The Defining Of Morphology

For students who took the science faculty language course very familiar with the term morphology, although sometimes they are less loved the course. Okay, to the point, Words like learn, Learns, learned, and learning shows a relationship similar in form and meaning in a systematic, because similar patterns such as these words are always in English verb. One sub-field within linguistics that discuss these patterns are called morphology (Geert, 2005: 4).

In this case Geert (2005: 7) explains, "In present-day linguistics, the term 'morphology' Refers to the study of the internal structure of words, and of the systematic form-meaning correspondences between words." Further, according to Geert morphology is the scientific study of the internal arrangement of words and relationships form and meaning to the word.

Actually a lot of explanation of reference books English that explains about the definition of morphology to material that describes the art, but here I just quote some important references about the basics of morphology according to Geert which I summarize as follows:

“Morphology, the study of the internal structure of words, deals with the forms of lexemes (inflection), and with the ways in which lexemes are formed (word-formation). New words are made on the basis of patterns of form-meaning correspondence between existing words. Paradigmatic relationships between words are therefore essential, and morphology cannot be conceived of as ‘the syntax of morphemes’ or ‘syntax below the word level’ (ibid:14) “The two basic functions of morphological operations are (i) the creation of new words (i.e. new lexemes), and (ii) spelling out the appropriate form of a lexeme in a particular syntactic context.”

“Morphology serves to expand the lexicon, the set of established words of a language, but is not the only source of lexical units, and not even that of all complex words, which also arise through borrowing, univerbation, and word creation.”

“The established (simplex and complex) words of a language are listed in the lexicon, an abstract linguistic notion, to be distinguished from the notions ‘dictionary’ and ‘mental lexicon’. Morphological rules have two functions: they specify the predictable properties of the complex words listed in the lexicon, and indicate how new words and word forms can be made.”

“Morphology as a subdiscipline of linguistics aims at adequate language description, at the development of a proper language typology, and at contributing to debates on the organization of grammars and the mental representation of linguistic competence.”

But certainly, as expressed by Malmkjaer that, "While the syntax is concerned with how words arrange Themselves into constructions, morphology is concerned with the forms of words Themselves."

The bottom line is if the syntax is about how words are arranged in a sentence, then morphology discussing the kind words. Description very simple, yet very dense and contains, may be a useful reference for all.

Reference

Booij, Geert. 2005. The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology. Oxford University Press.
Malmkjaer, Kirsten. 2002. The Linguistics Encyclopedia: 2nd edition. London and New York: Routledge.