Morphology

• 18 Words English Food and Drink Words Derived from Arabic • 22 Words English Words Derived from Arabic • 15 Words English Words Derived from Hindi • 15 Words English Words Derived from Yiddish • 15 Words More English Words Derived from Yiddish • 15 Words English Words Derived from Gaelic • 10 Words English Words Derived from Old Norse • 15 Words English Words Derived from Indigenous Languages of the Americas • 15 Words English Words Derived from Quechua • 15 Words English Words Derived from Nahuatl Here are 15 common English words whose roots come from indigenous languages of the Americas. The fate of the people who spoke these languages varies greatly, from tribes lost to history (that we only know about through records of other tribes) to the Guarani, whose language at last count had over 4 million speakers in Paraguay. All of these peoples, whatever their current status, have contributed their ideas and their perspectives through the English words below. Many of these terms have to do with animals and foods to be found in nature, but the Algonquian roots of "tuxedo" may come as a surprise! Read on below for tales of many more English words from indigenous sources. All of the English words on this lists have Arabic origins. While some, like caliph and imam, clearly come from Arabic sources, you might be surprised to discover that algebra, chemistry, and zero are also derived from Arabic. Learn these words that contribute to the richness and variety of the English langu...

Morphology is a branch of linguistics, and refers to the study of the structure of words. Along with many other languages, English words are made up of letters, sounds, The Two Branches of Morphology Morphology has two distinct branches. One branch, called Inflectional Morphology, is where a reader deconstructs words into their individual morphemes. This branch is more analytical and helps readers make meaning of the words they are reading based on the units of sound in each word. The other branch, called Lexical Morphology, deals with the construction of words. This is where students put units of sound together to create words. Put very simply, Inflectional Morphology deals with reading words, while Lexical Morphology deals with writing them. The purpose of Morphology It is important for students to gain experience and comfort working within both branches. When students understand the way words are built, and can identify their rules and patterns, they will be better equipped with the tools they need to become fluent readers. When children learn to read without this awareness, they may have success and learn the relationships between words and word parts by chance. However, they are much more likely to do so if we teach them how explicitly. It’s important to note that children do not need to know the term ‘morphology’ in order to study its principles. Sometimes naming skills and concepts is helpful, and sometimes it is unnecessary. In this case, it is far more important t...

The Power of Morphology Morphological awareness is the recognition, understanding, and use of word parts that carry significance, but it is often overlooked in the learning process. Learn activities that help integrate morphological awareness for students learning to read and write. For example, root words, prefixes, suffixes, and grammatical inflections (e.g., -s or –es for plurals) are all morphemes which can be added or taken away from a word to alter its meaning. Morphology is one of the often-overlooked building blocks for reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling. Research is now demonstrating the importance of strong morphological teaching as early as first and second grade (Apel & Lauraence, 2011), where traditionally it has been the focus in middle and high school years. "By 10 years of age, knowledge about the structure of words is a better predictor of decoding ability than is phonological awareness." (Mann & Singson, 2003) In addition, there is evidence that students learn orthography (phonics), phonology, and morphology in concert rather than in stages, when learning how to read and write. Students with strong morphological skills possess a distinct advantage over students who use a "whole word approach" to decode words. With strong morphological skills, students can approach a novel multisyllabic word and break it into parts in order to predict the meaning. This skill helps in all areas of literacy: decoding, spelling, comprehension, and oral langu...