Extraction
In Transformational Grammar, the interaction of coordination and extraction (e.g. wh-fronting) has generated a lot of interest. The Coordinate Structure Constraint is the property of coordinate structures that prevents extraction of a single conjunct or from a single conjunct. Coordinate structures are said to be strong islands for extraction. For example:
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- *Who did you see and ?
- *Who did you see and Susan?
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- *Which action did the president understand and ?
These attempts at coordination fail because extraction cannot affect just one conjunct of a coordinate structure. If extraction occurs out of both conjuncts in a like fashion, however, the coordinate structure is acceptable. This trait of coordination is referred to as the Across-the-Board Constraint. For example:
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- What does and ?
There are other apparent exceptions the Coordinate Structure Constraint and the Across-the-Board generalization and their integration to existing syntactic theory has been a long-standing disciplinary desideratum.
Read more about this topic: Coordination (linguistics), Unique Behavior
Famous quotes containing the word extraction:
“Logic is the last scientific ingredient of Philosophy; its extraction leaves behind only a confusion of non-scientific, pseudo problems.”
—Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970)