A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics David Crystal

34 arity
other term to the predicate with which it combines to form a simple proposition.
For example, in the proposition, the boy is naughty, the boy is an ‘argument’
of the proposition. In case grammar, each underlying proposition is
analysed in terms of a predicate word and an unordered set of argument slots,
each of which is labelled according to its semantic (‘case’) relationship with
the predicate word. In later generative grammar, the term is used to refer to
any noun phrase position within a sentence (i.e. functioning as subject,
object, etc.). In government-binding theory, an argument is an expression
with a theta role, and the position to which a theta role can be assigned is
called an A(rgument)-position. An internal argument is an argument of the verb
that does not include the subject; an external argument is an argument of the
verb that does include the subject. External arguments may differ depending on
how a sentence is understood: for example, in John broke his leg, John is an
agent if John and his refer to different people, but it is a patient if his is
co-referential. The preservation of argument structure under morphological
operations is termed inheritance (e.g. verb-derived nouns in -ing allow inheritance
of all the input verb’s arguments, as in the putting of the ladder against
the wall). A preferred argument structure is a demonstrable discourse preference
in a language for the use of a particular syntactic structure – for
example, a tendency for lexical NPs to appear as the subject of an intransitive
verb rather than of a transitive verb. An argument which is not overtly
expressed (as when the agent of a passive sentence is left unstated) is called an
implicit argument.
arity (n.)
see valency
arrangement (n.) A term used in linguistics to refer to any sequence of
linguistic elements in terms of their relative position, or distribution, e.g.
the possible combinations of phonemes within syllables and words, or of
morphemes within words and sentences. This notion is fundamental to the
item-and-arrangement model of linguistic description.
article (n.) (art) A term used in the grammatical classification of words,
referring to a subclass of determiners which displays a primary role in differentiating
the uses of nouns, e.g. the/a in English. Many languages have no
article system (e.g. Russian). Of those which do, a distinction is usually made
into definite and indefinite (or non-definite) types, partly on semantic and
partly on grammatical grounds. Articles may appear before the noun (as in
English), or after (as in Swedish). See also zero.
articulation (n.) (1) The general term in phonetics for the physiological movements
involved in modifying an airflow to produce the various types of speech
sounds, using the vocal tract above the larynx. Sounds are classified in terms
of their place and manner of articulation in the vocal apparatus (the articulatory
apparatus). Reference is usually made to the nature of the airstream
mechanism, the action of the vocal folds, the position of the soft palate,
and the other organs in the mouth – tongue and lips in particular. Any specific
part of the vocal apparatus involved in the production of a sound is called an