![]() This lets me find teaching moments and ensures that I can answer my students’ questions clearly and consistently. I always like to have a complete model in mind that holds up across the curriculum. My Perfect Model: Roots, Stems, and Bases This model is the foundation of what I teach my students. This model holds up across the curriculum. This means that any root or any stem can be termed a base… ‘touchable’ can act as a base for prefixation to give ‘untouchable’.” In the form ‘untouchables’ the stem is ‘untouchable’.” īase: “A base is any form to which affixes of any kind can be added. ![]() Stem: “A stem is of concern only when dealing with inflectional morphology. It is that part of word-form that remains when all inflectional and derivational affixes have been removed… In the form ‘untouchables’ the root is ‘touch’.” Root: “A root is a form which is not further analysable, either in terms of derivational or inflectional morphology. Of more recent years, however, there has been some attempt to distinguish consistently between these three terms.” The Problem: “‘Root’, ‘stem’ and ‘base’ are all terms used in the literature to designate that part of a word that remains when all affixes have been removed. Let’s take a look.Įnglish Word-Formation (1983) by Laurie BauerĪs you can see below, Bauer acknowledges the root/stem/base problem and then explains a model that removes the ambiguity. In English Word-Formation (1983), Laurie Bauer explains this model succinctly and definitively. These days, most books on linguistics and morphology present a somewhat standardized model. In case you are not aware, modern linguistics and modern grammar fix many of the broken models from centuries past-i.e., models and definitions that quickly fall apart when you question them. I suspect that this is because modern linguistics has created a new meaning for the term base. ![]() They only use the term root in their basic word studies. I looked at a few current student textbooks from major publishers, and most of them don’t mention the terms base or base word. And the problems get worse from here.Īre you an elementary or middle school teacher? Have you taken a look at Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay on the homepage? That’s how easily the Traditional System falls apart. The Latin root spond comes from sponder, which means to pledge.Īlthough the teacher was looking for the answer “respond,” Student #2’s answer was the correct answer according to this Traditional System. Yes, the word respond has the prefix re- attached to the Latin root spond. Q Student #2: Isn’t re- a prefix? If re- is a prefix, then respond can’t be a base word. Q Teacher: Look at these two verbs: r es ponded and responding. The problem comes later in the day when the teacher is teaching verb tenses. Students learn that if it cannot stand alone when we remove all of the prefixes and suffixes, then it is not a base word. Students also learn that BASE WORDS can stand alone as words when we remove all of the prefixes and suffixes. Q e.g., Word: justify Latin Root: jus (law) Most of these roots cannot stand alone as words when we remove the prefixes and suffixes. Students learn that ROOTS are Greek and Latin roots. Here is a problem-filled system that, unfortunately, some students still learn. ![]() The Traditional Root and Base-Word System for Kids ![]()
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