morféma

A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language. It is the basic building block of words and cannot be further divided into smaller units that carry meaning. Morphemes can be categorized into two main types: free morphemes and bound morphemes. Free morphemes can stand alone as words, such as "cat" or "run." Bound morphemes, on the other hand, cannot stand alone and must be attached to free morphemes or other bound morphemes, such as the plural morpheme "-s" in "cats" or the past tense morpheme "-ed" in "walked."

Morphemes can also be classified based on their function. Root morphemes are the core meaning-bearing units, such as "happ" in "happiness." Derivational morphemes change the meaning of a word, such as "-ness" in "happiness." Inflectional morphemes indicate grammatical information, such as "-s" in "cats" to indicate plural. Additionally, there are compound morphemes, which are formed by combining two or more morphemes, such as "blackboard."

The study of morphemes is a fundamental aspect of linguistics, as it helps to understand the structure and meaning of words in a language. By analyzing the morphemes that make up words, linguists can gain insights into the grammar, semantics, and phonology of a language. Morphemes are essential for language acquisition, as they provide the building blocks for constructing and understanding words and sentences.