The
importance of Morphology
in Language Learning
in Language Learning
by O. G. P.
Subject: English Morphology
In this essay, I will talk about the importance of morphology for English-Language Learning, on the understanding that ‘learning’ is intrinsically related with acquisition and involves a central topic of interest for teaching itself.
First of all, I would like to express that, as I see it, to ponder about the importance of morphology is to ponder about the purposes of studying this level of language, which we have studied along the course. One of such purposes is the creation of words and another is the modification of the existing ones (Fasold ,2006).
But before this, morphology must also have an overall purpose which would be the understanding of a language per se. In this line of thought, it is greatly helpful for teachers because, when words have identifiable parts (such as prefixes or suffixes), they can be predictable at some extent.
In context, therefore, morphological analysis can help anybody to infer the meaning of some words, and, at the same time, to learn new words easier than without it. Whether they are words we see in signs on the street, or read in a written text, or hear in spoken messages. Knowing the terminations of the words and its meanings can come in handy for English Teachers – and for students – when we don’t know exactly the meaning of some words or when we don’t have a dictionary at hand.
Hence the importance of being used to affixes and suffixes and the role they play in words. It helps us see the flexibility of language. With morphological knowledge, students can take the notion of the meaning in the word “like” and transform it into a number of possibilities (unlike, likely, unlikely, likable, unlikable, likeness, unlikeness) to express their message more accurately and precisely.
Eventually, morphological awareness can help language students to familiarize with lexical derivations and with the meaning or morphemes. They will be able to distinguish, for instance, that the suffixes “-ment” or “-ness” form a noun, or that the suffix “-ly” forms an adverb. Ultimately, the will be able to realize that, at some extent, the English language has a certain morphological logic people follow to know and produce new words. These new words, reminds us of what we could call, in Chomsky’s words, the transformational-generative morphology (:25), on the ability that we humans would have to perfectly produce and understand words we’ve never hear before if we already understand the roots.
Broadly speaking, morphological competence is also one of the essential elements that determine a higher level of proficiency in ESL or EFL. That is one of the reasons why word-formation exercises (which work on derivational morphology) and conjugation exercises (which work on inflectional morphology) are very used in advanced levels and often incorporated in English international examinations such as Cambridge ESOL’s TOEFL, FCE and CAE.
Another utility of morphology is that it helps us to have better writing skills. Being aware that there are certain morphological irregularities in English language is important to speak the language properly, and, in addition, it may even have an beneficial effect in auditory skills insofar as the phonological aspect is related with morphology in spoken language. The relation between morphology with syntax and phonology is so strong that it led the renowned linguist Kenneth Lee Pike to reject the division between them in his Tagmemic theory (see Pike 1949; Auroux & Koerner 2001:1991). This is because, in the words of Richard Saunders Pittman, they have “inescapable interdependence” (Pittman, 1954:239, in Pike, 1967:189), which in my view is the reason why morphology can improve syntax.
Finally, another aspect (often diminished by some people, but very interesting for language students and linguists), is that the study of morphology helps us see the relation that English has with other languages. When we talk about the roots, for example, we can notice that some words have their origin in Latin, German and French language and understand how this affected the pragmatic aspects of words, in regard to their degree of formality and informality.
In conclusion, the study of morphology is not only an option but a “must” for any language student, provided that it is indispensable to fulfill adequate abilities to understand the target language, and to be able to communicate successfully.
References
First of all, I would like to express that, as I see it, to ponder about the importance of morphology is to ponder about the purposes of studying this level of language, which we have studied along the course. One of such purposes is the creation of words and another is the modification of the existing ones (Fasold ,2006).
But before this, morphology must also have an overall purpose which would be the understanding of a language per se. In this line of thought, it is greatly helpful for teachers because, when words have identifiable parts (such as prefixes or suffixes), they can be predictable at some extent.
In context, therefore, morphological analysis can help anybody to infer the meaning of some words, and, at the same time, to learn new words easier than without it. Whether they are words we see in signs on the street, or read in a written text, or hear in spoken messages. Knowing the terminations of the words and its meanings can come in handy for English Teachers – and for students – when we don’t know exactly the meaning of some words or when we don’t have a dictionary at hand.
Hence the importance of being used to affixes and suffixes and the role they play in words. It helps us see the flexibility of language. With morphological knowledge, students can take the notion of the meaning in the word “like” and transform it into a number of possibilities (unlike, likely, unlikely, likable, unlikable, likeness, unlikeness) to express their message more accurately and precisely.
Eventually, morphological awareness can help language students to familiarize with lexical derivations and with the meaning or morphemes. They will be able to distinguish, for instance, that the suffixes “-ment” or “-ness” form a noun, or that the suffix “-ly” forms an adverb. Ultimately, the will be able to realize that, at some extent, the English language has a certain morphological logic people follow to know and produce new words. These new words, reminds us of what we could call, in Chomsky’s words, the transformational-generative morphology (:25), on the ability that we humans would have to perfectly produce and understand words we’ve never hear before if we already understand the roots.
Broadly speaking, morphological competence is also one of the essential elements that determine a higher level of proficiency in ESL or EFL. That is one of the reasons why word-formation exercises (which work on derivational morphology) and conjugation exercises (which work on inflectional morphology) are very used in advanced levels and often incorporated in English international examinations such as Cambridge ESOL’s TOEFL, FCE and CAE.
Another utility of morphology is that it helps us to have better writing skills. Being aware that there are certain morphological irregularities in English language is important to speak the language properly, and, in addition, it may even have an beneficial effect in auditory skills insofar as the phonological aspect is related with morphology in spoken language. The relation between morphology with syntax and phonology is so strong that it led the renowned linguist Kenneth Lee Pike to reject the division between them in his Tagmemic theory (see Pike 1949; Auroux & Koerner 2001:1991). This is because, in the words of Richard Saunders Pittman, they have “inescapable interdependence” (Pittman, 1954:239, in Pike, 1967:189), which in my view is the reason why morphology can improve syntax.
Finally, another aspect (often diminished by some people, but very interesting for language students and linguists), is that the study of morphology helps us see the relation that English has with other languages. When we talk about the roots, for example, we can notice that some words have their origin in Latin, German and French language and understand how this affected the pragmatic aspects of words, in regard to their degree of formality and informality.
In conclusion, the study of morphology is not only an option but a “must” for any language student, provided that it is indispensable to fulfill adequate abilities to understand the target language, and to be able to communicate successfully.
References
- Auroux, Sylvain; Koerner, E.F.K.; (2001). History of the Language Sciences [Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaften / Histoire des sciences du langage. 2. Teilband. Walter de Gruyter. Pike's Tagmemic Syntax. ISBN: 9783110194210.
- Fasold, R. and Connor-Linton, J., (2006). An Introduction to Language and Linguistics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- P.H. Matthews (2014). Generative Grammar and Linguistic Competence (RLE Linguistics B: Grammar). Routledge. Volume 19 of Routledge Library Editions: Linguistics. ISBN: 9781317933625
- Pike, Kenneth L. (1949). ‘A’ Problem in Morphology-Syntax Division. Acta Linguistica 5, 125-138.
- Pike, Kenneth Lee (1967). Language in relation to a unified theory of the structure of human behavior. Issue 24 of Janua linguarum: Series maior. 2nd edition. Mouton. University of Michigan.
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