Lemma (linguistics) facts for kids
A lemma is like the main, basic form of a word that you would find in a dictionary. Think of it as the "head word" that represents all its different versions. For example, if you look up "running" or "ran" in a dictionary, you'll usually be directed to the word "run." That's the lemma!
A lexeme is a group of words that all share the same meaning, even if they look a bit different. The lemma is the specific word chosen to represent that whole group. For instance, in English, the words run, runs, running, and ran are all part of the same lexeme because they all relate to the action of running. But run is the lemma, the main word that stands for all of them.
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What is a Lemma?
A lemma helps us organize words. Instead of having a separate dictionary entry for every single form of a word (like "run," "runs," "running," "ran"), dictionaries just list the lemma. This makes it much easier to find words and understand their meanings.
Lemmas for Nouns and Verbs
The way we pick the lemma can be different for various types of words:
- For nouns: In English, the lemma for a noun is usually its singular form. So, you'd find mouse in the dictionary, not mice.
- For verbs: For verbs, the lemma is often the infinitive form. This is the "to do" version of the verb. For example, in French it's aller (to go), in German it's gehen (to go), and in Spanish it's ir (to go). In English, we usually list the infinitive without "to," like go instead of to go.
Lemmas in Other Languages
Some languages have more complex rules for lemmas. If a language has gender (like masculine or feminine for words) and cases (different endings depending on how a word is used in a sentence), the lemma for adjectives and nouns is often the masculine singular nominative form. This is just the most basic, standard way the word appears.
Stem vs. Lemma
It's easy to mix up a "stem" and a "lemma," but they are different!
- A stem is the part of a word that usually stays the same, even when you add different endings. For example, in the word "produced," the stem is "produc-." You can see this stem in other words like "production."
- A lemma is the base form of the word, the one you'd find in the dictionary. For "produced," the lemma is "produce."
Sometimes, a lexeme (a group of related words) can have several stems but only one lemma. For example, the lemma "to go" has two different stems: "go" (as in "going") and "went" (as in "went"). This happens because "went" comes from an older, different verb, "to wend."
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