Chapter 5, Morphology

Session 2: Derivational Complexity

Derivational suffixes; accent shift patterns; phonological and orthographic

changes in derived words; the i-connector.
Reading: STP Chapter 5
Workbook: Exercises 62–66

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Morphologically Complex Words Are
Common in Academic Content Reading
In July the Congress set about the more difficult task of organizing a new
national government.

The amygdala, hypothalamus, and thalamus mature next and regulate emotional
content, including attachment to others, sleep, appetite, and alertness.

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Classes of Morphemes
English
Morphemes

Free Bound

Content Affixes Roots Greek

Function words combining
words forms
(open class) (closed class)

Derivational Inflectional

Prefixes Suffixes Suffixes

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Latin Derivational Suffixes Mark Part of
Speech
Derivational suffixes can change the syntactic slot that a word fits
into. Here, words that fill verb slots change into words that fill
noun slots.

A person who bakes is a baker.

A nation is governed by its government.
Someone who assists is an assistant.
Avoiding doing homework shows avoidance.

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Note the Part of Speech Marked by the
Suffix (noun, verb, adjective, adverb)
reverse (n, v) formative (adj)
reversible (adj) formation (n)
versatile (adj) formally (adv)
adversary (n) formality (n)
anniversary (n) misinform (v)
inverting (v) conforming (v, adj)
advertisement (n) informed (v, adj)
advertise (v) informer (n)
controversial (adj) formative (adj)

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Suffixes Can Change the Base Word’s
Pronunciation and Stress Patterns
atom—atomic
academy—academic
angel—angelic
author—authority
sign—signal—signify
design—designate—designation

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Read These Nonsense Words Aloud
tupid tupidity tupidizable

tupidy tupiditude tupidary

tupidation tupidize tupidic

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Latin Suffix “ize”
‘ize’ is a very common suffix used in both Greek and Latin words.

Word Word + ize

equal equalize
central centralize
memory memorize
civil civilize

The -ize suffix changes adjectives or nouns into verbs.

Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers, Third Edition by Louisa Cook Moats. Copyright © 2020 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. All rights
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Latin Suffix “ation”
‘ization’ is a very common suffix combination used in both Greek and Latin
words.

Word Word + ize + ation

equal equalize equalization
central centralize centralization
memory memorize memorization
civil civilize civilization

The -ation suffix changes verbs into nouns.

Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers, Third Edition by Louisa Cook Moats. Copyright © 2020 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. All rights
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Exercise: Fill in the Blanks
Change the given word into the designated part of speech (derived form) by
adding a suffix:

adverse (adj) __adversary______(noun)

depend (verb) ________________(noun)
depend (verb) ________________(adjective)
patron (noun) ________________(verb)
actor (noun) ________________(verb)
decide (verb) ________________(adjective)
decide (verb) ________________(noun)

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Letters ti, ci, si/sci – Connections to
Suffixes
on an ent ous al ence/ance

ration Martian sentient cautious partial

patience

suspicion patrician prescient spacious special conscience

passion Parisian

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Derivational Complexity: Are There
Phonological and/or Orthographic Changes to
the Base Word?
NO CHANGE: forget, forgetful; employ, employment; embark, embarkation

ORTHOGRAPHIC CHANGE: sense, sensible; organize, organizer; slip, slippage;

bounty, bountiful; occur, occurrence

PHONOLOGICAL CHANGE: brutal, brutality; labor, laborious; medic, medicine;

express, expression

BOTH CHANGE: psychology, psychological; define, definition; compete,

competition; profane, profanity

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Recover the Base Word from a
Derivation
(Peel off the prefixes and suffixes. What changes occurred
to the base word when the derived word was formed?)
• instability ____________
• misinterpretation ___________
• marginalize ____________
• signature _____________
• invariability ___________
• disorganization __________
• predisposition ____________
• intradepartmental _________

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Words with Phonological Changes Between the
Base and the Derivation Are More Difficult to
Learn
• Students are developing morphological knowledge into high school.
• Prefixes and suffixes are easiest to learn when attached to base words that
do not undergo orthographic or phonological changes.
• Oral language practice—saying base words and their derivations, with
attention to stress patterns or alternations, is a critical aspect of instruction,
especially as more complex word relationships are encountered.
• Recognition of morphemes in words should be a goal in reading, vocabulary,
and spelling instruction, especially as students gain a bigger vocabulary.

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