Word formation (morphology)

In expressive language we use lots of different words and different forms of these words. Morphology refers to the rules that govern the different forms of words and the formation of different words.

Difficulties with word formation can cause confusion when children are trying to express themselves. Our speech and language therapists can assess your child’s morphology sills to determine any expressive language difficulties that may be present. Our speech and language therapists will use the information from the assessment to create a therapy programme that works on increasing your child’s word formation skills.

A word is a sound or a group of sounds that are articulated to express a thought, idea or object. These individual words can be built on by using morphemes to create other words that share some meaning but express other information as well. A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in language, therefore morphemes do not always have to be a word.

One word can have different forms that serve different purposes in an utterance. Morphemes can be added to the base word to create other words. The word pain is a noun that can be built on to create different word forms e.g. painless, painfully and pains.

Developing the use of different word forms helps a child express themselves more clearly and effectively. The use of different word forms helps communication as there is less chance of being misunderstood.

Difficulties with word formation (morphology) can affect a child’s expressive language skills. For example:

• Difficulty expressing plural forms e.g. singers, bushes, smiles.
• Difficulty expressing tense e.g. jumped, ran, gave.
• Difficulty using correct word form e.g. cut instead of cutted.
• Difficulty using correct prefixes or suffixes.
• Limited use of grammatical markers.
• Difficulty expressing negatives e.g. not and no.

Children who struggle with word formation may find it difficult to use additions to words that explain details such as plurals and tense. Children may use the additions in the wrong manner or they may not use it all. This can sometimes cause miscommunication as the child can be unclear about specifics like plurals.

Our speech and language therapists help children who have difficulties with word formation and morphology by providing a therapy programme that increases and develops their word formation and use of different word forms. Our speech and language therapists will work with parents and schools to create a therapy programme that can be implemented across all the child’s environments.

Our speech and language therapists can provide an individualised therapy programme that targets your child’s specific areas of difficulty. Our speech and language therapists aim to include your child’s motivators and goals, as well as yours and the school's priorities.

Speech and language therapy available includes:

• Group therapy.
• Individual therapy.
• Training, advice, support and strategies for parents, carers, teachers and other professionals.

Speech and language therapy can improve a child’s morphological skills by teaching them strategies on how to create different word forms and when it is appropriate to use them in speech. Speech and language therapy can increase a child’s educational attainment, literacy and reading skills.

If you think your child’s expressive language is being impacted by difficulties with word formation and different word forms, email office@sltforkids.co.uk or call 0330 088 2298 to speak to one of our friendly speech and language therapists.