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Morpheme Counter Calculator

Calculate Mean Length of Utterance (MLU), free-to-bound morpheme ratio, morpheme density, and Brown's Stage for language development assessment.

Inputs

Results

Mean Length of Utterance (MLU)

3

Free-to-Bound Ratio2
Morpheme Density3
Brown's Stage4
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter the text to analyze in the input field.
  2. Set the analysis language so the correct morphological rules apply.
  3. Review the total morpheme count, average morphemes per word, and morpheme-to-word ratio.
  4. Compare morpheme complexity across text samples to assess readability.
  5. Use the morpheme density score to calibrate vocabulary level for your target audience.

How the result changes with Total Utterances

Total UtterancesMean Length of Utterance (MLU)
5010.3
1,7510.09
3,2500.05
4,5000.03

What each input means

Total Morphemes
Total count of all morphemes (free + bound) in the language sample.
Total Utterances
Number of complete utterances in the sample. Standard sample is 50-100 utterances.
Free Morphemes
Morphemes that can stand alone as words (e.g., 'cat', 'run', 'big').
Bound Morphemes
Morphemes attached to free morphemes (e.g., '-s', '-ed', '-ing', 'un-').

What each result means

Mean Length of Utterance (MLU)
Average morphemes per utterance. Key measure of language development.
Free-to-Bound Ratio
Ratio of free morphemes to bound morphemes.
Morpheme Density
Morphemes per utterance, indicating morphological complexity.
Brown's Stage
Language development stage (1-5) based on MLU per Roger Brown's framework.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Total Morphemes = 150, Total Utterances = 50, Free Morphemes = 100, Bound Morphemes = 50 = 4 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Mean Length of Utterance
    Mean Length of Utterance
    3 = 3
  3. Calculate Free-to-Bound Ratio
    Free-to-Bound Ratio
    2 = 2
  4. Calculate Morpheme Density
    Morpheme Density
    3 = 3

Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.

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