muhamedr
19-02-2011, 12:50 PM
The relationship between a morpheme and its morphs and allomorphs is parallel to the relationship between a phoneme and its phones and allophones.
A morpheme is manifested as one or more morphs (surface forms) in different environments. These morphs are called allomorphs.
A phoneme is manifested as one or more phones (phonetic sounds) in different environments. These phones are called allophones.
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in the grammar of a language.
Examples (English)
Unladylike
The word unladylike consists of three morphemes and four syllables.
A morph is the phonetic realization of a morpheme
An allomorph is one of two or more complementary morphs which manifest a morpheme in its different phonological or morphological environments
Examples
The plural morpheme in English, usually written as '-s', has at least three allomorphs:
s----- hats
z---- dogs
iz---- boxes
A morpheme is manifested as one or more morphs (surface forms) in different environments. These morphs are called allomorphs.
A phoneme is manifested as one or more phones (phonetic sounds) in different environments. These phones are called allophones.
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in the grammar of a language.
Examples (English)
Unladylike
The word unladylike consists of three morphemes and four syllables.
A morph is the phonetic realization of a morpheme
An allomorph is one of two or more complementary morphs which manifest a morpheme in its different phonological or morphological environments
Examples
The plural morpheme in English, usually written as '-s', has at least three allomorphs:
s----- hats
z---- dogs
iz---- boxes