Endocentric
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, an endocentric construction is a grammatical construction that fulfills the same linguistic function as one of its parts. An endocentric construction is not an exocentric construction, and an exocentric construction is not an endocentric construction. In other words, the two concepts are mutually exclusive, so the one concept cannot be understood without an understanding of the other. The distinction reaches back at least to Bloomfield
's work. It exists only in phrase structure grammars
(= constituency grammars), and is therefore impossible in dependency grammars
, where all constructions are necessarily endocentric.
and one or more optional, dependent words, whose presence serves to narrow the meaning of the head. For example,
(1) big house -Noun phrase (NP)
(2) sing songs -Verb phrase (VP)
(3) very long -Adjective phrase (AP)
are indisputably endocentric constructions. They are endocentric because the one word in each case carries the bulk of the semantic content and determines the grammatical category to which the whole constituent
will be assigned. The phrase big house is a noun phrase
in line with its part house, which is a noun. Similarly, sing songs is a verb phrase
in line with its part sing, which is a verb. The same is true of very long; it is a an adjective phrase in line with its part long, which is an adjective. In more formal terms, the distribution of an endocentric construction is functionally equivalent, or approaching equivalence, to one of its parts, which serves as the center, or head, of the whole. An endocentric construction is also known as a headed construction, where the head is contained "inside" the construction.
). The traditional binary division of the sentence (S) into a subject
noun phrase
(NP) and predicate
verb phrase
(VP) was exocentric:
(4) Hannibal destroyed Rome. -Sentence (S)
Since the whole is unlike either of its parts, it is exocentric. In other words, since the whole is neither a noun (N) like Hannibal nor a verb phrase (VP) like destroyed Rome but rather a sentence (S), it is exocentric. With the advent of X-bar Theory
in Transformational Grammar
in the 1970s, this traditional exocentric division was largely abandoned and replaced by an endocentric analysis, whereby the sentence is viewed as an inflection phrase (IP), which is essentially a projection of the verb (a fact that makes the sentence a big VP in a sense). Thus with the advent of X-bar Theory, the endocentric vs. exocentric distinction started to become less important in the theory of syntax, for without the concept of exocentricity, the notion of endocentricity was becoming vacuous. In theories of morphology
however, the distinction remains, since certain compounds seem to require an exocentric analysis, e.g. have-not in Bill is a have-not.
, since they are dependency-based. In other words, all dependency-based structures are necessarily endocentric, i.e. they are necessarily headed structures. Dependency grammars by definition were never capable of acknowledging the types of divisions that constituency enables. Acknowledging exocentric structure necessitates that one posit more nodes in the syntactic (or morphological) structure than one has actual words or morphs in the phrase or sentence at hand. What this means is that a significant tradition in the study of syntax and grammar has been incapable from the start of acknowledging the endo- vs. exocentric distinction, a fact that has generated confusion about what should count as an endo- or exocentric structure.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, an endocentric construction is a grammatical construction that fulfills the same linguistic function as one of its parts. An endocentric construction is not an exocentric construction, and an exocentric construction is not an endocentric construction. In other words, the two concepts are mutually exclusive, so the one concept cannot be understood without an understanding of the other. The distinction reaches back at least to Bloomfield
Leonard Bloomfield
Leonard Bloomfield was an American linguist who led the development of structural linguistics in the United States during the 1930s and the 1940s. His influential textbook Language, published in 1933, presented a comprehensive description of American structural linguistics...
's work. It exists only in phrase structure grammars
Phrase structure grammar
The term phrase structure grammar was originally introduced by Noam Chomsky as the term for grammars as defined by phrase structure rules, i.e. rewrite rules of the type studied previously by Emil Post and Axel Thue...
(= constituency grammars), and is therefore impossible in dependency grammars
Dependency grammar
Dependency grammar is a class of modern syntactic theories that are all based on the dependency relation and that can be traced back primarily to the work of Lucien Tesnière. Dependency grammars are distinct from phrase structure grammars , since they lack phrasal nodes. Structure is determined by...
, where all constructions are necessarily endocentric.
Endocentric construction
An endocentric construction consists of an obligatory headHead (linguistics)
In linguistics, the head is the word that determines the syntactic type of the phrase of which it is a member, or analogously the stem that determines the semantic category of a compound of which it is a component. The other elements modify the head....
and one or more optional, dependent words, whose presence serves to narrow the meaning of the head. For example,
(1) big house -Noun phrase (NP)
(2) sing songs -Verb phrase (VP)
(3) very long -Adjective phrase (AP)
are indisputably endocentric constructions. They are endocentric because the one word in each case carries the bulk of the semantic content and determines the grammatical category to which the whole constituent
Constituent (linguistics)
In syntactic analysis, a constituent is a word or a group of words that functions as a single unit within a hierarchical structure. The analysis of constituent structure is associated mainly with phrase structure grammars, although dependency grammars also allow sentence structure to be broken down...
will be assigned. The phrase big house is a noun phrase
Noun phrase
In grammar, a noun phrase, nominal phrase, or nominal group is a phrase based on a noun, pronoun, or other noun-like word optionally accompanied by modifiers such as adjectives....
in line with its part house, which is a noun. Similarly, sing songs is a verb phrase
Verb phrase
In linguistics, a verb phrase or VP is a syntactic unit composed of at least one verb and the dependents of that verb. One can distinguish between two types of VPs, finite VPs and non-finite VPs . While phrase structure grammars acknowledge both, dependency grammars reject the existence of a...
in line with its part sing, which is a verb. The same is true of very long; it is a an adjective phrase in line with its part long, which is an adjective. In more formal terms, the distribution of an endocentric construction is functionally equivalent, or approaching equivalence, to one of its parts, which serves as the center, or head, of the whole. An endocentric construction is also known as a headed construction, where the head is contained "inside" the construction.
Exocentric construction
An exocentric construction consists of two or more parts, whereby the one or the other of the parts cannot be viewed as providing the bulk of the semantic content of the whole. Further, the syntactic distribution of the whole cannot be viewed as being determined by the one or the other of the parts. The classic instance of an exocentric construction is the sentence (in a phrase structure grammarPhrase structure grammar
The term phrase structure grammar was originally introduced by Noam Chomsky as the term for grammars as defined by phrase structure rules, i.e. rewrite rules of the type studied previously by Emil Post and Axel Thue...
). The traditional binary division of the sentence (S) into a subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
noun phrase
Noun phrase
In grammar, a noun phrase, nominal phrase, or nominal group is a phrase based on a noun, pronoun, or other noun-like word optionally accompanied by modifiers such as adjectives....
(NP) and predicate
Predicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
verb phrase
Verb phrase
In linguistics, a verb phrase or VP is a syntactic unit composed of at least one verb and the dependents of that verb. One can distinguish between two types of VPs, finite VPs and non-finite VPs . While phrase structure grammars acknowledge both, dependency grammars reject the existence of a...
(VP) was exocentric:
(4) Hannibal destroyed Rome. -Sentence (S)
Since the whole is unlike either of its parts, it is exocentric. In other words, since the whole is neither a noun (N) like Hannibal nor a verb phrase (VP) like destroyed Rome but rather a sentence (S), it is exocentric. With the advent of X-bar Theory
X-bar theory
X-bar theory is a component of linguistic theory which attempts to identify syntactic features presumably common to all those human languages that fit in a presupposed framework...
in Transformational Grammar
Transformational grammar
In linguistics, a transformational grammar or transformational-generative grammar is a generative grammar, especially of a natural language, that has been developed in the Chomskyan tradition of phrase structure grammars...
in the 1970s, this traditional exocentric division was largely abandoned and replaced by an endocentric analysis, whereby the sentence is viewed as an inflection phrase (IP), which is essentially a projection of the verb (a fact that makes the sentence a big VP in a sense). Thus with the advent of X-bar Theory, the endocentric vs. exocentric distinction started to become less important in the theory of syntax, for without the concept of exocentricity, the notion of endocentricity was becoming vacuous. In theories of morphology
Morphology
Morphology may mean:*Morphology , the study of the structure and content of word forms*Morphology , the study of the form or shape of an organism or part thereof...
however, the distinction remains, since certain compounds seem to require an exocentric analysis, e.g. have-not in Bill is a have-not.
The distinction in dependency grammars
The endo- vs. exocentric distinction is possible in phrase structure grammars (=constituency grammars) only, since they are constituency-based. The distinction is impossible in dependency grammarsDependency grammar
Dependency grammar is a class of modern syntactic theories that are all based on the dependency relation and that can be traced back primarily to the work of Lucien Tesnière. Dependency grammars are distinct from phrase structure grammars , since they lack phrasal nodes. Structure is determined by...
, since they are dependency-based. In other words, all dependency-based structures are necessarily endocentric, i.e. they are necessarily headed structures. Dependency grammars by definition were never capable of acknowledging the types of divisions that constituency enables. Acknowledging exocentric structure necessitates that one posit more nodes in the syntactic (or morphological) structure than one has actual words or morphs in the phrase or sentence at hand. What this means is that a significant tradition in the study of syntax and grammar has been incapable from the start of acknowledging the endo- vs. exocentric distinction, a fact that has generated confusion about what should count as an endo- or exocentric structure.