Null morpheme
Encyclopedia
In morpheme-based morphology, a null morpheme is a morpheme
that is realized by a phonologically
null affix
(an empty string of phonological segments). In simpler terms, a null morpheme is an "invisible" affix. It is also called a zero morpheme; the process of adding a null morpheme is called null affixation, null derivation or zero derivation. The concept was first used over two thousand years ago by Pāṇini in his Sanskrit
grammar
. Some linguists object to the notion of a null morpheme, arguing that it sets up an unverifiable distinction between a "null" or "zero" element, and nothing at all.
The null morpheme is represented as either the figure zero (0) or the empty set
symbol Ø.
Examples in English
include hiatus
and co-operation.
The existence of a null morpheme in a word
can also be theorized by contrast with other forms of the same word showing alternate morphemes. For example, the singular number of English noun
s is shown by a null morpheme that contrasts with the plural morpheme -s.
In addition, there are some cases in English where a null morpheme indicates plurality in nouns that take on irregular plurals.
Also, a null morpheme marks the present tense of verb
s in all forms but the third person singular:
According to some linguists' view, it is also a null morpheme that turns some English adjective
s into verbs of the kind of to clean, to slow, to warm. Null derivation, also known as conversion
if the word class changes, is very common in analytic languages such as English.
In language
s that show the above distinctions, it is quite common to employ null affixation (not) to mark singular number, present tense and third persons (English is unusual in its marking of the third person singular with a non-zero morpheme, by contrast with a null morpheme for others). It is also frequent to find null affixation for the least-marked
case
s (the nominative case
in nominative–accusative languages, and the absolutive case
in ergative–absolutive languages).
In most languages of the world it is the affixes that are realized as null morphemes. But in some cases roots
may also be realized as these. For instance, the Russian
word вы-Ø-ну-ть (vynut, 'to take out') consists of one prefix (вы-), one zero root
(-Ø-), one suffix
(-ну-), and one suffix
(-ть).
A basic radical element plus a null morpheme is not the same as an uninflected word
, though usage may make those equal in practice.
Morpheme
In linguistics, a morpheme is the smallest semantically meaningful unit in a language. The field of study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology. A morpheme is not identical to a word, and the principal difference between the two is that a morpheme may or may not stand alone, whereas a word,...
that is realized by a phonologically
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
null affix
Affix
An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...
(an empty string of phonological segments). In simpler terms, a null morpheme is an "invisible" affix. It is also called a zero morpheme; the process of adding a null morpheme is called null affixation, null derivation or zero derivation. The concept was first used over two thousand years ago by Pāṇini in his Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
. Some linguists object to the notion of a null morpheme, arguing that it sets up an unverifiable distinction between a "null" or "zero" element, and nothing at all.
The null morpheme is represented as either the figure zero (0) or the empty set
Empty set
In mathematics, and more specifically set theory, the empty set is the unique set having no elements; its size or cardinality is zero. Some axiomatic set theories assure that the empty set exists by including an axiom of empty set; in other theories, its existence can be deduced...
symbol Ø.
Examples in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
include hiatus
Hiatus (linguistics)
In phonology, hiatus or diaeresis refers to two vowel sounds occurring in adjacent syllables, with no intervening consonant. When two adjacent vowel sounds occur in the same syllable, the result is instead described as a diphthong....
and co-operation.
The existence of a null morpheme in a word
Word
In language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...
can also be theorized by contrast with other forms of the same word showing alternate morphemes. For example, the singular number of English noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
s is shown by a null morpheme that contrasts with the plural morpheme -s.
- cat = cat + -Ø = ROOT ("cat") + SINGULAR
- cats = cat + -s = ROOT ("cat") + PLURAL
In addition, there are some cases in English where a null morpheme indicates plurality in nouns that take on irregular plurals.
- sheep = sheep + -Ø = ROOT ("sheep") + SINGULAR
- sheep = sheep + -Ø = ROOT ("sheep") + PLURAL
Also, a null morpheme marks the present tense of verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
s in all forms but the third person singular:
- (I) run = run + -Ø = ROOT ("run") + PRESENT: Non-3rd-SINGULAR
- (He) runs = run + -s = ROOT ("run") + PRESENT: 3rd-SINGULAR
According to some linguists' view, it is also a null morpheme that turns some English adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
s into verbs of the kind of to clean, to slow, to warm. Null derivation, also known as conversion
Conversion (linguistics)
In linguistics, conversion, also called zero derivation, is a kind of word formation; specifically, it is the creation of a word from an existing word without any change in form...
if the word class changes, is very common in analytic languages such as English.
In language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s that show the above distinctions, it is quite common to employ null affixation (not) to mark singular number, present tense and third persons (English is unusual in its marking of the third person singular with a non-zero morpheme, by contrast with a null morpheme for others). It is also frequent to find null affixation for the least-marked
Markedness
Markedness is a specific kind of asymmetry relationship between elements of linguistic or conceptual structure. In a marked-unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one...
case
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
s (the nominative case
Nominative case
The nominative case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or the predicate noun or predicate adjective, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments...
in nominative–accusative languages, and the absolutive case
Absolutive case
The absolutive case is the unmarked grammatical case of a core argument of a verb which is used as the citation form of a noun.-In ergative languages:...
in ergative–absolutive languages).
In most languages of the world it is the affixes that are realized as null morphemes. But in some cases roots
Root (linguistics)
The root word is the primary lexical unit of a word, and of a word family , which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents....
may also be realized as these. For instance, the Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
word вы-Ø-ну-ть (vynut, 'to take out') consists of one prefix (вы-), one zero root
Root (linguistics)
The root word is the primary lexical unit of a word, and of a word family , which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents....
(-Ø-), one suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
(-ну-), and one suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
(-ть).
A basic radical element plus a null morpheme is not the same as an uninflected word
Uninflected word
In the context of linguistic morphology, an uninflected word is a word that has no morphological markers such as affixes, ablaut, consonant gradation, etc., indicating declension or conjugation...
, though usage may make those equal in practice.
See also
- Null allomorphNull allomorphIn morpheme-based morphology, a null allomorph or zero allomorph is a special kind of allomorph which has the form of a null morpheme. Because there are contexts in which the underlying morpheme still appears in the surface structure, a "real" null morpheme could be re-defined as a morpheme which...
- Ellipsis (linguistics)Ellipsis (linguistics)In linguistics, ellipsis or elliptical construction refers to the omission from a clause of one or more words that would otherwise be required by the remaining elements.-Overview:...
- Lemma (morphology)
- LinguisticsLinguisticsLinguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
- Marker (linguistics)Marker (linguistics)In linguistics, a marker is a free or bound morpheme that indicates the grammatical function of the marked word, phrase, or sentence. In analytic languages and agglutinative languages, markers are generally easily distinguished. In fusional languages and polysynthetic languages, this is often not...
- Zero (linguistics)Zero (linguistics)A zero, in linguistics, is a constituent needed in an analysis but not realized in speech. This implies that there is a lack of an element where a theory would expect one. It is usually written with the symbol "", in Unicode .There are several kind of zeros....
- Covert (linguistics)Covert (linguistics)In linguistics, a feature of a word or phrase is said to be covert if there is no surface evidence of its existence within that word or phrase. For example, many languages have covert grammatical gender in nouns, in that there is no way to tell from the form of a noun which gender it is; gender...