The H ierarchical S tructure of W ords
1. Morphemes within words
§ morphemes in words have a strict and systematic linear order
consider the morphological structure of fiendishness under this definition:
fiend + -ish + -ness
§ within words, morphemes are also organized in highly patterned ways
words have an obvious linear order, but they also have a layered structure
fiend + -ish à fiendish + -ness à fiendishness
( ( (fiend) + -ish) + -ness)
2. Representing the hierarchical structure of words
§ in order to provide a more complete representation of the structure of a word, we need to take into account the following:
s the fact that every simple word contains one root
s the meanings of the der ivational affixes in the word
s the fact that each lexical item represents a particular part of speech
§ we can convey this additional, necessary information by labeling the parentheses around each and every constituent
(( (( fiend) Root + ( -ish ) DA ) A dj ective + ( -ness ) DA ) N oun
§ this additional structure is a consequence, as we saw above, of the recursive application of derivational rules with the result that lexical items may be embedded in other lexical items.
§ the internal structure of words is not a one-dimensional string of morphemes but a two dimensional hierarchy of related constituents
§ n ested parentheses are one way of representing hierarchical structures of this sort, but they have the disadvantage of looking linear
§ an alternative representation which makes the hierarchy more apparent is a branching tree
fiendishness
fiendish -ness
fiend -ish
§ the appropriate representation for the morphological structure of words is
a labeled branching tree
fiendishnessnoun
fiendishadjective -ness DA
fiendroot -ish DA