Essentials of Linguistics 5.5 Lexical Categories

Summary

This video explores the key concepts of morphology, focusing on derivational and inflectional morphology. It discusses lexical categories like nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, highlighting how they are identified through syntactic and morphological tests. The script explains the significance of grammatical context and distributional analysis in categorizing words, emphasizing the importance of understanding word structure beyond traditional semantic definitions. Furthermore, it examines how derivational affixes create specific word categories and the concept of selection in morphological processes, providing essential insights for linguistic analysis.

Takeaways

• 😀 Derivational morphology changes the meaning or category of a base word, while inflectional morphology expresses grammatical information relevant to a word's category.
• 😀 Lexical categories, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, are essential in identifying and analyzing words in linguistic studies.
• 😀 Semantic tests for parts of speech (e.g., noun = person/place/thing, verb = action) can be inaccurate and inconsistent in certain cases.
• 😀 Categories of words are determined based on grammatical contexts (distribution), rather than just their meaning.
• 😀 The syntactic distribution of words varies across languages and can be used to identify different lexical categories.
• 😀 Nouns in English can follow determiners, be modified by adjectives, be subjects or objects of a verb, and can be replaced by pronouns.
• 😀 Verbs in English can combine with auxiliary verbs, follow the infinitive marker 'to', and take objects without prepositions.
• 😀 Adjectives in English modify nouns, occur between determiners and nouns, and can be modified by adverbs (e.g., very happy).
• 😀 Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs but not nouns, and often end in 'ly'. They cannot be placed between a determiner and a noun.
• 😀 Derivational affixes, such as '-ment' and '-ion', can help identify word categories, as they are used to form specific categories like nouns and verbs.
• 😀 The process of selection in derivational morphology dictates that affixes attach to specific word categories, a concept that will be further explored in Section 5.6.

Q & A

What are the two main types of morphology discussed in the transcript?

The two main types of morphology are derivational morphology and inflectional morphology. Derivational morphology changes the meaning or category of a word, while inflectional morphology expresses grammatical information appropriate to a word's category.

What is the difference between derivational and inflectional morphology?

Derivational morphology alters the meaning or category of a base word, such as changing a noun into a verb. Inflectional morphology, on the other hand, expresses grammatical information without changing the word's fundamental meaning, such as pluralizing a noun or conjugating a verb.

What is the definition of 'category' in the context of morphology?

In the context of morphology, the category of a word refers to its lexical category, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. This is often identified by how the word behaves in grammatical contexts, rather than by its meaning alone.

Why is the semantic definition of parts of speech sometimes problematic?

The semantic definition of parts of speech can be problematic because it relies on meaning, which may not always align with the grammatical role a word plays. For example, words like 'action' and 'event' are considered nouns in linguistics, even though they may seem like verbs based on their meaning.

What does 'distribution' refer to in relation to lexical categories?

In linguistic analysis, distribution refers to the grammatical contexts in which words or morphemes can occur. This includes how different categories combine with other words in phrases and sentences, and it varies from language to language.

How can syntactic tests help identify nouns in English?

Syntactic tests for nouns in English include the ability to follow a determiner (e.g., 'the proposal'), be modified by adjectives (e.g., 'the new proposal'), and be the subject or object of a verb (e.g., 'events occurred'). Nouns can also be replaced by a pronoun (e.g., 'they occurred').

What are some morphological tests for identifying nouns in English?

Morphological tests for nouns in English include the presence of singular and plural forms (e.g., 'books', 'governments'), with some abstract nouns having less common plural forms. These help in identifying a word as a noun.

What are the syntactic tests for identifying verbs in English?

Syntactic tests for verbs include their ability to combine with auxiliary verbs (e.g., 'can remain'), follow the infinitive marker 'to' (e.g., 'to kick'), and take an object without a preposition (e.g., 'kick the ball').

How do adjectives behave syntactically in English?

Adjectives in English typically modify nouns and occur between a determiner and a noun (e.g., 'a happy event'). They can also be modified by 'very' (e.g., 'very happy'), but they do not allow noun phrase objects without a preposition.

What is the role of adverbs in English grammar?

Adverbs in English modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs but do not modify nouns. They can be modified by 'very' (e.g., 'very quickly') and often end in 'ly' (e.g., 'happily'). However, they cannot appear alone between a determiner and a noun.

What is meant by 'selection' in derivational morphology?

Selection in derivational morphology refers to the property where certain affixes, such as suffixes, attach only to specific categories. For example, suffixes like '-ment' and '-ness' create nouns from verbs or adjectives, while '-ify' and '-ize' create verbs from nouns or adjectives.