Introduction to Morphology and Phonetics

Suffix

A suffix is a group of letters placed after the root of a word.

Example: Comfort = comfortable, Comic = comical, Beauty = beautiful, Strong = strongest, Big = bigger

Morpheme

Morphemes are the smallest meaningful unit of language.

Free Morphemes

Free morphemes can stand alone and carry basic meaning.

• Lexical: Carry the content or meaning of the message, such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs.
• Functional: Do not carry the content of a message but help the grammar of the sentence, such as conjunctions, prepositions, articles, and pronouns.

Bound Morphemes

Bound morphemes can't stand alone. They include prefixes and suffixes, which are added to the root word.

• Derivational: Change the meaning of the root word.
• Inflectional: Do not change the meaning but change some aspects of the grammatical function, such as '-s', '-es', '-ing', '-ed'.

Syllabic Structure

• Onset: The beginning sound of the syllable, consisting of one or more consonants.
• Rhyme: The rest of the syllable after the onset. The rhyme can also be divided into nucleus and coda.
• Nucleus: The core, essential part of a syllable. Most nuclei are vowels, with some exceptions like 'r', 'l', 'm', 'n'.

Consonant Sounds

Approximant

Approximants are when two articulators come close together but not quite close enough to create air turbulence. /w/ /j/ /ɹ/

Lateral

Lateral consonants are when the tongue blocks the middle of your mouth so that air has to pass around the sides. You create this when you pronounce /l/. (Note: /h/ is not a lateral consonant.)

Nasal

Nasal consonants are created when you completely block airflow through your mouth and let the air pass through your nose. /n/ /m/ /ŋ/

Fricative

While nasal and stop consonants involve a complete blockage of the vocal tract, fricative sounds involve only a partial blockage of the vocal tract so that air has to be forced through a narrow channel. /f/ /v/ /θ/ /ð/ /s/ /z/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/

Affricate

When stop consonants mix with fricative consonants, the result is an affricate consonant. Affricate consonants start as stop sounds with air building up behind an articulator, which then releases through a narrow channel as a fricative. /tʃ/ /dʒ/

Stop

Like nasal consonants, stop consonants occur when the vocal tract is closed completely. But for stops, the airflow is NOT redirected through the nose. Instead, the air quickly builds up pressure behind the articulators and then releases in a burst. /p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/

Place of Articulation

• Bilabial: Bilabial consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow out of the mouth by bringing your lips together. /m/ /p/ /b/
• Labio-dental: Labio-dental consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow by curling your lower lip back and raising it to touch your upper row of teeth. /f/ /v/
• Dental: Dental consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow by placing your tongue against your upper teeth. /θ/ /ð/
• Alveolar: The alveolar ridge is where your teeth meet your gums. You create alveolar consonants when you raise your tongue to the alveolar ridge to block or constrict airflow. /n/ /t/ /d/ /l/ /s/ /z/
• Post-alveolar: Post-alveolar consonants are those that occur when the tongue blocks or constricts airflow at the point just beyond the alveolar ridge. /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /tʃ/ /dʒ/
• Palatal: Palatal consonants occur when you raise the tongue to the hard palate (the roof of your mouth) and constrict airflow. /j/
• Velar: Velar consonants occur when you raise the back of your tongue to the velum (the soft palate) to block or restrict airflow. /ŋ/ /k/ /g/ (Note: /n/ is not a velar consonant.)
• Glottal: Glottal sounds are produced when you make a sound with your throat. /h/