Introducing Morphology

In this chapter we consider more closely what we mean by a word. We begin by contrasting the differences between the mental lexicon and dictionaries. We then introduce students to the methods and techniques that psycholinguists use for studying the mental lexicon. We look at reaction time experiments, brain imaging, and the ways in which we can study individuals with aphasia and genetic disorders that affect lexical knowledge. Students are introduced to how children acquire morphology. We then look at English past tense morphology in the context of the ‘storage versus rules’ debate, considering what experimentation, brain imaging, and the study of aphasia and genetic disorders tell us about this controversy. The chapter ends with a brief history of dictionaries.