In speech therapy, what does morphology study?

Morphology in speech therapy focuses on the study of word structures. It examines how words are formed from morphemes, which are the smallest units of meaning in a language. For example, in the word "unhappiness," there are three morphemes: "un-" (a prefix meaning "not"), "happy" (the root word), and "-ness" (a suffix that turns an adjective into a noun). By understanding morphology, speech therapists can help clients with language disorders gain insights into how different prefixes and suffixes alter meaning and grammatical function, thereby aiding in vocabulary acquisition and sentence creation.

The other options refer to different linguistic aspects: sound patterns pertain to phonetics and phonology; sentence formation relates to syntax, the arrangement of words to create sentences; and discourse patterns involve the structure and flow of larger units of speech beyond sentences. Thus, the focus of morphology specifically on word structures distinguishes it from these other areas of study.