Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics.pdf

Dictionary of language and linguistics 240higher constituent C, then A and B are said to be immediate constituents of C. (phrase structure rule, rewrite rule)immediate constituent analysisReferencesconstituent clauseTerm introduced by R.B.Lees for partial sentences which are embedded in matrixsentences. Constituent clauses are expanded constituents which are dominated in thetree diagram by an S-node which is not identical with the initial S-node (embedding).The term ‘constituent clause’ corresponds to the traditional notion of dependent orsubordinate clause.ReferenceLees, R.B. 1963. The grammar of English nominalizations. Bloomington. IN. (5th edn 1968.)constitutive ruleA rule that, by identifying certain manners of behavior as foundational of a definite typeof activity, constitutes or creates that activity. For example, kicking a ball around doesnot constitute a game of soccer until at least the basic rules of the game are followed. Oneof the constitutive rules of soccer is that kicking the ball through the opposing team’sgoalposts counts as a goal. The same principle applies to the movement of chess pieceson the chess board. Regulative rules, in contrast, are those rules that contingentlyconstrain or delimit an antecedently constituted activity. In the case of goal scoring insoccer, a couple of regulative rules are that the ball must be ‘in play’ and that one’s teammateis not permitted to pin down the opposing goalkeeper. Thus, formulations ofconstitutive rules are analytical statements since they only explicate something that isalready contained in the concept of the type of behavior concerned. According to Searle,speech acts are performed in accordance with constitutive rules: an utterance of aparticular form is a promise only under certain conditions. ( also speech act theory)