the prefix{ in-} to liquids is illustrated as: {in-} + base (initial liquid phonemes) --> / liquids/.

The morpheme in- which attaches to the bases with vowel phonemes in initial position will be pronounced /in-/. The examples are as follows:

Prefix Base /liquids/ Derived word
in- efficient inefficient

The morphophonemic process of the change of the prefix in- with vowels is illustrated as: {in-} + base (initial vowel phonemes) --> /in-/.

Based on the explanation above, the morpheme {in-} has the allomorphs /im-/, /iŋ-/, /ir-/,/il-/ and /in-/ and can be illustrated as follows:

/im-/
/iŋ-/
{in-} -----> /ir-/
/il-/
/in-/

morpheme allomorphs

Prefix un- in English

2008-04-25T00:59:00.001-07:00

There are two kinds of the prefix un- in English. The first is attached to adjectives to form new adjectives, and the second is attached to verbs to form new verbs. The two kinds of the prefix un- do not change the part of speech. The prefix un- attached to adjectives means ‘not’. Fromkin (1990: 130) calls this derivation antonym or negative. Look at the following examples of prefix un- attached to adjectives:

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Adjective) (Adjective)

un - able unable ‘not able’
un - afraid unafraid ‘not afraid’
un - aware unaware ‘not aware’
un - fit unfit ‘not ft’
un - free unfree ‘not free’
un - happy unhappy ‘not happy’
un - important unimportant 'not important'
un - smooth unsmooth ‘not smooth’
un - true untrue ‘not true’

The prefix un- can also be added to the adjectives of the derived words that have been formed by morphological rules (Fromkin, 1990 : 130). The examples are as follows:

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Adjective) (Adjective)
un - acceptable unacceptable ‘not acceptable’
un - avoidable unavoidable ‘not avoidable’
un - believable unbelievable ‘not believable’
un - predictable unpredictable ‘not believable’
un - reachable unreachable ‘not reachable’
un - readable unreadable ‘not readable’
un - sinkable unsinkable ‘not sinkable’
un - touchable untouchable ‘not touchable’

Based on the examples above the rule of the prefix un- attached to adjectives can be stated as: {un-} + ADJECTIVE--> new ADJECTIVE. This rule says that the prefix un- attached to an adjective creates a new adjective. The new adjective is indicated by the change of meaning. In this case the prefix un- means ‘not’

The second prefix un- joins with verbs to form new verbs. In this case the prefix un- means ‘to do the opposite of ’ (Hornby, 1986: 935). The following are the examples of the prefix un- which combines with verbs:

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Verb) (Verb)
un- bind unbind ‘to do the opposite of binding’
un- cover uncover ‘to do the opposite of covering’
un- do undo ‘to do the opposite of doing’
un- dress undress ‘to do the opposite of dressing’
un- load unload ‘to do the opposite of loading’
un- lock unlock ‘to do the opposite of locking’
un- tie untie ‘to do the opposite of tying’

From the examples above, the rule of prefix un- attached to verbs can be stated as: {un-} + VERB --> new VERB. This rule says that the prefix un- attached to a verb creates a new verb. The new verb is indicated by the change of meaning namely ‘to do the opposite of’.

References:

Fromkin, Victoria A. 1990. An Introduction to Language. Sydney: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich Group (Australia) Pty Limited.

Hornby, AS. 1986. Oxford Advanced Dictionary of Current English. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Prefix dis-

2008-04-13T23:54:00.000-07:00

The prefix dis- is a derivational morpheme which can be attached to verbs to form new verbs. This prefix has several meanings but its basic meaning is ‘not’

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Verb) (Verb)

dis- agree disagree ‘not agree’
dis- allow disallow ‘refuse to allow’
dis- appear disappear ‘be seen no more’
dis- believe disbelieve ‘refuse to believe’
dis- like dislike ‘not like’
dis- close disclose ‘allow to be seen’
dis- connect disconnect ‘take apart’
dis- continue discontinue ‘give up’
dis- obey disobey ‘not obey’

Based on the examples above, the rule of the prefix dis- attached to verbs can be stated as: {dis-}+ VERB --> new VERB. The new verb is indicated by the change of meaning. In this case, the prefix dis- brings the basic meaning ‘not’ to the verb.

The prefix dis- can be attached to nouns to form new nouns. The following are the examples.

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Noun) (Noun)

dis- advantage disadvantage ‘unfavorable condition’
dis- comfort discomfort ‘absence of comfort’
dis- harmony disharmony ‘lack of harmony’
dis- honor dishonor ‘absence of honor’

Based on the examples above, the rule of the prefix dis- attached to nouns can be stated as: {dis-}+ NOUN --> new NOUN. The new noun is indicated by the change of meaning. In this case, the prefix dis- brings the basic meaning ‘not’ to the noun.

The prefix dis- can also be attached to adjectives to form new adjectives. The examples are as follows:

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Adjective) (Adjective)

dis- able disable ‘make unable to do something’
dis- honest dishonest ‘not honest’
dis- similar dissimilar ‘not similar’

Based on the examples above, the rule of the prefix dis- attached to adjectives can be stated as: {dis-}+ ADJECTIVE --> new ADJECTIVE. The new adjective is indicated by the change of meaning. In this case, the prefix dis- brings the basic meaning ‘not’ to the adjectives. The prefix dis- attached to verbs are more productive than that attached to nouns and adjectives (Bauer, 1983 : 220).

REFERENCE

Bauer, Laurie. 1983. English Word Formation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Prefix in-

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The prefix in- is the derivational bound morpheme mostly attached to adjectives. This prefix does not change the part of speech either. The meaning of this prefix is ‘not’. Look at the examples below:

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Adjective) (Adjective)

in- accurate inaccurate ‘not accurate’
in- tolerant intolerant ‘not tolerant’
in- efficient inefficient ‘not efficient’
in- expensive inexpensive ‘not expensive’
in- fertile infertile ‘not fertile’
in- formal informal ‘not formal’
in- legal illegal ‘not legal’
in- moral immoral ‘not moral’
in- perfect imperfect ‘not perfect’
in- polite impolite ‘not polite’
in- complete incomplete ‘not complete’
in- consistent inconsistent ‘not consistent’
in- regular irregular ‘not regular’
in- responsible irresponsible ‘not responsible’
in- relevant irrelevant ‘not relevant’

From the examples above, the rule of prefix in- attached to adjectives can be stated as: {in-} + ADJECTIVE --> new ADJECTIVE. This rule says that the prefix in- attached to an adjective creates a new adjective. The new adjective is indicated by the change of meaning ‘not’ in the derived word. The prefix in- attached to nouns are very rare. The following are the examples of the prefix in- attached to nouns.

Prefix Base Derived word Meaning
(Noun) (Noun)

in- balance imbalance ‘absence of balance’
in- decorum indecorum ‘lack of decorum’
in- decision indecision ‘the state of being unable to decide’

Derivational Morphemes

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Bound morphemes consist of inflectional and derivational morphemes. Inflectional morphemes are those which do not create new meaning. These morphemes never change the syntactic category of the words or morphemes to which they are attached (Bauer, 1988: 12). They only refine and give extra grammatical information about the already existing meaning of words which they are attached to. The word books, for example, consists of a free morpheme book and an inflectional morpheme –s. The bound morpheme –s does not change the syntactic category of the morpheme book. The bound morpheme –s does not change the lexical meaning of book. It only gives grammatical meaning which shows that the word books is plural. Book is a noun and books is still a noun.

Different from the word books which contains the bound morpheme –s which does not create new meaning of the word book, the word happiness contains a bound morpheme –ness which creates new meaning of the word happy. The bound morpheme like –ness is called derivational morpheme. A derivational morpheme is the morpheme which produces a new lexeme from a base (Bauer, 1988: 12). Sari (1988: 82) says that derivational morphemes are bound morphemes which derive (create) new words by either changing the meaning or the part of speech or both. In the word happiness, the bound morpheme –ness creates a new word by changing both the meaning and the part of speech. Happy is an adjective but the derived word happiness is a noun. Some derivational morphemes create new meaning but do not change the syntactic category or part of speech. The word unhappy, for example, consists of the base happy and the derivational morpheme (prefix) un-. Happy is an adjective and the derived word unhappy is also an adjective.

In English, derivational morphemes can be prefixes or suffixes. All prefixes in English are derivational. All prefixes in English modify the meaning although they do not modify the syntactic category. For examples, the derivational prefix in- in inefficient, un- in undo, re- in rewrite, dis- in dislike and a- in amoral modify the positive meaning to the negative meaning but do not change the syntactic category of the derived words; efficient is an adjective and the derived word inefficient is also an adjective; do is a verb and the derived word undo is also a verb; write is a verb and the derived word rewrite is also a verb; moral is an adjective and the derived word amoral is also and adjective. All the derivational prefixes explained above have the meaning ‘not’. Most derivational suffixes change both the syntactic category and the meaning. Only a few of them do not change the syntactic category. The derivational suffixes which change the syntactic category can be noun-forming suffixes, verb-forming suffixes, adjective-forming suffixes, and adverb-forming suffixes.

Reduplication

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Reduplication is the process of word formation by doubling the morpheme or word. This process can be total or partial reduplication. When all of a morpheme is doubled, it is called total reduplication. When only the part of a morpheme is doubled, it is called partial reduplication. In Indonesian language, for example, total reduplication is used to form the plurals of nouns:

Singular ..........................Plural

[buku] 'book'.....................[buku buku] 'houses'
[batu] 'stone'....................[batu batu] 'stones'
[guru] 'teacher'..................[guru guru] 'teachers'
[ibu] 'mother'...................[ibu ibu] 'mothers'
[rumah] 'house' ...................[rumah rumah] 'houses'

English Plural Morpheme

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In English, to form the plural noun from the singular one is by adding the plural marker to the noun. The common plural marker or the plural morpheme is the suffix –s, although in reality this morpheme can be realized by the phonetic representations [s], [z], or [iz]. These phonetic representations or allomorphs are conditioned by the phones of the base to which the plural morpheme is added. Some countable nouns are not added with the suffix –s to make them plural but the number of these types are not as many as those added with the suffix –s. Therefore, this plural morpheme is usually called the morpheme –s because this suffix frequently occurs in the plural noun formation. The following are the examples of the words containing the plural morpheme or the morpheme {-s} which is pronounced /s/, /z/, or /iz/

baby (singular) + -s ----> babies [beibiz] (plural)
bag (singular) + -s ----> bags [bægz] (plural)
book (singular) + -s ----> books [buks] (plural)
box (singular) + -s ----> boxes [boksiz] (plural)
cat (singular) + -s ----> cats [kæts] (plural)
dog (singular) + -s ----> dogs [dogz] (plural)

The plural morpheme or the morpheme {-s} is not always realized by the suffix –s. The following are the examples:

man (singular) + -s ---> men (plural)
woman (singular) + -s ---> women (plural)
child (singular) + -s ---> children (plural)
ox (singular) + -s ---> oxen (plural)
tooth (singular) + -s ---> teeth (plural)
foot (singular) + -s ---> feet (plural)
sheep (singular) + -s ---> sheep (plural)
deer (singular) + -s ---> deer (plural)

Allomorph

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The variants of morpheme are called allomorphs. Morphemes are abstract, what actually occurs, or what we hear is morphes. One morpheme can be realized by more than one morph. The morphes which belong to one morpheme are called allomorphs of the morpheme. Plural morpheme in English, for example, has allomorphs [s], [z], and [ez]. If we symbolyze the morpheme plural as {s}, we can say that the allomorphs of the morpheme {s} are [s], [z], and [Iz]. These alomorphs are phonetically conditioned. It means that the occurence the [s], [z] and [Iz] is influenced by the phone which they attach.

English Prefix un-

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Morphological Structure

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The domain of morphology is words. How words are formed is the concern of this field so morphological structure is the structure which consists of the elements to form words. The most common word formation in language including English is affixation. Affixation is the process of word formation by adding the affixes or bound morphemes in bases or roots (free morphemes). In other words morphological structure is the structure or forms of words primarily through the use of morpheme construct (Crystal, 1980: 232). Morpheme is defined as the smallest meaningful unit of language (Lim Kiat Boey, 1975 : 37). Morphemes can be divided into two namely free morphemes and bound morphemes. Morphemes are the components which build words. The word singers, for example, consists of three meaningful units or morphemes, sing, –er, and –s. The morpheme sing which forms the word singers has the lexical meaning; the morpheme –er means the doer of singing; the morpheme –s has plural meaning. We can identify the meaning of the morpheme sing although it stands alone but we cannot identify the meaning of morphemes –er and –s in isolation. We can identify the meaning of the morpheme –er and –s after they combine to the morpheme sing. Sing which can meaningfully stand alone is called free morpheme while the morphemes such as –er and –s, which cannot meaningfully stand alone are called bound morphemes. Bound morphemes must be attached to free morphemes. Bound morphemes are also called affixes which can be classified into prefix, infix, and suffix. English only has two kinds of bound morphemes namely prefixes and suffixes. No infixes exist in English. Bound morphemes are classified into two types namely derivational and inflectional morphemes. Both inflectional and derivational morphemes play an important role in the larger structure namely syntactic structure.

Morphology

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Morphology is the study of word formation. The formation of word can be one or more smaller components. The components forming a word are called morphemes. Morphemes can be divided into free morphemes and bound morphemes. A free morpheme is a morpeheme which can stand alone and has lexical meaning. A bound morpheme is a morpeheme which cannot stand alone. It does not have meaning in isolation. It has meaning when it is combined into a free morpeheme. The term morphology is borrowed from biological scienece which refers to the stady of shapes. In Linguistics this term refers to the study of the shape of words or the forms of word.