Oregon Educator Licensure Assessments (ORELA) Practice Exam

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What is the focus of morphology in linguistics?

The study of word meanings
The study of the forms of words
The study of sentence structure
The study of language evolution

The correct answer is: The study of the forms of words

Morphology in linguistics specifically focuses on the study of the forms of words. It examines how words are structured and the rules governing the combination of morphemes, which are the smallest units of meaning or grammatical function in a language. This includes the analysis of prefixes, suffixes, stems, and how they interact to create new words or change the meaning or grammatical category of existing ones. Understanding morphology is essential for exploring how words develop and relate to one another within a language. In contrast, the study of word meanings pertains to semantics, which is concerned with meaning rather than structure. The analysis of sentence structure is the primary focus of syntax, which examines how words combine to form phrases and sentences. Language evolution, on the other hand, deals with how languages change over time, encompassing a broader historical perspective rather than the specific study of word form. Thus, morphology is uniquely centered on the internal structure and formation of words themselves.