What is a lexical morpheme
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In this new lesson from a TEACHER you will know what is a lexical morpheme. Also, to make it much clearer and less confusing, we are going to add examples. We must not forget that we are talking about a subject that has aroused a deep debate among specialists and authors themselves. Thus, we will know the most accepted definition, we will see exactly what it consists of, we will observe what are the discrepancies found by the various scholars of the Spanish language, and we will discover simple ways to learn to differentiate lexical and grammatical morphemes, since it is the cause of a lot of confusion among a good number of students.
Are you ready to learn more about our rich and wonderful language? Well, take a pencil and paper, here begins a new and exciting lesson to learn more about the wonderful language of Cervantes.
Index
- What is the lexical morpheme
- Examples of lexical morpheme
- Other types of morphemes
- Morpheme properties
- Difference between lexical and grammatical morphemes
What is the lexical morpheme.
The first thing we have to know is what a lexical morpheme is. So we start the lesson with the definition.
We can identify a lexical morpheme, lexeme or lexical morpheme as one that provides fundamental semantic content of a word. In this way, it becomes the base to which other grammatical class morphemes can be added.
But, to know exactly what the lexical morpheme consists of, we must also know what is a morpheme. In this case, we mean a minimal grammatical or significant unit. It should be remembered that most authors consider as an adequate definition of the morpheme the minimum grammatical unitSince, in reference to meaning, there are minimal units to which a specific meaning cannot always be attributed, as happens with interfixes.
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Examples of lexical morpheme.
Now, the best way to know what a lexical morpheme is is to see it in examples. Next, we can observe the minimum unit with lexical meaning, that is, a part that does not vary, but which is the lexeme, which we see in capital letters:
- Sport
- Sports
- Sports player
As we see below, lexemes join morphemes, expressing grammatical meaning:
- Modern
- MODERN
- MODERN
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Other types of morphemes.
As we have already commented on many occasions, our language is very rich, which is why there is a great variety of grammar and spelling rules, as well as different types. In this case, we can observe different classes of morphemes:
- Free morpheme, which is the one that is formed by the word itself, without additions: flower, clock, sea.
- Bound morpheme, which appears next to another morpheme: flourish, truck.
They are also known as lexemes, so you might see them by these two names:
- Independent Lexema, which is not attached to a morpheme: for, and, two.
- Dependent Lexema, which joins other morphemes: pat-o, cam-a.
Furthermore, it should be added that the list of lexical morphemes can be expanded at any time when new meanings or words are incorporated into the language.
Properties of the morpheme.
Finally, we are going to know some properties that are inherent to all morphemes, and that help to make them more easily identify:
- Every word is made up of morphemes.
- A morpheme can never be decomposed into a minor element that has meaning on its own.
- A morpheme can be part of several words, but it will not always repeat its function and meaning.
- A morpheme can have various phonetic forms, a phenomenon known as allomorphs.
Difference between lexical and grammatical morphemes.
In addition to the lexical morphemes, we also find the grammatical morphemes, known as gramemas. These are the units that vary in a word, and that can express different meanings or relationships, although they do not alter the basic referential meaning. They are not usually autonomous and are subject to grammatical restrictions.
There are also two types:
- Inflectional grammes: gender or number in nouns, determiners, adjectives, etc.: boy, girl.
- Derivative grammes: they provide nuance of meaning, mainly at the grammatical level, such as suffixes, prefixes or interfixes: PREheat.
In this other lesson we will discover what is the difference between inflectional and derivative morpheme.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is a lexical morpheme - With examples, we recommend that you enter our category of Grammar and Linguistics.
