Linguistic Concepts: Phonetics, Morphology, Semantics

Vowel Phonemes

Vowel phonemes are speech sounds produced with an open vocal tract, allowing air to flow freely. They are classified by tongue position (front, central, back), tongue height (high, mid, low), and lip rounding.

• /i/: Front, high, unrounded (e.g., as in "feet")
• /e/: Front, mid, unrounded (e.g., as in "bed")
• /a/: Central, low, unrounded (e.g., as in "father")
• /o/: Back, mid, rounded (e.g., as in "boat")
• /u/: Back, high, rounded (e.g., as in "boot")

Consonant Phoneme Allographs

A single phoneme (distinct sound unit) can have different spellings (graphemes or allographs) depending on the context or language:

• /b/: b, v, w (e.g., ball, van, wear – depending on language and pronunciation)
• /s/: z (e.g., zoo), c (before e, i; e.g., city)
• /k/: c (before a, o, u, l, r; e.g., cat, clear), qu (before e, i; e.g., quick)
• /x/: j, k (e.g., Spanish jota, German Bach)
• /g/: g (before a, o, u, l, r; e.g., go, green), gu (before e, i; e.g., guess)
• /tʃ/: ch (e.g., chair)
• /l/: l, ll (e.g., Spanish llama)
• /r/: r (single), rr (between vowels, often trilled in some languages)

Letters with Multiple Phonemic Values

Conversely, a single letter can represent several phonemes:

• c: Can represent /s/ (or /θ/ in some dialects) and /k/ (e.g., city vs. cat)
• g: Can represent /x/ and /g/ (e.g., Spanish gente vs. gato)
• r: Can represent /r/ (single flap/tap) and /r/ (trilled, often written as 'rr')
• y: Can represent /i/ (vowel, e.g., happy) and /j/ (consonant, e.g., yes)

Monemes: Lexemes and Morphemes

Lexeme

• The fundamental unit of the lexicon; it contains the core lexical meaning of a word.

Morpheme

The smallest meaningful unit in a language. Morphemes can be classified as:

• Free (Independent) Morphemes: Can stand alone as a complete word.
  • Examples: Conjunctions (e.g., and, or), prepositions (e.g., in, on), articles (e.g., a, the).
• Bound (Dependent) Morphemes: Must be attached to a lexeme or another morpheme; cannot stand alone.
  • Inflectional Morphemes: Change grammatical function without altering the lexical meaning (e.g., plural -s in "cats," past tense -ed in "walked").
  • Derivational Morphemes: Change the lexical meaning or word class (e.g., prefixes like un-, suffixes like -ness, interfixes).

Word Formation by Monemes

• Compound Words

  Formed by combining two or more existing words or morphemes.

  • Lexeme + Lexeme. E.g., deaf-mute (sordomudo)
  • Independent Morpheme + Independent Morpheme. E.g., because (porque)
  • Lexeme + Independent Morpheme. E.g., endless (sin fin)
  • Prefix + Lexeme. E.g., unfasten (desatar)

• Derivational Words

  Formed by adding derivational morphemes (prefixes or suffixes) to a base word.

  • Lexeme + Suffix. E.g., florist (florero), Sevillian (sevillano)

• Parasinthetic Words

  Formed by the simultaneous addition of a prefix and a suffix to a base, or by compounding and suffixation, where neither the prefix nor the suffix can form a valid word with the base alone.

  • Lexeme + Lexeme + Suffix. E.g., United States citizen (estadounidense)
  • Prefix + Lexeme + Suffix. E.g., transoceanic (transoceánico)
  • Prefix + Lexeme (where removing either the prefix or suffix results in a non-existent word). E.g., to land (aterrizar)

Semantic Relations

Semantic relations describe how words relate to each other in terms of meaning.

• Total Synonymy: Words that are completely interchangeable in all contexts without any change in meaning. E.g., end / finish
• Partial Synonymy: Words with similar meanings but different nuances, connotations, or usage contexts. E.g., sadness / melancholy
• Polysemy: A single word form with multiple related meanings that are historically or conceptually linked. E.g., head (of a body, of a company, of a coin)
• Homonymy: Words with the same form (spelling or pronunciation) but different, unrelated meanings, typically listed as separate entries in a dictionary. Two main classes:
  • Homographs: Spelled the same, pronounced the same (e.g., bat - the animal vs. the baseball equipment).
  • Homophones: Pronounced the same but spelled differently (e.g., to / too / two).
• Paronymy: Words with different forms and meanings, but which are very similar in sound. E.g., attitude / aptitude
• Gradable Antonyms: Express opposite meanings on a scale or continuum, allowing for degrees between the two extremes. E.g., expensive / cheap
• Complementary Antonyms: Express opposite meanings where one negates the other; there is no intermediate state. E.g., accept / reject
• Relational Antonyms (Reciprocal): Describe a relationship where the existence of one presupposes the existence of the other. E.g., buyer / seller

Lexical Families

A group of words that share the same lexeme (root) and are related in meaning. E.g., field, countryside, midfielder. Irregular families also exist where the root may change form (e.g., sun, solar).

Semantic Fields

A set of words that relate to a specific domain of meaning or reality, sharing common semantic features (semes) but differing in at least one seme. E.g., the semantic field of seats includes: chair, armchair, sofa, stool.