Morphology refers to the shape or arrangement of something.
Morphology is the arrangement , distribution , or form of something . The term is used with different specific meanings depending on the context .
In the field of biology , morphology is the specialized area that focuses on the shape of living beings . In this way, it studies the structure and characteristics of organisms, both internally and externally.
Morphology in biology
There are different types of morphologies within biology, which can be considered subdisciplines. Let's look at the list below:
* Functional morphology : deals with the study of the organic form and traits of organisms from the point of view of function . Two of the scientists who have stood out the most in this field are David Wake and DD David ;
* descriptive morphology : aims to describe and compare different organic forms. This is framed in the context of comparative anatomy , the discipline that focuses on the analysis of anatomical similarities and differences in living beings;
* theoretical morphology : its fundamental objective is to study morphological constraints. In this context we must mention morphometry , a branch of this subdiscipline that quantifies the morphology of living beings through their reduction to numerical abstractions. For this purpose, tools such as cellular automata, fractal geometry and logarithmic patterns are used;
* evolutionary morphology : focuses on studying the history of the shape of organisms and the changes it undergoes over time.
Biology considers different types of morphology.
The concept in geography
In the field of geography , morphology is dedicated to investigating the characteristics of the surface of the planet Earth .
Also known as geomorphology , it aims at the description and understanding of surface forms and so-called geographical accidents.
Morphology in grammar
The branch of grammar devoted to the study of the structure of terms and their components is known as linguistic morphology . Its specialists investigate the internal conformation of words.
This morphology can be oriented to how new words are formed ( lexical morphology ) or to what types of words are created according to their internal elements ( inflectional morphology ).
In a morphological analysis, the smallest unit that can be isolated is called a morpheme . It is the smallest unit that has meaning. A lexeme , on the other hand, is the smallest unit that, despite not having grammatical morphemes, has lexical meaning.
The study of linguistics
Regarding the etymology of the word morphology, we can say that it comes from Greek and can be translated as "the science of form." In the specific case of linguistics , studying the form of words becomes in some way studying the words themselves, since in speech we conceive them as units and we do not stop to think about their parts.
It is important to note the difference between morphology and syntax, the two sections into which the study of languages is divided according to conventional grammar. These two concepts are related to each other in the following way: while morphology allows us to study the internal structure of words and the way in which they are formed, syntax gives us a description of the way in which they are combined to give rise to phrases, sentences and sentences.
However, according to the foundations of generative grammar , the group of theoretical foundations used to study the syntax of languages, morphology cannot be maintained as an independent branch. In some cases, there are alternations that occur due to certain phonological restrictions, which is why some aspects of morphology are included in morphophonemics .