What is Morphology?, 3rd Edition

2 Words and Lexemes

• 2.1 What is a Word?
  • 2.1.1 Defining words syntactically
  • 2.1.2 Defining words phonologically
  • 2.1.3 Grammatical words
• 2.2 Empirical Tests for Wordhood
  • 2.2.1 Fixed order of elements
  • 2.2.2 Non-separability and integrity
  • 2.2.3 Stress
• 2.3 Types of Words
  • 2.3.1 Phonological words
  • 2.3.2 Content words vs. function words
  • 2.3.3 Lexemes
• 2.4 Inflection vs. Derivation
• 2.5 Two Approaches to Morphology: Item-and-Arrangement, Item-and-Process
  • 2.5.1 Affixation in the two models
  • 2.5.2 Non-affixal phenomena and the item-and-process model
    • 2.5.2.1 English noun–verb pairs
    • 2.5.2.2 Agar Dinka
• 2.6 The Lexicon
• 2.7 Summary
• Kujamaat Jóola Noun Classes
• Further Reading

A single word can have multiple uses and interpretations. Occasionally a headline-writer underestimates this fact and ends up writing amusing headlines when no humor was intended. Here are some oldies but goodies that have circulated widely by e-mail:

BRITISH LEFT WAFFLES ON FALKLAND ISLANDSMINERS REFUSE TO WORK AFTER DEATHEYE DROPS OFF SHELFLOCAL HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS CUT IN HALFSQUAD HELPS DOG BITE VICTIMJUVENILE COURT TO TRY SHOOTING DEFENDANTKIDS MAKE NUTRITIOUS SNACKS

The British didn’t really abandon breakfast pastries on the Falkland Islands, and zombie miners aren’t acting up. While waffles tends to be interpreted more easily as a noun, it’s used in the first headline as a verb. Left, conversely, is used as a noun in the headline, but is more often used in speech as a verb. Death in the second headline ...