The method of morphemic analysis

L. Bloomfield

Words are segmented into morphemes with the help of the method of morphemic analysis. Its aim is to split the word into its constituent morphemes and to determine their number and types. This is accomplished by the procedure known as the analysis into immediate constituents (ICs), first suggested by L. Bloomfield. The procedure consists of several stages:

· segmentation of words;

· identification of morphs;

· classification of morphemes.

The procedure generally used to segment words into the constituting morphemes is the method of Immediate and Ultimate Constituents. It is based on a binary principle, i.e. each stage of the procedure involves two components the word immediately breaks into. At each stage these two components are referred to as the Immediate Constituents (ICs). Each IC at the next stage of the analysis is in its turn broken into two smaller meaningful elements. This analysis is completed when we arrive at constituents incapable of any further division, i.e. morphemes. They are called the Ultimate Constituents (UCs).

The analysis of the morphemic structure of words reveals:

· the ultimate meaningful constituents (UCs),

· their typical sequence and arrangement,

· but it does not show the way a word is constructed.