What does morphology study in the context of language?

Morphology is the branch of linguistics that focuses on the structure and formation of words in a language. It analyzes the meaningful units, known as morphemes, which can be whole words or parts of words like prefixes and suffixes. Through morphology, we understand how these units combine to form words and convey meaning, making it essential for language comprehension and development. This discipline allows linguists and educators to explore how language is structured and how meanings change with the addition or alteration of morphemes.

The other options, while related to language, focus on different aspects. The historical and cultural origins of words pertain to etymology, the rule system for phoneme sequencing is the domain of phonology, and the process of how infants learn to communicate is discussed within the field of language acquisition. Thus, the focus on meaningful units of language and word structure aligns precisely with the study of morphology.