Morphology and Syntax

Part Two: Morphology and Syntax

Morphemes are the minimal units of words that have a meaning and cannot be subdivided further. There are two main types: free and bound. Free morphemes can occur alone and bound morphemes must occur with another morpheme. An example of a free morpheme is "bad", and an example of a bound morpheme is "ly." It is bound because although it has meaning, it cannot stand alone. It must be attached to another morpheme to produce a word.

Free morpheme: bad
Bound morpheme: ly
Word: badly

When we talk about words, there are two groups: lexical (or content) and function (or grammatical) words. Lexical words are called open class words and include nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. New words can regularly be added to this group. Function words, or closed class words, are conjunctions, prepositions, articles and pronouns; and new words cannot be (or are very rarely) added to this class.

Affixes are often the bound morpheme. This group includes prefixes, suffixes, infixes, and circumfixes. Prefixes are added to the beginning of another morpheme, suffixes are added to the end, infixes are inserted into other morphemes, and circumfixes are attached to another morpheme at the beginning and end. Following are examples of each of these:

Prefix: re- added to do produces redo
Suffix: -or added to edit produces editor
Infix: -um- added to fikas (strong) produces fumikas (to be strong) in Bontoc
Circumfix: ge- and -t to lieb (love) produces geliebt (loved) in German

There are two categories of affixes: derivational and inflectional. The main difference between the two is that derivational affixes are added to morphemes to form new words that may or may not be the same part of speech and inflectional affixes are added to the end of an existing word for purely grammatical reasons. In English there are only eight total inflectional affixes:

-s	3rd person singular present	she waits
-ed	past tense	she waited
-ing	progressive	she's eating
-en	past participle	she has eaten
-s	plural	three apples
-'s	possessive	Lori's son
-er	comparative	you are taller
-est	superlative	you are the shortest

The other type of bound morphemes are called bound roots. These are morphemes (and not affixes) that must be attached to another morpheme and do not have a meaning of their own. Some examples are ceive in perceive and mit in submit.

English Morphemes

A.   Free

1.    Open Class

2.    Closed Class

B.   Bound

1.    Affix

a.    Derivational

b.    Inflectional

2.    Root

There are six ways to form new words. Compounds are a combination of words, acronyms are derived from the initials of words, back-formations are created from removing what is mistakenly considered to be an affix, abbreviations or clippings are shortening longer words, eponyms are created from proper nouns (names), and blending is combining parts of words into one.

Compound: doghouse
Acronym: NBA (National Basketball Association) or scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus)
Back-formation: edit from editor
Abbreviation: phone from telephone
Eponym: sandwich from Earl of Sandwich
Blending: smog from smoke and fog

Grammar is learned unconsciously at a young age. Ask any five year old, and he will tell you that "I eat" and "you eat," but his "dog eats." But a human's syntactical knowledge goes farther than what is grammatical and what is not. It also accounts for ambiguity, in which a sentence could have two meanings, and enables us to determine grammatical relationships such as subject and direct object. Although we may not consciously be able to define the terms, we unconsciously know how to use them in sentences.

Syntax, of course, depends on lexical categories (parts of speech.) You probably learned that there are 8 main parts of speech in grammar school. Linguistics takes a different approach to these categories and separates words into morphological and syntactic groups. Linguistics analyzes words according to their affixes and the words that follow or precede them. Hopefully, the following definitions of the parts of speech will make more sense and be of more use than the old definitions of grammar school books.

Open Class Words

Nouns	_____ + plural endings "dogs"	Det. Adj. _____ (this is called a Noun Phrase) "the big dog"
Verbs	____ + tense endings "speaks"	Aux. ____ (this is called a Verb Phrase) "have spoken"
Adjectives	____ + er / est "small"	Det. ____ Noun "the smaller child"
Adverbs	Adj. + ly "quickly"	____ Adj. or Verb or Adv. "quickly ran"

Closed Class Words

Determiners	a, an, the, this, that, these, those, pronouns, quantities	____ Adj. Noun "this blue book"
Auxiliary Verbs	forms of be, have, may, can, shall	NP ____ VP "the girl is swimming"
Prepositions	at, in, on, under, over, of	____ NP (this is called a Prepositional Phrase) "in the room"
Conjunctions	and, but, or	N or V or Adj. ____ N or V or Adj. "apples and oranges"

Subcategorization defines the restrictions on which syntactic categories (parts of speech) can or cannot occur within a lexical item. These additional specifications of words are included in our mental lexicon. Verbs are the most common categories that are subcategorized. Verbs can either be transitive or intransitive. Transitive verbs take a direct object, while intransitive verbs take an indirect object (usually they need a preposition before the noun).

Transitive verb: to eat			I ate an apple. (direct object)
Intransitive: to sleep			I was sleeping in the bed. (indirect object)

Individual nouns can also be subcategorized. For example, the noun idea can be followed by a Prepositional Phrase or that and a sentence. But the noun compassion can only be followed by a Prepositional Phrase and not a sentence.  (Ungrammatical sentences are marked with asterisks.)

the idea of stricter laws			his compassion for the animals
the idea that stricter laws are necessary			*his compassion that the animals are hurt

Phrase structure rules describe how phrases are formed and in what order. These rules define the following:

Noun Phrase (NP)			(Det.) (Adj.) Noun (PP)
Verb Phrase (VP)			Verb (NP) (PP)
Prepositional Phrase (PP)			Prep. NP
Sentence (S)			NP VP

The parentheses indicate the categories are optional. Verbs don't always have to be followed by prepositional phrases and nouns don't always have to be preceded by adjectives.

Passive Sentences
The difference between the two sentences "Mary hired Bill" and "Bill was hired by Mary" is that the first is active and the second is passive. In order to change an active sentence into a passive one, the object of the active must become the subject of the passive. The verb in the passive sentence becomes a form of "be" plus the participle form of the main verb. And the subject of the active becomes the object of the passive preceded by the word "by."

Active			Passive
Mary hired Bill.			Bill was hired by Mary.
Subject + Verb + Object			Object + "be" + Verb + by + Subject

Introduction to Linguistics

Every human knows at least one language, spoken or signed. Linguistics is the science of language, including the sounds, words, and grammar rules. Words in languages are finite, but sentences are not. It is this creative aspect of human language that sets it apart from animal languages, which are essentially responses to stimuli.

The rules of a language, also called grammar, are learned as one acquires a language. These rules include phonology, the sound system, morphology, the structure of words, syntax, the combination of words into sentences, semantics, the ways in which sounds and meanings are related, and the lexicon, or mental dictionary of words. When you know a language, you know words in that language, i.e. sound units that are related to specific meanings. However, the sounds and meanings of words are arbitrary. For the most part, there is no relationship between the way a word is pronounced (or signed) and its meaning.

Knowing a language encompasses this entire system, but this knowledge (called competence) is different from behavior (called performance.) You may know a language, but you may also choose to not speak it. Although you are not speaking the language, you still have the knowledge of it. However, if you don't know a language, you cannot speak it at all.

There are two types of grammars: descriptive and prescriptive. Descriptive grammars represent the unconscious knowledge of a language. English speakers, for example, know that "me likes apples" is incorrect and "I like apples" is correct, although the speaker may not be able to explain why. Descriptive grammars do not teach the rules of a language, but rather describe rules that are already known. In contrast, prescriptive grammars dictate what a speaker's grammar should be and they include teaching grammars, which are written to help teach a foreign language.

There are about 5,000 languages in the world right now (give or take a few thousand), and linguists have discovered that these languages are more alike than different from each other. There are universal concepts and properties that are shared by all languages, and these principles are contained in the Universal Grammar, which forms the basis of all possible human languages. 

Example of Cause and Effect

To Build or Not to Build

Building permits, water and sewer taps, architectural drawings, delayed schedules, construction mishaps, and disreputable builders are a few horrors that race through a person's mind when thinking of building a house. Those who have never tried it would probably hesitate or at best think it over for several days. Some people who have dared to build their own homes swear that they would never do it again. So then, why is it that some still choose to enter into this uncelebrated, unfamiliar experience? The reasons vary, but the common ones are that building a home may be a necessity, may have a financial advantage, and can provide personal satisfaction in a unique design.

In some cases, one major cause, necessity, underlies the decision to build one's own home. Unless people have beautiful property and plenty of money, they purchase a preconstructed home when they are in the market for a house. However, when the housing market does not offer the house they want or need, then potential buyers may be forced to construct the house for themselves. For instance, if one is moving to a small town where land is reasonable and the housing market is poor, building is the only choice. Or if a family has a special need like four baths or a walk-out basement for a business, there is no alternative but to build. If a person wants to move into a certain area where the choice of homes is limited, then construction of a custom home becomes unavoidable.

Another important reason for building a home may be financial. Building a home keeps an owner from paying a large real-estate commission. Cur­rently, a real estate commission is 7 percent, so if someone buys a ready-made $70,000 home, the buyer will be paying close to $5,000 in real-estate fees. Also, a prospective home builder has some flexible control over the total cost of the construction. "Sweat equity" is a term that means that the home­owner and the home builder enter into a partnership in which the owner can do some of the labor to defray costs. Painting, tiling, landscaping, or any labor the owner chooses can be done on weekends to save dollars. In the same way, if the builders have plenty of time and flexible taste, they can find bargains for lumber, concrete, appliances, carpet, or any other major items. The buyers have no control over most of these items in an already-constructed house. More control over finances can be a significant underlying reason for deciding in favor of building a home instead of purchasing a preconstructed home.

Other important reasons for building a home are psychological. The chal­lenge of accomplishing a major project can bring a person satisfaction when Other important reasons for building a home are psychological. The chal­lenge of accomplishing a major project can bring a person satisfaction when the job is completed. Also, the prospective home builders feel as though they are the creators of the home and immediately take on the pride of ownership. Because they have a better idea of the struggle and time that went into the home, they have a deep sense of appreciation. Another emotion that might cause a person to build a home is obtaining a sense of individualism. Because the homeowner-builders have the opportunity to create and change the floor plan, they know that no other home exists that is exactly like their own. To those people who feel strongly about having a unique design, this motive may be a very strong incentive for building. Even though emotional causes may not be very obvious at first, they are usually very strong influencing forces.

A person's home is an extremely important place. It represents not only shelter but personal tastes and satisfactions, it is also the most valuable item a person ever owns. Deciding to build this valuable possession can be fright­ening and frustrating. Many people would never choose to take on such a major responsibility and task. However, some people are forced into the decision and find that there are advantages. Financial benefits, an opportu­nity to exhibit creativity, and a deep enjoyment and satisfaction in having a unique design can cause people to undertake this creative and satisfying project.

WRITING INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

An introductory paragraph is the first paragraph in writing. Its function is to lead the readers into the essay. Consequently, it should give the readers a preview of the essay. If it captures their attention, the readers will find it easier to follow the writer’s flow of expression. In order to attract the readers’ attention, ideally, the introductory paragraph should be interesting.

The introductory paragraph consists of two parts.

1.             The first part is general statement about the subject to attract readers’ attention

2.             The second part is a thesis statement, which specifies the topic or the plan of the paper. The function of thesis statement is to control the idea of the paper.

Good introductory paragraph has some characteristics. They are:

1.             The introductory paragraph should introduce the topic.

2.             The introductory paragraph should indicate generally how the topic is going to be developed, whether the essay is to discuss causes, effect, reasons, or examples. Whether the essay is going to describe, narrate, or explain something. Since this discussion is about expository, it should explain something.

3.             The introductory paragraph should contain thesis statement.

4.             The introductory paragraph should be inviting.

There are four basic types of introductory paragraph. They are:

1.             The first is turnabout type of introduction. In this type, the writer opens with a statement contrary to his or her actual thesis. Look at the following example:

We live in era where television is the national pastime. Since the invention of television set, people have been spending more of their free time watching television than doing anything else. Many of the television addicts feel that this particular pastime is not bad one; indeed, they argue that people can learn a great deal watching television. I am sure if you look long and hard enough; you can probably find some programs that are educationally motivating. But, for most part, I say that watching television is a waste of time (Smalley and Hank, 1986:228)

2.             The second type, the dramatic entrance, is a type of introduction in which the author opens with narrative, descriptive, or dramatic example. Look at the following example:

The rain pours down as if running from a faucet, lightning streaks across the dark restless sky, and thunder pounds the roof and walls of the house. All of a sudden the wind kicks up. Trees sway madly back and forth; loose objects are picked up and thrown all way round. The house streaks and moans with every gust of wind. Windows are broken by pieces of shingle from a neighbour’s roof or by loose objects picked by the wind. Power lines snap like thread. The unprepared house and its occupants are in grave prepared for hurricane approaches. Had they prepared for hurricane, they might not be in such danger. Indeed, careful preparation before a hurricane is essential to life and property (Smalley and Hank, 1986:260)

3.             The third type is relevant quotation.  In this way, the writer opens with the quotation relevant to the topic. Look at the following example:

“As an airplane or missile becomes more complicated,” warned James fallows in his 1981 book National Defence,” the probability that all its parts will be working at the same time goes down”. Indeed the reliability and power of modern U.S military hardware depend heavily on increasingly complex electronic circuits. This worrisome vulnerability prompted Pentagon officials more than two years ago to launch an extensive probe of microchip suppliers in order to spot any lax manufacturing practices. Last week the inquiry produced an indictment against a major electronic company (Smalley and Hank, 1986:299)

4.             The last type is, the Funnel. That is the type of introductory in which the progress of the idea is from general to specific one. See the following paragraph example:

Travelling to a foreign country is always interesting, especially if it is a country that is completely different from your own. You can delight in tasting new foods, seeing new sight, and learning about different customs, some of which may seem very curious. If you were to visit my country, for instance, you would probably think that my people have some very strange customs, as these three examples will illustrate (Smalley and Hank, 1986:143)

Another important thing in introductory paragraph is the existence of thesis statement, that is a single sentence that contains an arguable proposition and clearly states the author’s position on the issue. The thesis statement is said to be the good one as it qualifies the following:

1.             The thesis statement appears at the end or near the end of the introductory paragraph.

2.             It states the main point of the writer

3.             It indicates how the writer will limit and support the main point.

4.             It shows how the writer will organize the entire essay.

In addition to those all mentioned above, the thesis statement should follow the following criteria, they are:

1.             The thesis statement should be expressed in a complete sentence.

2.             The thesis statement expresses an opinion, attitude, or idea; it does not simply announce the topic of the essay will develop.

3.             The thesis statement should express an opinion; it should not express the fact.

4.             The thesis statement should express only one idea toward one topic.

Descriptive Text

What is descriptive text?

text which describe a particular thing/one

What is its' genre?

1. identification: who/what is he/it
2. descriptions: describe the physical and other descriptions

Language feature:

          Present tense

The first example:

My Cat Gregory

Gregory is my beautiful gray Persian cat. He walks with pride and grace, performing a dance of disdain as he slowly lifts and lowers each paw with the delicacy of a ballet dancer. His pride, however, does not extend to his appearance, for he spends most of his time indoors watching television and growing fat.

He enjoys TV commercials, especially those for Meow Mix and 9 Lives. His familiarity with cat food commercials has led him to reject generic brands of cat food in favor of only the most expensive brands.

Gregory is as finicky about visitors as he is about what he eats, befriending some and repelling others. He may snuggle up against your ankle, begging to be petted, or he may imitate a skunk and stain your favorite trousers. Gregory does not do this to establish his territory, as many cat experts think, but to humiliate me because he is jealous of my friends.

After my guests have fled, I look at the old fleabag snoozing and smiling to himself in front of the television set, and I have to forgive him for his obnoxious, but endearing, habits.

The second example:

Borobudur Temple

Borobudur is Hindu – Budhist temple. It was build in the nineth century under Sailendra dynasty of ancient Mataram kingdom. Borobudur is located in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia.

Borobudur is well-known all over the world. Its construction is influenced by the Gupta architecture of India. The temple is constructed on a hill 46 m high and consist of eight step like stone terrace. The first five terrace are square and surrounded by walls adorned with Budist sculpture in bas-relief. The upper three are circular.

Each of them is with a circle of bell shape-stupa. The entire adifice is crowned by a large stupa at the centre at the centre of the top circle. The way to the summit extends through some 4.8 km of passage and starways. The design of borobudur which symbolizes the structure of universe influences temples at Angkor, Cambodia.

Borobudur temple which is rededicated as an Indonesian monument in 1983 is a valuable treasure for Indonesian people.