What type of word formation does morphology specifically examine?

Morphology specifically examines meaningful units that create words, known as morphemes. This branch of linguistics focuses on the structure of words and how they are formed by combining these smaller units. Morphemes can be roots, prefixes, and suffixes, and they convey specific meanings or grammatical functions. The study of morphology helps in understanding how words are constructed, how their forms change in different contexts (such as tense or number), and how they relate to one another within a language.

The other options do not align with the focus of morphology. For example, examining letters and their combinations relates more to orthography or spelling rather than the structure of words. Investigating sentences and their structures instead pertains to syntax, which looks at how words fit together to form meaningful sentences. Lastly, analyzing sound patterns falls under phonology and phonetics, which focus on the sounds of language rather than the formation and structure of words themselves.