A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics David Crystal

C
C An abbreviation in government-binding theory for the category complementizer,
generally abbreviated in earlier work as comp. This abbreviation
is associated with the idea that complementizer is a head of phrase category
broadly similar to noun, verb, adjective and preposition, with associated
single-bar and double-bar categories, Cc and C″. C″, usually referred to as
CP, is the largest unit of grammatical analysis (the initial symbol), equivalent
to S′ in earlier government-binding theory, lexical functional grammar and
generalized phrase-structure grammar.
calculus (n.)
see predicate (2), proposition
calque (n.) (from French calquer, ‘to trace’) A term used in comparative and
historical linguistics to refer to a type of borrowing, where the morphemic
constituents of the borrowed word or phrase are translated item by item into
equivalent morphemes in the new language. Such ‘loan translations’ are illustrated
in English power politics from German Machtpolitik, Superman from
Übermensch.
cancellation (n.)
see category
candidate (n.) A term in optimality theory referring to a potential output
form. A set of candidates is generated and then evaluated so as to find the
optimal choice – the one with the fewest lowest violations. it is symbolized
by + in an optimality tableau.
canonical (adj.) An application in linguistics and phonetics of the general
sense of this term, to refer to a linguistic form cited as a norm or standard
for purposes of comparison. In phonology, for example, the normal syllabic
combinations of sounds in a language (or in language as a whole) are often
referred to as ‘canonical’, e.g. a consonant-vowel (CV) or CVC structure
constitutes a ‘canonical syllable’ pattern; an averaged waveform in automatic
speech recognition may be described as a ‘canonical waveform’. In morphology
the term is used sometimes to refer to the typical phonological
shape of morphemes in a language (e.g. CVCV in Polynesian), and sometimes
A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics 6th Edition. David Crystal
© 2008 David Crystal. ISBN: 978-1-405-15296-9