Morphology focuses on the internal organization of words. A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that carries meaning or grammatical function – this can be a root word (like “run”), an affix such as a prefix or suffix (like “re-” or “-ed”), or a grammatical inflection (such as plural “-s”). By studying morphology, we learn how words can be modified to express different tenses, plurals, possessives, derivations, etc., and why certain combinations are permissible (e.g., “acceptable” vs. the non-word “acceptly”). In the context of speech-language pathology, morphological development is vital; children with language impairments might omit or misuse morphemes (for instance, dropping past tense “-ed” or plural “-s”), and therapy may target these skills to improve grammatical accuracy and vocabulary growth.
Mark Aronoff and Kirsten Fudeman. What is Morphology? 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell, (2011).
MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Sciences. “Morphology.” MIT Press, (1999).
