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linear phonology 281
light verb In grammar, a term describing a verb whose meaning is so unspecific
that it needs a complement in order to function effectively as a predicate.
Examples in English include make, have and give, as used in such phrases as she
made a sign, we had a look and they gave an answer. In many cases an alternative
lexical verb with a more specific meaning is available, as in she signed,
we looked and they answered. The term is also used for such verbs as suru
in Japanese – a thematically incomplete verb which adds case-marking to its
complement but requires another verb in order to theta-mark it. The notion is
important in relation to the analysis of complex predication in governmentbinding
theory and the minimalist programme.
line (n.)
see association line
linear correspondence axiom An axiom of generative syntax about phrase
structure, where the notion of linear order is abandoned as a grammatical
primitive; proposed by Richard Kayne (b. 1944). Instead, linear order is
derived from asymmetric c-command: when A asymmetrically c-commands B,
A precedes B.
linear grammar A term used in computational linguistics for a type
of grammar which describes only linear or non-hierarchical aspects of
strings; also known as regular grammar. If the non-terminal symbol is the
leftmost symbol on the right-hand side of a rule, the grammar is a left-linear
grammar; if it is the rightmost, it is a right-linear grammar. For example, a
right-linear grammar has rules of the form A ⇒ aB, B ⇒ b. See also finitestate
grammar.
linearity (n.) (1) A term used in linguistics to describe the characteristic
representation of language as a unidimensional sequence of elements or
rules. The assumption is made that it is possible to order rules in a sequence,
and to adhere strictly to this ordering in constructing derivations without any
loss of generality (compared to an unordered set of rules or a set ordered on
a different principle, e.g. one of simultaneous application). It is also claimed that
linear ordering makes it possible to formulate grammatical processes that would
otherwise not be expressible with complete generality.
(2) In phonology, linearity is an organizational principle, whereby each occurrence
of a phoneme is associated with a specific sequence of phones (minimally,
one phone) which realize that phoneme. If phoneme A precedes phoneme B,
then phone(s) A′ will precede phone(s) B′. Linearity is thus one of the preconditions
of biuniqueness. The principle is criticized by generative phonologists, as part
of a general attack on taxonomic phonemics.
(3) A family of faithfulness constraints in optimality theory which
evaluates, along with contiguity, the degree of preservation of adjacency
ordering of segments between two forms. It penalizes changes in segment
ordering between the two corresponding representations. metathesis is an
example of a phenomenon which violates linearity.
linear phonology
see non-linear phonology