Usage Of Zero Unit And Zero Morpheme In Language

Some language units are left in deep structure during communication due to least effort law in language, necessity of keeping away from unnecessary repetitions, aesthetical concerns etc. and consequently some spaces come up in surface structure. Zero unit (Ø) is used for words / phrases and zero morpheme (-Ø) is used for suffixes for the purpose of showing these spaces. Zero unit / zero morpheme express the language units which don’t have any indicators in surface structure but have a function in language system. They are common indicators of these language units. Accordingly the language units that are described by each zero unit / zero morpheme and their functions are different. Many language units are described by zero unit / zero morpheme in surface structure in language. The aim of this study is to determine the areas of usage of zero unit / zero morpheme in language.

Keywords

Zero unit, zero morpheme, ellipsis, surface structure, deep structure.