633: Ambiguity: Morphemes Sep 1, 2016

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It is thought that humans store, not all individual words, but the parts of the words called morphemes separately in the mind. All affixes therefore are added on with their own meanings applied as the word is constructed. The order of the construction can lead to some confusion. The word 'unlockable' has two meanings therefore depending upon whether 'unlock' or 'lockable' came first. With the first, it means that it is able to be unlocked from its currently locked state. The second means that it is not able to be locked, such as something that is closed not with a lock but with a buckle or button; a shirt is unlockable. For more on this topic, click here for yesterday's.

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