What is the process of combining morphemes and free morphemes to create meaningful language called?

The process of combining morphemes and free morphemes to create meaningful language is referred to as morphology. Morphology focuses on the structure of words and the smallest units of meaning within a language, known as morphemes. These can be free morphemes, which can stand alone as words (like "book" or "run"), and bound morphemes, which attach to free morphemes (like the prefix "un-" in "unhappy"). By understanding how these morphemes interact, we gain insight into how language is formed and how meaning is constructed.

In contrast, syntax deals with the arrangement of words and how sentences are structured, rather than focusing on the internal composition of words themselves. Pragmatics encompasses the use of language in context, including the social aspects of communication, while metalinguistics involves thinking and talking about language itself. Therefore, these other concepts do not specifically address the combination of morphemes in meaningful language as morphology does.