A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics David Crystal

350 parametric phonetics
(2) See parametric phonetics.
parametric phonetics An approach to phonetics which sees speech as a single
physiological system, in which the range of articulatory variables (or parameters)
in the vocal tract is seen as being continually in operation, interacting
in various ways along the time dimension to produce a continuum of sound
which listeners segment according to the rules of their language. It thus
contrasts with the traditional view of speech, where articulation is seen in
advance as a sequence of speech ‘postures’, or segments, each of which is independently
definable with reference to a set of isolatable features (places of
articulation, manner of articulation, etc.). This ‘static’ model contrasts
with the dynamic parametric model, which has led to fresh interest in the
nature of neurolinguistic control mechanisms.
paraphrase (n.) A term used in linguistics for the result or process of producing
alternative versions of a sentence or text without changing the meaning.
One sentence may have several paraphrases, e.g. The dog is eating a bone, A
bone is being eaten by the dog, It’s the dog who is eating a bone, and so on.
Most semantic theories would treat all these sentences as having a single
semantic representation (though variations in focus and presupposition
could differentiate them). Linguists use syntactic paraphrase as a major procedure
for establishing certain types of transformational relations.
parasite vowel
see anaptyxis
parasitic gap A term in later generative grammar for a syntactic gap in a
sentence which is possible only because the sentence contains an ordinary gap;
it is therefore dependent or ‘parasitic’ upon the ordinary gap. The following
example involves a parasitic gap, indicated by p, and an ordinary gap, indicated
by e: Which film did he criticize e without seeing p? The parasitic gap is possible
only because the ordinary gap is present; hence, the following is ungrammatical:
*He criticized Henry V without seeing p.
paratactic (adj.) A term used in traditional grammatical analysis, and
often found in descriptive linguistic studies, to refer to constructions of
equal status (co-ordination) which are linked solely through juxtaposition and
punctuation/intonation. ‘Paratactic constructions’ are opposed to hypotactic
ones, where a subordinate relationship is expressed. Parataxis is illustrated by
She bought tea, coffee, eggs, milk or I came; I saw; I conquered.
paratone (n.) A term occasionally used in phonology for a coherent
formal sequence of intonation units, analogous to the concept of ‘paragraph’
in writing.
parenthesis notation
see bracketing
parent language
see family
parole (n.) /pacr∞l/ A French term introduced into linguistics by Ferdinand
de Saussure (see Saussurean), to distinguish one of the senses of the word