The role of morphemes in the English language
1. Introduction
This essay will discuss the role of morphemes in the English language. Morphemes are the minimal units of meaning in a language. They can be either free or bound. Free morphemes can stand alone as words, whereas bound morphemes must be attached to other words. There are two main types of bound morphemes: inflectional and derivational. Inflectional morphemes do not change the word class of the word to which they are added, whereas derivational morphemes do.
2. Morphemes and their role in the English language
2.1. Free morphemes
The vast majority of words in the English language are made up of one or more free morphemes. A free morpheme is a morpheme that can stand alone as a word. The vast majority of free morphemes are roots, which are the basic units of meaning in a language. For example, the root ‘dog’ can stand alone as a word, but it can also be combined with other roots to form words such as ‘dogma’, ‘dogmatic’, and ‘undogmatic’. Other examples of free morphemes include ‘coin’, ‘hike’, ‘rat’, and ‘splice’.
2. 2. Bound morphemes
Bound morphemes are affixes that are attached to other words. Affixes are classified into two types: inflectional and derivational. Inflectional affixes do not change the word class of the word to which they are added, whereas derivational affixes do. For example, the suffix ‘-ed’ is an inflectional suffix that is added to regular verbs to form the past tense (e.g., walk/walked). The suffix ‘-ness’ is a derivational suffix that is added to adjectives to form nouns (e.g., happy/happiness). Other examples of bound morphemes include ‘pre-‘, ‘un-‘, ‘re-‘, and ‘anti-‘.
3. The Schulz-Brown theory of humor
The Schulz-Brown theory of humor is a linguistic theory that posits that humor is created when the rules of language are violated. This theory was first proposed by Charles Schulz in his comic strip ‘Peanuts’. In one strip, Charlie Brown says to Linus: “I’ve always wanted to use big words. But I never could find any.” Linus replies: “I think the trouble is, you’ve been looking for words that actually mean something.”
This theory is also known as the principle of incongruity. It states that humor arises from the discrepancy between what is expected and what actually happens. Linguistic incongruity occurs when the rules of grammar, syntax, or semantics are violated. For example, a pun is a type of linguistic incongruity in which two words that sound alike are used in different contexts to create a humorous effect (e.g., I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down).
4. Conclusion
In conclusion, morphemes play a vital role in the English language. They are the minimal units of meaning and can be either free or bound. Free morphemes can stand alone as words, whereas bound morphemes must be attached to other words. There are two main types of bound morphemes: inflectional and derivational. Inflectional morphemes do not change the word class of the word to which they are added, whereas derivational morphemes do. The Schulz-Brown theory of humor posits that humor is created when the rules of language are violated. This theory is also known as the principle of incongruity. It states that humor arises from the discrepancy between what is expected and what actually happens. Linguistic incongruity occurs when the rules of grammar, syntax, or semantics are violated.