morphophonemics

9.9

Study of how parts of words change sound in different situations

noun
/ˌmɔrfoʊˈfoʊnɪmɪks/

Specialized

: morfofonémica

The morphophonemics of English explain why 'electric' becomes 'electricity'.

Examples

In morphophonemics, we analyze how sounds change in different environments.
She is conducting research in morphophonemics to understand how suffixes alter pronunciation.
A good grasp of morphophonemics is essential for analyzing language change.
The study of morphophonemics is essential for understanding language.
A good grasp of morphophonemics is essential for analyzing language change.
She is conducting research in morphophonemics to understand how suffixes alter pronunciation.
In morphophonemics, we analyze how sounds change in different environments.

Surface Forms

morphophonemics singular

morphophonemics plural

Morphology

morphophonemics = morphophonemic (semi-transparent) = morpho + phonem + ics

Formed from the combining forms 'morpho-' + 'phonem-' with the nominalizing suffix '-ics' (field of study); the parts are technical, so understandable to learners familiar with 'morpho/phonem' but not to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

The word morphophonemics comes from the parts morpho- meaning 'form' and phon- meaning 'sound', as in metamorphosis, which means 'change of form', and phonics, which is about 'sound'. So, it reminds you that this field studies how small parts of words change the way they are pronounced in different places.