1、A Reflection on Morphology and Generative Vocabulary【Abstract】Morphology is the domain of language that addresses how meaningful word parts， morphemes， are arranged to create words. Students knowledge of morphology can play a critical role in vocabulary development， and by extension， reading compreh
2、ension and student writing. The spelling system can help turn students attention to aspects of morphologyand how they combine to form words. This article examinesthe major aspects of morphology in Englishand the primary focusis on the most significant understandings about morphology students need to
3、 develop and extend.【Key Words】morphology generative vocabulary spelling system“Morphological knowledge is a wonderful dimension of the students uncovering of whats in a word” Maryanne Wolf notes， “and one of the least exploited aids to fluent comprehension” （2007， p. 130）. Morphological knowledge h
4、as been shown to contribute to comprehension through its role in facilitating vocabulary growth and syntactic awareness.Knowledge of word-formation processes opens up vast amounts of vocabulary to the reader. How vast？ Across the grand corpus of English words over 60% have been formed by morphologic
5、al processes； within specific disciplines， this figure climbs to over 90% （Green， 2008）.The vast majority of English vocabulary has been， and continues to be， constructed through morphological processes. Morphology is the domain of language that addresses how meaningful word parts， morphemes， are ar
6、ranged to create words. Understanding these combinatorial processes is the foundation or generative vocabulary knowledge.Generative knowledge refers to students ability to learn quite literally tens of thousands of words （Templeton， 2012）： words they study explicitly and words they encounter in thei
7、r independent reading across all disciplinesbyattending to the combinations of prefixes， suffixes， and roots. Most of these roots come from Greek and Latin.David Olson once observed that writing systems help to “bring aspects of spoken language into consciousness . . . turning aspects of language in
8、to objects of reflection， analysis， and design （1996， p. 258）. In the case of morphology， the spelling system can help turn students attention to aspects of morphology and morphemes， the smallest units of meaning in the languageand how they combine to form words. Linguists have， of course， been expl
9、oring morphology for a verylong time， even when they have not employed the usual language of morphological inquiry. Among educators and researchers， there has been， over the last decade， an increased focus on morphology and on learners morphological development. Morphology， indeed， is critical. In t
10、he case of morphology， the spelling system can help turn students attention to aspects of morphologyand how they combine to form words. A knowledgeable teacher， however， is critical in directing this attention and in helping students become aware of these categories： prefixes， suffixes， and roots. A
11、nd as students reflect upon words and their spelling， they are more likely to notice the visual relationships among words that are related in meaning.Broadly speaking， linguists have identified three components of morphology： compounding， inflectional morphology， and derivational morphology. Compoun
12、ding is the familiar process of combining separate words to form a single compound word， as in： fishpond， newsworthy， rainwater. In English， inflectional morphology include verb tense and number， as in packed/packing， ostriches； it also includes possession： girls， girls and comparatives and superlat
13、ives： grander， grandest. Derivational morphology is arguably the most vibrant and productive of the three components. Hundreds of thousands of words are derived from roots through combination with prefixes， suffixes， and other roots.Students grow in their understanding of English morphology by exami
14、ning how these suffixes extend the core meaning of the roots to which they are attached， as well as the different parts of speech that often result. In the process， students develop and extend foundational knowledge of the Greek and Latin component of English， expanding their vocabulary and word con
15、sciousness.When we remove all the prefixes and suffixes in a word， what remains is the root. The root may be a word，for example， when un- and -ful are removed from the word unhopeful， and hope remains； also， the result may be a word that cannot stand alone. Inthis case we usually have revealed a Gre
16、ek or Latin root， as for example when pre- and -ion are removed from the word prediction and diet remains. Diet is a Latin root meaning “to say“and prediction literally means “the act of saying before.“Morphological knowledge in one language，in other words， will support learning the vocabulary in ma
17、ny other languages and notjust those learning English as a new language. Bibliography： 1Olson， D. （1996）. The world on paper： The conceptual and cognitive implications of writing and reading. New York， NY： Cambridge University Press. 2Green， T M. （2008）. The Greek and Latin roots of English（4th ed.）
18、. Laham， MD： Rowman & Littlefield Publishers， Inc. 3Templeton， S.， & Scarborough-Franks， L. （1985）. The spellings the thing： Older students knowledge of derivational morphology in phonology and orthography. Applied Psycholinguistics， 6， 371-389. 4Wolf， M. （2007）. Proust and the squid： The story and science of the reading brain. New York， NY： Harper/Perennial Press.
