Morphology
In many languages, words are not indivisible but are composed of smaller units. Morphology seeks to define how words are built from these smaller units. The following questions are central in morphology:
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How do languages build words?
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How do languages modify words so that they fit into specific contexts within sentences (e.g. in the verb slot)?
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What mechanisms does a particular language offer to make new words?
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Do all languages form (new) words in the same way or can we establish differences?
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What are the relationships between different forms of the same word (e.g. farm, farms, farming, farmer, chicken farm)?
Note: The #-symbol as shown in the illustration exhibits the boundaries between the morphological components of words.