Government in Government and Binding Theory
The abstract syntactic relation of government in government and binding theory, a phrase structure grammar, is an extension of the traditional notion of case government. Verbs govern their objects, and more generally, heads govern their dependents. A governs B if and only if:
- A is a governor,
- A m-commands B, and
- no barrier intervenes between A and B.
Lexical heads are assumed to be governors. Maximal projections are assumed to be barriers to government.
Read more about this topic: Government (linguistics)
Famous quotes containing the words government, binding and/or theory:
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“What is lawful is not binding only on some and not binding on others. Lawfulness extends everywhere, through the wide-ruling air and the boundless light of the sky.”
—Empedocles 484–424 B.C., Greek philosopher. The Presocratics, p. 142, ed. Philip Wheelwright, The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc. (1960)
“Osteopath—One who argues that all human ills are caused by the pressure of hard bone upon soft tissue. The proof of his theory is to be found in the heads of those who believe it.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)