COLLOQUIUM
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
University of South Carolina

Wordify! Morphology Meets Ludology

Lindsey Hudson

Linguistics Program
University of South Carolina

Date: April 1, 2011
Time: 1430-1530
Place: Sloan 112

Abstract

We present a multi-platform linguistic application, Wordify!, a suite
of games and activities based on English word morphology. Unlike other
available computer word and language games, which typically fixate on
spelling and whole word identification, Wordify! is grounded in
linguistic principles and designed to teach these to the user. It has
an underlying database of root morphemes, affixes, and morphological
rules; users play by combining database elements to create legitimate
or novel words depending on the rules of the particular game version
chosen.  The application is well-suited either as an educational
diversion or an educational tool and can be used productively by
students beginning at the upper elementary level and including
students of English as a Second Language.  The Wordify! game board is
a grid of morphemes displayed as in games such as Bejeweled. The user
exchanges tiles in the grid to form words by matching root morphemes
and affixes. Current variations score the matched words and replace
the used tiles or score the matches against a known best possible
score for the current grid. Utilizing databases both of lexical forms
and of combinatory rules, variants will recognize words as matching
English forms in the lexicon, as being well-formed but novel words not
in the lexicon, or as being not-possible words.  For instance, the
combination of slow plus the affix ly will be recognized as the
lexical word slowly.  The combination of fast plus the affix ly will
not be recognized as a lexical word, but will be counted as a
well-formed possible word, fastly. On the other hand, combining the
verb appear with the affix ly will be scored as an ill-formed
combination. A working version of the game is to be part of the
presentation.  In addition to describing pedagogical uses, our
presentation includes the linguistic background for the application
and its evolution into an implemented software package. We present the
process by which the game was designed to meet pedagogical purposes
despite the linguistic complexities of English. As one quickly
discerns, in trying to develop a linguistically-based application, the
determinism of the program implementing the game differs strongly from
the indeterminate properties of the morphology of the English
language. This requires balancing and compromise to create an
application that both works and meets pedagogical goals.  One issue
confronted is that spelling is frequently subject to special rules
lying outside the purview of the game.  For instance, compilation,
expression, and detention all involve the same affix, variously ation,
(s)ion, and tion. Our game is about morphology and not spelling and
appropriately ignores these differences. Another issue is
homophony. For instance, English has two homophonous prefixes un, one
meaning ‘not’ which attaches to adjectives and another meaning
reverse’ which attaches to verbs. The game recognizes both
possibilities and distinguishes between them when applying combinatory
rules. Other issues involve utilizing the output of combinations as
input to further combinatorics, and distinguishing between forms that
are either productive (e.g. re in rewrap, etc.) or Latinate (e.g. re
in report, etc.).


Lindsey Hudson is a graduate student in the Linguistics Program at the
University of South Carolina.  She developed Wordify! with Professors
Duncan Buell in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and
Stan Dubinsky in the Linguistics Program.