The smallest unit of meaning in a language is referred to as a:

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

In exploring the question about the smallest meaningful unit in language, consider what each option represents.
Option: word. While words carry meaning, they are typically composed of one or more morphemes, so they are not the smallest meaningful unit by itself.
Option: holophrase. A holophrase is a single word used to express a larger idea or sentence, not a unit that by itself carries the smallest layer of meaning across all contexts.
Option: morpheme. This is the key term: a morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning or grammatical function in a language, which can be a whole word (a free morpheme) or a part that attaches to a word (a bound morpheme) to alter meaning or grammatical category.
Option: phoneme. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a language, not a unit that carries meaning. Phonemes distinguish words but do not themselves convey semantic content.
Thus, when focusing on the smallest meaning-bearing unit, morpheme best fits the definition, as it directly ties form to meaning, whether as a root, affix, or bound element.

PSYC-312-02 Midterm 3- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

The smallest unit of meaning in a language is referred to as a:

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

“-ly” in the word “happily” is an example of a bound morpheme

How many morphemes are in the word "CALIFORNIA"?

Some African American English dialects have sentences like: He come. She see. At which level of linguistic structure does this dialectal variation exist?

Some African American English dialects have sentences like: I see. You see. She see. (Instead of Standard American English I see. You see. She sees.) At which level of linguistic structure does this dialectal variation exist?

Some speakers of American English use the form dove as the paste tense of dive (as in He dove into the water) while others use the past tense form dived. At which level of linguistic structure does this dialectal variation exist?

We could analyze depression into its morphemes as {de} {press} {ion} to see how it literally means "the state of pushing/pressing down" .

因为形态变化是英语进行意义构建或逻辑推理的必要手段之一，因此在汉译英的过程中，译者需要考虑英语中的名词、代词、动词的构形变化以保持其形式上的一致性。

Check all that apply. The underlined portion of "misaligned" is:

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler