The Classification of Words

SOME GENERAL REMARKS
§ 1. In this book the phoneme, the morpheme, the word, and the sentence are regarded as the basic units of language and speech. The definitions of these units have never been generally agreed on, yet following are some brief functional characteristics.
The phoneme is the smallest distinctive unit. The phoneme /b/¹, for instance, is the only distinctive feature marking the difference between tale /teil/ and table /teibl/.
The morpheme ist the smallest meaningful unit. Un-fail-ing-ly, for instance, contains four meaningful parts, i. e. four morphemes.
The word is the smallest naming unit. Though the words terror,terrible, terrific, terrifyconiam more than one morpheme each, they are the smallest units naming a certain feeling, certain properties, and a certain action respectively.
The sentence is the smallest communication unit. It rains is a sentence because it contains a communication (see Syntax, § 379).
§ 2. The phoneme, the morpheme, the word and the sen-Ic-nce are units of different levels of language structure. The phoneme is a unit of the lowest level, the sentence — of the highest.
A unit of a higher level usually contains one or more units of the preceding level. But the higher unit cannot be reduced to the sum of those lower units since it has a quality not in­herent in the units of the lower level. For instance, the meaning <>l (he morpheme -ly is not inherent in the two phonemes
¹ I he slant lines are used to indicate that the enclosed symbols («present phonemes.
it contains. The naming power of the word length is not inherent in the two morphemes it contains. The communi­cating power of the sentence It rains is not inherent in the two words it contains.
Conversely, a combination of units of a certain level does not make a unit of a higher level unless the combination acquires the properties of the units of that higher level. The combination of phonemes /dit/ does not make a morpheme as long as it is meaningless. The combination of morphemes -ing-ly is not a word since it names nothing. The combination of words of the teacher is not a sentence as long as it communi­cates nothing.
On the other hand, a single unit of a given level becomes a higher level unit on acquiring the proper qualities. For instance, the phoneme /o:/ makes a morpheme when it becomes meaningful, as in the word aw-ful. When the morpheme aw-acquires naming power, it becomes a word awe. When the word awe makes a communication, it is a sentence, as in the dialogue:

• 
  What feeling did you experience?
  
• 
  Awe.
  

Thus, with regard to the level of language structure there is no difference between a single unit and a combination of units. They are to be studied by the same branches of linguis­tics. If phonology (phonemics), for example, studies the phonemes of a language, it is also expected to study the combinations of phonemes in the language. The branch of linguistics that studies morphemes must also study the com­binations of morphemes. If morphology deals with words, it should also deal with combinations of words. * Syntax must treat not only sentences but combinations of sentences as well.
¹ This view is not shared by many linguists. In most grammars words are regarded as the object of morphology, while combinations of «ords are discussed in syntax, together with sentences. (See, however, Л. С. Б a p x у д a p о в, Д. А. Ш т е л и н г. Грамматика англий­ского языка. М., 1965.)
-\. A. Hill thinks that combinations (sequences) of units are "areas lying between the levels. Between phonemics and morphemics is the area of phonotactics, the sequences of phonemes. Between morpheme and word is the area of morphotactics or the sequences of morphemes. Between the word and phrase (and clause) is logotactics. These areas have not as yet received like amonais of attention". (Readings in Applied English Linguistics, ed. by N. B. Allen, New York, 1958, p. 18.)
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§ 3. The units of each level can be analysed as to their inner structure, the classes they belong to in the language system (otherwise, their paradigmatic relations), and the combinations they form in speech (or their syntagmatic re­lations).
When studying the structure of a unit, we find out its components, mostly units of the next lower level, their arrange­ment and their functions as parts of the unit.
For instance, when analysing the structure of the word unreadable, it is not enough to say that the word contains three morphemes airanged in a definite order. It is also ne­cessary to state the function of each morpheme, i. e. its relation to the whole word, the part it plays in making the word.
The units of each level divide into groups or classes whose members have certain components in common. For instance, the phonemes /b, d, g/ are united by their being voiced and plosive. The words deeper, longer, sweeter are united by the morpheme -er with the 'comparative' meaning.
As a group /b, d, g/ is part of the phonemic system of the English language, but in speech the whole group is not used together Each member of this group forms certain combina­tions with other phonemes, like /bi-/, /be-/, /bu-/, etc. The group deep — deeper — deepest is part of the morphological system of the Fnglish language. But in speech each member of the group is used separately and not always in combination with the same words. Cf. as deep as ..., deeper than ..., the deepest of ... '