item and process (IP)

A MODEL of description used in MORPHOLOGY for the analysis of WORDS. In this approach, the relationships between words are seen as processes of DERIVATION; e.g. the ‘item’ took is derived from the item take by a ‘process’ involving VOWEL change. For some LINGUISTS this label is applicable to any approach which makes use of derivational processes in its formulation, such as GENERATIVE grammar; but its original use was in the context of morphology.