Morphology and Phonology

A Complete Guide for CTET & TET English Language and Pedagogy

Understanding Morphology and Phonology is essential for language teachers and competitive exam aspirants. These two branches of linguistics explain how words are formed and how speech sounds are organized and produced. This chapter plays a crucial role in CTET, STET, and other TET exams, especially in questions related to word formation, vocabulary, pronunciation, and phonetics.

Morphology

Meaning of Morphology

Morphology is the study of the internal structure of words. It examines how words are formed using smaller meaningful units and how these units function grammatically.

A word can be divided into parts if:

• The parts occur independently in other words
• The parts carry meaning
• The parts perform a grammatical function

Morphemes

Definition

A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of language that has grammatical significance.

Types of Morphemes

Words and Their Structure

Types of Words

Affixes: Stem and Root

Root

The root is the core meaning-bearing unit of a word.

Stem

The stem is the form to which affixes are added.

Types of Affixes

Inflectional and Derivational Affixes

Inflectional Affixes

• Do not change the part of speech
• Always suffixes

Examples:
-s (plural), -ed (past), -ing (continuous)

Derivational Affixes

• May change meaning or part of speech
• Can be prefixes or suffixes

Word Formation Processes

Compounding

Combining two or more words to form a new word with independent meaning.

Examples:

• greenhouse
• blackboard
• white-collar

Difference Between Compound and Phrase

Abbreviations

Shortened forms of words or phrases.

Examples:
B.A., M.A., Mr., Dr., Can’t

Acronyms

Formed from initial letters and pronounced as words.

Examples:
SAARC, WHO, RADAR

Clipping

Shortening of an existing word.

Examples:
Prof., Lab, Fax, Plane

Blending

Combining parts of two words.

Lexical Items / Content Words

Lexical items form the core vocabulary of a language.

Examples:

• Words: dog, tree, love
• Phrasal verbs: put off, bring up
• Idioms: break a leg
• Sayings: do or die

Lexeme

A lexeme is the basic vocabulary unit.

Example:

• dog / dogs → same lexeme
• dog / dog-catcher → different lexemes

Colloquialism, Slang, and Jargon

Colloquialism

Informal words used in daily conversation.

Slang

Informal language used by specific social groups.

Jargon

Technical language used by professionals.

Examples:

• Medical: OT, BD
• Teaching: TTS, MWF

Phonology

Meaning

Phonology studies how a language organizes speech sounds into meaningful units called phonemes and how these sounds form patterns of stress, rhythm, and intonation.

Vowels and Consonants

Vowels

Produced when air flows freely through the mouth.

Types:

• Front vowels: sheep, bed
• Back vowels: calm, boot
• Central vowels: bird, father

Monophthongs (Pure Vowels)

Single vowel sounds.

Diphthongs

Double vowel sounds or glide vowels.

Examples:
/ai/, /au/, /oi/

Consonants

Classification by Place of Articulation

Classification by Manner of Articulation

Phonemes

The smallest sound units that can change meaning.

Example:

• pin / bin

Allophones

Different pronunciations of the same phoneme.

Example:

• /s/ in this
• /z/ in these

Syllable and Stress

Types of Words

Stress

The syllable pronounced more prominently.

Rhythm

English is a stress-timed language where stressed syllables occur at regular intervals.

Homophones, Homographs, and Homonymy

Homophones

Same sound, different meaning and spelling.

Examples:
sea – see, beach – beech

Homographs

Same spelling, different meaning.

Examples:
lead (metal), lead (guide)

Homonymy

Same sound, same or different spelling, different meaning.

Polysemy

One word with multiple related meanings.

Example:

• get – obtain, become, understand

Paronyms

Words similar in form but different in meaning.

Examples:

• memorable – memorial
• forceful – forcible

Palindrome

Words spelled the same forwards and backwards.

Examples:

• mom, dad, noon, wow

Vocabulary

Types of Vocabulary (Based on Skills)

Types of Vocabulary (Based on Use)

Importance of Morphology and Phonology for CTET & TET

• Direct MCQs from morpheme, phoneme, suffix, prefix
• Vocabulary-based pedagogy questions
• Pronunciation and phonetics concepts
• Word formation techniques

Conclusion

Morphology and phonology together provide a strong foundation for understanding how language works structurally and orally. For English teachers and CTET/TET aspirants, mastering these concepts ensures accuracy in vocabulary teaching, pronunciation, and grammar instruction.

👉 Exam Affinity’s CTET preparation support

Exercise – Morphology and Phonology (MCQs)

1. ______ cannot be divided into further grammatically meaningful components.
   (a) Phonology
   (b) A diphthong
   (c) Morpheme
   (d) A phoneme
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: Morpheme

   Explanation: A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language and cannot be divided further.



2. Small tree, lazy boy, wise man etc. are
   (a) Collocations
   (b) Diphthongs
   (c) Sight words
   (d) Syntax
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: Collocations

   Explanation: Collocations are words that commonly occur together in natural language.



3. The number of double vowel sounds (diphthongs) in English is
   (a) 2
   (b) 5
   (c) 8
   (d) 11
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: 8

   Explanation: English has eight diphthongs, also called vowel glides.



4. A compound word consists of
   (a) Single free morpheme
   (b) One free morpheme and one bound morpheme
   (c) Two bound morphemes
   (d) Two or more free morphemes
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: Two or more free morphemes

   Explanation: Compound words are formed by combining two or more independent (free) morphemes.



5. Words or phrases used in informal conversational language are called
   (a) Lexical items
   (b) Acronyms
   (c) Jargon
   (d) Colloquialism
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: Colloquialism

   Explanation: Colloquialisms are informal words or expressions used in everyday speech.



6. Which of the following is an example of polysemy?
   (a) Get
   (b) See, sea
   (c) Lead, led
   (d) Dye, die
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: Get

   Explanation: Polysemy refers to a single word having multiple related meanings. ‘Get’ has many related meanings.



7. In the pronunciation of which consonant is there a complete closure of air passage?
   (a) Plosive
   (b) Nasal
   (c) Lateral
   (d) Fricative
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: Plosive

   Explanation: Plosives are produced by a complete blockage of airflow followed by a sudden release.



8. In the word ‘seat’, the phonetic transcription for ‘ea’ is
   (a) ae
   (b) e
   (c) ɪ
   (d) iː
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: iː

   Explanation: The vowel sound in ‘seat’ is a long vowel represented as /iː/.

Previous Years’ CTET & TET Questions

1. The study of the formation of words is known as
   (a) Phonology
   (b) Morphology
   (c) Syntax
   (d) Semantics
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: Morphology

   Explanation: Morphology deals with word formation and internal structure of words.



2. A sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable is called
   (a) Diphthong
   (b) Bilabial
   (c) Intonation
   (d) Stress
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: Diphthong

   Explanation: A diphthong is a glide from one vowel sound to another within the same syllable.



3. Which word forms its plural by adding the suffix ‘-en’?
   (a) Max
   (b) Box
   (c) Tax
   (d) Ox
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: Ox

   Explanation: ‘Ox’ forms its plural as ‘oxen’, which is an irregular plural form.



4. When a part of a word is spoken emphatically, it is called
   (a) Pause
   (b) Stress
   (c) Intonation
   (d) Pronunciation
   View Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: Stress

   Explanation: Stress refers to emphasis placed on a syllable or word during pronunciation.

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