Glossary: morphology and phonology

An affix that is attached to the end of its base.

In degree systems, the degree with the meaning ‘having the highest degree, most’.

The replacement of a form that is missing from an inflectional paradigm by one with a different root, e.g., went (exists alongside go, goes, going, gone). Thought, caught exemplify partial suppletion because, synchronically, their roots are significantly but not completely different from think and catch.

Phonetic features such as stress, length, tone, and intonation, which are not a property of single consonants or vowels.

A word-form as it is actually pronounced by speakers; a form derived from an underlying representation by (morpho)phonological rules.

A writing system where the symbols that are used represent whole syllables, rather than individual consonants or vowels on the one hand, or whole words on the other. Japanese and Cherokee use this kind of writing system.

Of a speech sound, forming the nucleus of a syllable. In many languages vowels are the only syllabic sounds, but in some languages consonants, mainly sonorants, can also be used as syllabic sounds.

A unit of speech claimed to be relevant for the organization of words, a grouping of consonants and vowels into a C₀V₁C₀ constituent.

See weight.

Languages in which the duration of syllables shows relatively little variation, for instance because vowels are not likely to be reduced or because the onsets and codas of syllables are relatively uniform, e.g. Spanish or French (cf. stress-timed languages).