Chapter 4. Chinese morphology

Abstract

Words are the fundamental building blocks of language as they constitute a major component of grammar. Morphology is the study of words and word-formation processes. Vocabulary acquisition plays a fundamental role in language acquisition for enhancing a learner’s language development. A rudimentary understanding of morphology will strengthen an L2 learner’s ability to decode word structures, recognize word-formations, and study vocabulary. This chapter consists of five sections. After reviewing basic morphology terms and concepts in Section 4.1, Sections 4.2–4.4 will delve deeper into Chinese morphology, exploring the internal structure of Chinese words and rules for how words are formed, including compounding, affixation and reduplication. At the end of the chapter, we will discuss research findings and its implications regarding L2 acquisition of Mandarin Chinese vocabulary, pedagogical suggestions, and learning strategies.