Analysis of Inflectional Morphology in Justin Bieber's Songs

Abstract

Morphology is the study of word formation and structure, and inflection is an important aspect that changes word forms without altering meaning or category. This study aims to analyze inflectional forms of nouns, verbs, and adjectives in the lyrics of four Justin Bieber songs: Favorite Girl (2009), Love Yourself (2015), Life is Worth Living (2015), and Ghost (2021), and to observe the patterns of their use. Using a qualitative document analysis method, the researcher identified words with inflectional suffixes, categorized them by type and grammatical function, and described patterns and frequency narratively. The results show that plural nouns are most common, verbs often appear in past tense or progressive (-ing) forms, and adjectives appear in comparative and superlative forms. The songs demonstrate how inflection supports both grammatical correctness and expressive meaning, reflecting narrative, emotional, and thematic purposes. These findings highlight the practical application of inflectional morphology in creative contexts and suggest its usefulness in English language teaching using authentic media such as song lyrics.