What if you could morph into a superhero with a superlative ability to decode language? Well, you can! The word “morph” in the sentence above means “to transform or change shape,” and it riffs on the ancient Greek morphē, a word that refers to shape or structure. Morph is a root that appears in a lot of English words: metamorphosis, anthropomorphic, amorphous.
With regard to language, a morpheme is the smallest unit of language that conveys meaning. Another term for morpheme is root word. A vast amount of English vocabulary is based on Greek and Latin roots, and once you learn to recognize a root, or morpheme, you can decode related words endlessly. Of course, this is useful to young readers, but it will serve you well through college, graduate school, and through the rest of your life.
English words often combine a root word with one or more affixes—prefixes and suffixes. The root word morph, as we saw, means shape or form. The prefix “a” means not or without. So if you encounter the word amorphous for the first time, not knowing what it means, but you know what the prefix a and the root morph mean, you quickly recognize that amorphous means “without form” or “shapeless.” If you encounter the word polymorphous and you know that poly means “many,” then you can recognize that polymorphous means “having many forms.” And if you know that the suffix “ology” means “study of,” then you won’t be confused by the word morphology, which means the study of morphs (shapes, forms). In biology, morphology refers to the study of the forms and structures of plants and animals. In linguistics, morphology refers to the study of word-forming elements.
You can grow your superpower by using the RootWords app. Once you know your morphemes, you’ll be a super word decoder!
Author: Carol J. Cook
Comentários