Two Distinct Fields of Morphology: Inflectional & Derivational - Essay Sample

Introduction

Inflectional morphology and derivational morphology are two distinct fields, whereby derivational morphology traditionally refers to pre-grammatical and inflectional as the real grammar (Janssen, 2005). Morphologists distinguish inflectional and derivational morphologies based on their salient traits (Janssen, 2005). Some researchers highlight that inflectional morphology is fully productive and obligatory, inflection does not impact the lexical aspect, derivational morphology has no or minimal influence on grammar, and inflection lacks the semantic change and its paradigmatic (Janssen, 2005). A survey by Haspelmath & Sims (2013) examines a number of properties distinguishing inflectional morphology from derivational morphology.

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Syntactic Agreement

In terms of connectedness to the syntax, inflectional morphology is, while derivational morphology is not (Haspelmath & Sims, 2013). The syntax agreement implies that the morphological patterns expressed in the grammatical agreement reflect the syntactic government or agreement. The syntactic government demonstrates the syntactic association between the controller and target are the same (Haspelmath & Sims, 2013). Under syntactic agreement, the standard inflectional values for pronouns and nouns are similar to that of adjectives, adpositions, relative pronouns, and demonstratives. As such, a sentence is in agreement when the controller is a noun or a pronoun, while the target is demonstratives or adjectives for nouns to be in agreement (Haspelmath & Sims, 2013). The syntactic government is the kind of a relationship, where a phrase or a word needs another to depict an inflectional value.

Obligatoriness

Another clear feature differentiating inflectional from derivational morphology is the obligatorily features of the word format (Haspelmath & Sims, 2013). The expression of the inflectional traits is mandatory for inflection morphology and not a must for derivational morphology. For instance, Latins observe inflections in that they do not have a choice on the use of the inflectional properties. In the case of the derivational morphology, it is no a must to express a derivational meaning. In this case of derivational morphology, the use of a suffix derives a noun from verbs such as "giv-er" (Haspelmath & Sims, 2013).

Restriction on Application

Inflectional value is employed without any arbitrary restriction, while the derivational format is prone to some sort of erratic restriction (Haspelmath & Sims, 2013). A lexeme that falls short of all forms is not syntactically functional (Haspelmath & Sims, 2013). When there an exceptional situation, the incompatibility between the base and inflectional meaning can explain the present incongruence (Haspelmath & Sims, 2013). Experiencing a lexeme that is not syntactically right is rare in inflectional morphology. For instance, it is correct to use the word "informations" or information. Derivational morphology has many cases of the incomplete lexeme. The presence of the lexeme gap may lack any solid semantic reasoning (Haspelmath & Sims, 2013). For example, in English, a female lion is a lioness, but it will be wrong to say a female dog is a "dogless"

Iteration

In the inflectional morphology, repetition of affixes is not allowed, but it's accepted for derivation (Haspelmath & Sims, 2013). Inflectional morphology restricts repetition of the inflectional affixes. For instance, inflectional value disregards the use of the double plural such as sets of birds. In the case of derivational format, it is possible to repeat affixes, though not popular. For instance, "great-great-great warrior."

The Base Allomorph

The base allomorphy differentiates the two types of morphologies. In the case of inflectional, base allomorph is less, but it is higher for derivational. For example, from the word broad, the inflected form will be broader, and the derived lexeme is breadth.

Change of the Word Class

Inflectional morphology does not alter the base of the word class, while derivational impacts the word class.

Summary

The examination of the properties of both inflectional and derivational morphologies can help draw a clear line between inflectional and derivational morphology. One of the essential traits distinguishing the two morphologies is the syntax relevance. The syntactic significance is present for reflectional, but not for derivational morphology. It means that a phrase or a word requires another to depict an inflectional value, which is not the case for derivational meaning. The inflectional properties are compulsory in all word formats, but not in derivational morphology. It is not possible to omit features in word forms for reflectional, but it is possible for derivational of meaning.

The application of the inflectional values has no arbitrary limitations, which is not the case for derivational formation. The proper functioning of a syntactic in reflectional l morphology requires a lexeme with all word forms. As such, there are rare chances of incomplete paradigms with semantic motivation. Where the case is exceptional, the explanation cannot be arbitrary i.e., the incompatibility of the base, and inflectional meaning explains the existing incongruence. Derivational morphology does not justify such variance, and if there is, it is an arbitrary explanation. On the base concept, inflectional denotes the same word form concept, but derivational demonstrates a entirely new idea for the word forms. The meaning derived by reflectional value is not physical, but it is concrete in derivational morphology. The inflection does not alter the base word class, which is typical in derivation. Besides, affixes in infection can not be repeated, but they can be iterated in derivational morphology. In derivation formation, the cumulative expression is not common, unlike in reflection. The base allomorph is little for the reflectional morphology and more for derivational.

References

Haspelmath, M., & Sims, A. (2013). Understanding morphology. Routledge.

Janssen, M. (2005). Between Inflection and Derivation Paradigmatic Lexical Functions in Morphological Databases