generative morphology

Generative morphology is a linguistic approach that studies how words are formed and structured using rules. It explains how small units of meaning, like roots and affixes, combine to create words, and how these combinations follow consistent patterns across a language. Essentially, it models the mental processes speakers use to generate new words and understand existing ones, revealing the underlying system that governs word formation. This approach helps linguists understand the architecture of words and the rules that shape language development and usage.