Talk:Psycholinguistics/Morphology

Below is a critical review of the chapter morphology. I have not corrected for grammatical and spelling errors, however will notify the author privately with my suggestions. The review below is simply an overview of the chapter as a whole however, I will make mention to a few specific aspects of the chapter.

The author has covered the chapter of morphology in great detail, yet adhered to the predetermined word count. The introduction clearly identifies the area of focus and follows a logic sequence by beginning with the history of morphology and concluding with the present research. The author has presented a well thought-out chapter, which incorporates multiple sources including contrasting viewpoints. For example, as stated by the author, the past tense debate remains highly controversial among scholars of psycholinguistics. The author has provided substantial evidence to outline the arguments on both sides while remaining unbiased.

Given that the topic of morphology is very broad, I appreciate that the author has chosen to focus on certain aspects rather than attempting to incorporate too much detail within a limited word count. Inflectional and derivational morphology are covered in great detail providing more than adequate information on this area of morphology. With this being said, I do however have a few suggestions on areas that may deserve further insight.

Under the heading “What is a morpheme?” the author may want to address that affixes are not restricted to the English language. Being an introductory chapter this may not be common knowledge to the reader. The author could incorporate simple examples to expand on this thought. For example, in Piro, an Arawakan language, -kaka can be added to a verb to express “cause to”. Therefore, “salwa” which means, “to visit” can be transformed to “cause to visit” by adding –kaka, “salwakaka”.

In keeping with rules of word formation, the author may find tree diagrams useful as a way to incorporate visual aids. For example, the word “unsystematic” incorporates the prefix –un, the root system, and the suffix –atic, resulting in a three leveled tree. Tree diagrams are a great way to add clarity for visual learners.

While reading the chapter I did come across some areas that I found unclear. For example, the author mentions a NP (noun phrase) which includes a noun + person. I was under the assumption that a noun phrase can include a person, a determiner, or simply a standalone noun. I am not an expert in morphology and therefore did not make any changes to the text regarding this question. I am grateful that the author has chosen to bold key concept terms. This allows for easy scanning when defining a term (critical in traditional textbook chapters). The flow of the chapter is easy to follow and will structured with the incorporation of subheadings.

In regards to structural changes the author may want to remove the citations for Jay 2003. As recently mentioned by Dr. Newman this is unnecessary and may be reflected during evaluation. Overall I feel that this chapter is well written and contains ample evidence including a wide range of academic sources.