WHAT DOES EXTRAPOSITION MEAN IN ENGLISH?
Extraposition
Extraposition is a mechanism of syntax that alters word order in such a manner that a relatively "heavy" constituent appears to the right of its canonical position. Extraposing a constituent results in a discontinuity and in this regard, it is unlike shifting, which does not generate a discontinuity. The extraposed constituent is separated from its governor by one or more words that dominate its governor. Two types of extraposition are acknowledged in theoretical syntax: standard cases where extraposition is optional and
it-extraposition where extraposition is obligatory. Extraposition is motivated in part by a desire to reduce center embedding by increasing right-branching and thus easing processing, center-embedded structures being more difficult to process. Extraposition occurs frequently in English and related languages.
Definition of extraposition in the English dictionary
The definition of extraposition in the dictionary is placement of something outside something else. Other definition of extraposition is a rule that moves embedded clauses out to the end of the main clause, converting, for example, A man who will help has just arrived into A man has just arrived who will help.
10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «EXTRAPOSITION»
Discover the use of
extraposition in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to
extraposition and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
It-
extraposition and non-
extraposition in English: a study ...
Kaltenbock shows that the exchangeability of the two structures as postulated by generative linguistics is to be qualified. Along with syntactic, semantic and stylistic aspects the work discusses mainly functional factors.
2
On Extraction and
Extraposition in German
The nine contributions to this volume document the recent lively discussions on the adequate analyses of extraction constructions, on the impact of extraction on semantic interpretation, and, above all, on the question of which ...
Uli Lutz, Jürgen Pafel,
1996
3
What Some Its Are: Non-referential It,
Extraposition, and Copies
This thesis looks to explain the syntactic and semantic behavior of non-referential uses of it that co-occur with embedded clauses.
4
Directionality and Logical Form: On the Scope of Focusing ...
5.4 Why extraposition? Chomsky (1993) makes an important proposal aimed at
restricting the descriptive power of linguistic theory, namely that overt movement
is a costly operation that should not apply without a reason. In this theory,
optional ...
5
A Unified Theory of Syntactic Categories
Extraposition of S Since the pioneering study of Ross (1967), two varieties of
extraposition from within an NP to the end of an S have been recognized. When
there is no lexical head N, as in the subcategorized [NP§] arguments discussed
in ...
6
A Student's Introduction to English Grammar
§3.1 Subject extraposition 247 Prescriptive grammar note Some writers on
scientific topics appear to think that passives are required for objectivity (The
mice were anaesthetised rather than We anaesthetised the mice). At the other
extreme, ...
Rodney D. Huddleston, Geoffrey K. Pullum,
2005
7
Discourse Patterns in Spoken and Written Corpora
In such cases only those constructions were included in the class of non-
extraposition where an extraposed counterpart was structurally possible, i.e.
independent of contextual considerations. While the availability of the extraposed
version is ...
Karin Aijmer, Anna-Brita Stenström,
2004
8
Right Node Raising and Gapping: Interface Conditions on ...
3.2.2 Right Node Raising and extraposition A further argument against the
Movement Theory is that it does not conform to well-known restrictions on
movement. Now, the fact that RNR behaves differently from leftward movement is
not in itself ...
9
Information Highlighting in Advanced Learner English: The ...
Evidently, that-, to- andfor...to-clauses prefer extraposition, wh-clauses show no
clear preference, while -ing-clauses strongly disprefer extraposition. Ward, Birner
and Huddleston (2002: 1403ff.) show that the (in-)felicity of non-extraposed ...
10
Functional Constraints in Grammar: On the ...
Compare, however, each of (39a,b) (repeated below) with each of the
corresponding sentences without Extraposition, given below: (41) a. [A man with
malignant tumors] died. b. [A man] died [with malignant tumors]. (= (39a)) (42) a. [
A man ...
Susumu Kuno, Ken?ichi Takami,
2004