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ion, -ist, and the grammatical suffix of plurality -s. All these
morphemes constitute the external structure of the word post-
impressionists. The internal structure of the word, or its meaning,
is nowadays commonly referred to as the word's semantic
structure. This is the word's main aspect. Words can serve the
purposes of human communication solely due to their meanings.
b) Another structural aspect of the word is its unity. The
word possesses both its external (or formal) unity and semantic
unity. The formal unity of the word is sometimes inaccurately
interpreted as indivisibility. The example of postimpressionists has
already shown that the word is not, strictly speaking, indivisible,
though permanently linked. The formal unity of the word can best
be illustrated by comparing a word and a word-group comprising
identical constituents. The difference between a blackbird and a
black bird is best explained by their relationship with the
grammatical system of the language. The word blackbird, which is
characterized by unity, possesses a single grammatical framing:
blackbirds. The first constituent black is not subject to any
grammatical changes. In the word-group a black bird each
constituent can acquire grammatical forms of its own: the blackest
birds I've ever seen. Other words can be inserted between the
components which is impossible so far as the word is concerned as
it would violate its unity: a black night bird. The same example
may be used to illustrate what we mean by semantic unity. In the
word-group a black bird each of the meaningful words conveys a
separate concept: bird – a kind of living creature; black – a color.
The word blackbird conveys only one concept: the type of bird.
This is one of the main features of any word: it always conveys
one concept, no matter how many component morphemes it may
have in its external structure. . The difference between a song-bird
and a song bird is explained by their relationship with the
grammatical system of the language.
c) A further structural feature of the word is its susceptibility
to grammatical employment. In speech most words can be used in

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