Happy Halloween, everybody! This month, let’s talk a little about morphology. Morphology sounds like a big, scary, mad-scientific word to a lot of people, but in reality, it is an essential part of teaching children to read and understand written English. It can also be a lot of fun! Morphology is the branch of linguistics that examines word structure, and includes all those pesky prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Its aim is to separate words into parts and examine each segment for an individual meaning. English makes a lot of use of its prefixes and suffixes, tacking on as many as necessary to change the meaning of a root word, and sometimes this can lead to English words looking downright daunting! Using morphology with students, especially those with an acute learning disability or dyslexia, takes long and difficult words and separates them into the puzzle pieces that make them up, allowing for a better understanding of both spelling and implied meaning.

            Let’s take a look at some examples, starting with this word here: unreadable. Unreadable, just like any other word in English, is only a sum of its parts. Let’s separate them into prefixes, suffixes, and root words to see what we find.

Un (prefix) + read (root word) + able (suffix)

            It’s easy to see now how this word is constructed and easier to spell as well. With fewer syllables to keep track of for each word part, students should have a far easier time tackling this word section by section. But how about its meaning? That should become clearer as well.

            Un- is a prefix that shows up at the beginning of many English words and means “not” or “the opposite of”. –able is an equally common suffix and means “able to be” or “able to do”. Combining them with the root word read and its meaning, we get the following morphological breakdown:

Un (not) + read + able (able to be)

Unreadable = Not able to be read

            The clouds part and suddenly the word’s individual parts make sense! Words in English are never randomly spelled or arbitrarily put together like a Frankenstein’s monster designed to scare students. They have meanings and connections that are rooted in the history of the language itself. Depending on the student, they may find this history fascinating. For example, the word read comes from Proto-Germanic word redan, meaning “to council or advise”. This not only tells us about English’s roots and connections with the German language, but can also give us an idea about the word read’s relatives as well: reason, rhyme, riddle, ritual. These words share connections like an intricate web through the ages.

            Teaching morphology, in my experience, has been quite rewarding. Children are naturally curious, especially when it comes to uncovering hidden truths about words they use every day. They start to question and comprehend language’s role in our lives, as well as its importance to humanity as a whole. They love to make connections to other languages and grow interested in uncovering those mysteries as well, linking them like red string on a peg board. It’s fascinating to witness and so much fun!

We have several ways we teach morphology here at Roadways, including AVKO Spelling, our Words Their Way word upper elementary sorts, as well as the Vocabulary Their Way book series. You can incorporate these methods into spelling time, vocabulary practice, or even give morphology its own segment of the literacy period! Start with a word and let students delve into its backstory, learn where it comes from, learn how it has changed over time, and what other words share connections and history with it. You, the teacher, are just as liable to learn something new about our language in the process!

On a final note, to prove how useful and fun morphology can be, here’s a morphological breakdown of one of English’s longest words, hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.

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hippopoto (large beast) + monstro (object of dread) + sesqui (half as much again) + ped (foot) + alio (plural noun) + phobia (fear)

hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia = the fear of large, dreadful objects that are a foot and a half long.

Ironically enough, hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the fear of long words. But no reason to be afraid anymore, once its parts are broken up and examined for the puzzle pieces they are. Amazing!