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Guilherme Mazui

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What is the Difference Between Morpheme and Allomorph?

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The main difference between a morpheme and an allomorph lies in their focus and structure. Here are the key differences:

  1. Morpheme: A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of a language, conveying a meaning. Morphemes can be classified into free morphemes and bound morphemes. They are concerned with the structure and meaning of words.
  2. Allomorph: An allomorph is a variant form of a morpheme, which can be simply described as a unit of meaning that varies in sound without changing its meaning. Allomorphs are concerned with the sound of words.

Some examples to illustrate the differences:

  • The plural morpheme in English, generally written as {s}, has three allomorphs: /s/ as in cats, /z/ as in dogs, and /ɪz/ as in boxes.
  • The past form morphemes also have three allomorphs: /d/ as in slammed, /t/ as in slipped, and /ɪd/ as in stilted.

In summary, morphemes are focused on the structure and meaning of words, while allomorphs are concerned with the variation in sound of morphemes without changing their meaning.

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  • What is the Difference Between Morpheme and Allomorph?
  • Comparative Table: Morpheme vs Allomorph

    • Comparative Table: Morpheme vs Allomorph

    Here is a table comparing morphemes and allomorphs:

    Feature Morpheme Allomorph
    Definition The smallest meaningful unit of a language, conveying a meaning. Different forms or variants of the same morpheme, having different pronunciations or spellings but the same meaning.
    Examples - Words: noun, verb, adjective, adverb.
    - Morphemes: beauty (noun), work (verb), smart (adjective), quickly (adverb).    		 - Plural morpheme: /s/ (cats), /z/ (dogs), /iz/ (matches).
    - Prefixes: in-, il-, im- (incapable, illogical, impossible).
    Types Free morphemes (can stand alone as meaningful elements in a sentence) and bound morphemes (cannot stand alone and need other words to form a meaningful element). Variants of the same morpheme, with different phonetic representations.
    Changes Free morphemes can change in meaning, function, word class, or number when bound morphemes are added. Allomorphs do not change the meaning but have different pronunciations and spellings according to their condition.

    In summary, morphemes are the smallest meaningful units of a language, while allomorphs are different forms or variants of the same morpheme. Morphemes can be free or bound, and they can change in meaning, function, word class, or number when bound morphemes are added. Allomorphs, on the other hand, do not change the meaning but have different pronunciations and spellings according to their condition.

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    Guilherme Mazui

    Guilherme Mazui is graduated in journalism from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a master's degree in Communication from the University of São Paulo (USP). In addition, he has experience in advertising writing and has worked as a content editor in several companies.