Derivational Morphemes in Guihulngan-Visayan

Abstract

Studies indicate that morphology is vital in examining word systems to understand a specific language better. Morphology helps in assessing the internal structure to discover natural language and linguistics. This study employs a mixed-method design that gives a quantitative analysis of the derivational morphemes and a qualitative approach that examines the corpora made by second-year college students to understand the meanings and functions of derivational morphemes of the Visayan language, specifically the Guihulngan-Visayan because it is believed that word structures and processes can provide an efficient relationship between speakers. Although Guihulngan-Visayan is not an established dialect, significant research proved that the Visayan language is composed of different dialects unique to every place. This present study aims to uncover the features and to distinguish the characteristics of the dialect. After careful analysis of the author and the meticulous attention of the inter-raters, it was revealed that the derivative morphemes used include prefixes, infixes, and suffixes, which shows that the language has contained varied and exciting morphological methods that could influence the message of a speaker, considering that it is 'divided between grammar and lexicon.’ In summary, these kinds of morphemes should not be generalized; instead, critical understanding of the dialect should always be given priority to show proficiency and appropriate communication.