How to identify the root of a word

Image: Slideshare

You know how to identify the root of a word? This is usually one of the most difficult lessons for some language learners. Verbal language has a particular characteristic, and it is its double joint. Thanks to this uniqueness, we can find two main units in Spanish words, the monemas and the phonemes. The former are the minimum units with meaning, the latter are the minimum units of expression.

The double articulation of language allows us to decompose each word into units small ones with their own meaning, but which in turn can also change the meaning of the word itself. Taking this detail into account, it is much easier to identify the root, an action that we are going to learn about in this lesson from a TEACHER. Grab a pencil and paper and take notes!

Index

1. What is the root of a word
2. Learn how to identify the root of a word
3. More root cases and word families

However, before learning to identify the root of a word, it is important to know what that root consists of, which is also known as

The lexeme or root is the moneme that is never missing in any word and that carries the original meaning and primordial of the same, that is to say, it denotes the family from which it comes. This is how we call all the words that share a similar lexeme lexical families.

So that you can understand it better, surely with an example it is easier. Let's use the word 'sea', Which is quite simple and easy to distinguish. So what words would be part of this lexical family besides itself, which would be the primitive word? Let's see some of them to make it easier for you to determine:

• Maritime
• Low tide
• Sailor
• Marine
• Surge
• MARineras

And so we could include all the words related to the sea that include ‘sea’ in your root or lexeme. If you think about it and stop for a moment to reflect and recall, surely many more will come to mind. For example, ultraMARino, MARemoto ...

We can observe that each one has a different meaning according to the monemes that accompany each ‘sea’ lexeme. We can also observe that the root has meaning by itself, but not all the monemes that accompany it have it. For example, in marine, ino does not mean anything, but by joining it to the lexeme sea, it does make sense.

Image: Slideshare

To know how to identify the root of a word, there are certain details to consider. The first thing you need is knowledge, and we have already explained what the identification of the lexeme consists of. And then it takes practice and a few little tricks:

Before making any decision, analyze the word and its meaning. So you will really know what it is about. See if it describes a condition, a procedure, a specialty, something from nature, etc.

For example, let's say you come across the word 'canine’. If we analyze it with time and criteria, we see that it has to do with the world of dogs. Dog has a synonym, which is dog, and we find this monema in this word. Thus, we can elucidate that the lexeme in this case is CAN, which has meaning by itself.

However, ino it does not have it, so it would be the addition or monema to the word that slightly varies the meaning of the root. We are not referring to a dog, which would be a dog, but to something related to the world of dogs, that is, canine.

There is no doubt that the best way to learn to identify a root or lexeme and find it in your word family is to practice. Discover here some examples and cases to make it easier for you to find them in any term.

Let's look at cases of primitive words, that is, those that are the origin of other words related to their meaning. These do not come from others, and their real origin is unknown, although they tend to originate from other languages, such as Latin, Greek, etc.

Note that the entire primitive word is not always entered, that is, sometimes the stem is a part of it:

• Primitive word: mouth - MOUTH, MOUTH, MOUTH, MOUTH, MOUTH ...
• Primitive word: heat - HOT, HOT, HOT ...
• Primitive word: home - CASero, CASita, CASerío, CASona ...
• Primitive word: way - WALK, WALK, WALK ...
• Primitive word: color - COLORear, COLORido, triCOLOR, COLORante ...
• Primitive word: salt - SALT, SALT, SALT ...

Image: Grammars

If you want to read more articles similar to How to identify the root of a word, we recommend that you enter our category of Grammar and Linguistics.