Morpheme:
* Meaning: A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language. It's the building block of words.
* Examples:
* "un-" (meaning "not") in the word "unhappy"
* "-ing" (meaning "present participle") in the word "singing"
* "cat" (meaning "a feline animal")
Morph:
* Meaning: A morph is the actual realization of a morpheme in speech or writing. It's the physical form a morpheme takes.
* Examples:
* "un" (as pronounced) in the word "unhappy"
* "-ing" (as written) in the word "singing"
* "cat" (as spelled)
Key Differences:
* Abstract vs. Concrete: Morphemes are abstract units of meaning, while morphs are their concrete realizations.
* Meaning vs. Form: Morphemes carry meaning, while morphs are the way that meaning is expressed.
* One-to-many or Many-to-one: A single morpheme can have multiple morphs (e.g., the plural morpheme "-s" can be pronounced as /s/, /z/, or /ɪz/), and a single morph can represent multiple morphemes (e.g., the morph "-ed" can represent the past tense or past participle).
Example:
Let's take the word "cats".
* Morphemes: "cat" (meaning "a feline animal") + "-s" (meaning "plural")
* Morphs: "cat" + "s" (as pronounced)
In simpler terms:
* Think of a morpheme as the idea behind a word part.
* Think of a morph as the actual word part you hear or see.