Restrictiveness
Encyclopedia
In semantics
, a modifier
is said to be restrictive (or defining) if it restricts the reference of its head
. For example, in "the red car is fancier than the blue one", red and blue are restrictive, because they restrict which cars car and one are referring to. ("The car is fancier than the one" would make little sense.) By contrast, in "John's beautiful wife", beautiful is non-restrictive; presuming John has only one wife, "John's wife" identifies her sufficiently, while "beautiful" only serves to add more information. (Note that in the case, unusual in the West, that John had multiple wives, only one of whom was considered "beautiful", the modifier could be used in the restrictive sense.)
Restrictive modifiers are also called defining, identifying, essential, or necessary; non-restrictive ones are also called non-defining, non-identifying, descriptive, or unnecessary (though this last term can be misleading). In certain cases, generally when restrictiveness is marked syntactically
through the lack of commas, restrictive modifiers are called integrated and non-restrictive ones are called non-integrated or supplementary.
s: non-restrictive ones are set off in writing by using commas, and in speech through intonation
(with a pause beforehand and an uninterrupted melody), while restrictive ones are not. Further, while restrictive clauses are often headed by the relative pronoun
that or by a zero relative pronoun
, non-restrictive clauses are not. For example:
(*In formal American English
, the use of which as a restrictive pronoun is often considered to be incorrect. See That or which.)
While English does not consistently mark ordinary adjective
s for restrictiveness, they can be marked by moving them into relative clauses. For example, "the red car is fancier than the blue one" can be rewritten as, "the car that's red is fancier than the one that's blue," and "John's beautiful wife" can be rewritten as "John's wife, who is beautiful." English speakers do not generally find such locutions necessary, however.
and Portuguese
are notable for marking all descriptive adjectives for restrictiveness: restrictive adjectives follow their nouns, while non-restrictive (explicative) ones precede them. Italian
employs the same mechanism to an extent. An example in Portuguese:
Many languages, such as German
and Japanese
, do not mark restrictiveness explicitly. In Dutch
, only written language distinguishes restrictive clauses by leaving out the comma
that would normally follow the noun.
French
tends to mark restrictive clauses in the same way as English, and the Hebrew Academy endorses English-style punctuation (though it is not in universal use among Hebrew-speakers).
Turkish
has a tendency to assume restrictiveness in adjectives more so than in English, in some cases requiring that non-restrictiveness be specified. For example, if the English sentence "He came with his tall son" were translated mechanically "Uzun boylu oğluyla geldi", it would be understood to mean both that the man in question has more than one son, and that he came with the tallest of them, neither of which is understood from the English sentence. Even the rendering "Uzun boylu olan oğluyla geldi", "He came with his son who is tall", would be understood similarly. Neither can commas be used to specify restrictiveness or non-restrictiveness. A translator would have to provide the information that the son is tall separately, eg. "Uzun boylu bir oğlu vardı; onunla birlikte geldi" ("He had a tall son; he came with him").
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
, a modifier
Grammatical modifier
In grammar, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure; the removal of the modifier typically doesn't affect the grammaticality of the sentence....
is said to be restrictive (or defining) if it restricts the reference of its head
Head (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....
. For example, in "the red car is fancier than the blue one", red and blue are restrictive, because they restrict which cars car and one are referring to. ("The car is fancier than the one" would make little sense.) By contrast, in "John's beautiful wife", beautiful is non-restrictive; presuming John has only one wife, "John's wife" identifies her sufficiently, while "beautiful" only serves to add more information. (Note that in the case, unusual in the West, that John had multiple wives, only one of whom was considered "beautiful", the modifier could be used in the restrictive sense.)
Restrictive modifiers are also called defining, identifying, essential, or necessary; non-restrictive ones are also called non-defining, non-identifying, descriptive, or unnecessary (though this last term can be misleading). In certain cases, generally when restrictiveness is marked syntactically
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
through the lack of commas, restrictive modifiers are called integrated and non-restrictive ones are called non-integrated or supplementary.
Restrictiveness in English
English does not generally mark modifiers for restrictiveness. The only modifiers that are consistently marked for restrictiveness are relative clauseRelative clause
A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun phrase, most commonly a noun. For example, the phrase "the man who wasn't there" contains the noun man, which is modified by the relative clause who wasn't there...
s: non-restrictive ones are set off in writing by using commas, and in speech through intonation
Intonation (linguistics)
In linguistics, intonation is variation of pitch while speaking which is not used to distinguish words. It contrasts with tone, in which pitch variation does distinguish words. Intonation, rhythm, and stress are the three main elements of linguistic prosody...
(with a pause beforehand and an uninterrupted melody), while restrictive ones are not. Further, while restrictive clauses are often headed by the relative pronoun
Relative pronoun
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates the relative clause to the noun that it modifies. In English, the relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, whosever, whosesoever, which, and, in some...
that or by a zero relative pronoun
Zero (linguistics)
A zero, in linguistics, is a constituent needed in an analysis but not realized in speech. This implies that there is a lack of an element where a theory would expect one. It is usually written with the symbol "", in Unicode .There are several kind of zeros....
, non-restrictive clauses are not. For example:
- Restrictive: We saw two puppies this morning: one that was born yesterday, and one that was born last week. The one that (or which*) was born yesterday is tiny.
- Non-restrictive: We saw a puppy and a kitty this morning. The puppy, which was born yesterday, was tiny.
(*In formal American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
, the use of which as a restrictive pronoun is often considered to be incorrect. See That or which.)
While English does not consistently mark ordinary adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
s for restrictiveness, they can be marked by moving them into relative clauses. For example, "the red car is fancier than the blue one" can be rewritten as, "the car that's red is fancier than the one that's blue," and "John's beautiful wife" can be rewritten as "John's wife, who is beautiful." English speakers do not generally find such locutions necessary, however.
Restrictiveness in other languages
SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
are notable for marking all descriptive adjectives for restrictiveness: restrictive adjectives follow their nouns, while non-restrictive (explicative) ones precede them. Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
employs the same mechanism to an extent. An example in Portuguese:
- Os estudantes inteligentes tiraram 10 na prova. (The intelligent students got an A in the test, where only the intelligent students got an A - restrictive.)
- Os inteligentes estudantes tiraram 10 na prova. (The intelligent students got an A in the test, where all of them got an A because they are intelligent - explicative.)
Many languages, such as German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, do not mark restrictiveness explicitly. In Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, only written language distinguishes restrictive clauses by leaving out the comma
Comma (punctuation)
The comma is a punctuation mark. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline of the text. Some typefaces render it as a small line, slightly curved or straight but inclined from the vertical, or...
that would normally follow the noun.
French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
tends to mark restrictive clauses in the same way as English, and the Hebrew Academy endorses English-style punctuation (though it is not in universal use among Hebrew-speakers).
Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
has a tendency to assume restrictiveness in adjectives more so than in English, in some cases requiring that non-restrictiveness be specified. For example, if the English sentence "He came with his tall son" were translated mechanically "Uzun boylu oğluyla geldi", it would be understood to mean both that the man in question has more than one son, and that he came with the tallest of them, neither of which is understood from the English sentence. Even the rendering "Uzun boylu olan oğluyla geldi", "He came with his son who is tall", would be understood similarly. Neither can commas be used to specify restrictiveness or non-restrictiveness. A translator would have to provide the information that the son is tall separately, eg. "Uzun boylu bir oğlu vardı; onunla birlikte geldi" ("He had a tall son; he came with him").
Sources
On the intonation question, see Beverly Colins and Inger M. Mees, Practical Phonetics and Phonology, Routledge 2003.See also
- Relative pronounRelative pronounA relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates the relative clause to the noun that it modifies. In English, the relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, whosever, whosesoever, which, and, in some...
- Relative clauseRelative clauseA relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun phrase, most commonly a noun. For example, the phrase "the man who wasn't there" contains the noun man, which is modified by the relative clause who wasn't there...
- English relative clausesEnglish relative clausesAs in many other languages, an English relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun phrase, most commonly a noun. Relative clauses in English often contain a relative pronoun, but sometimes the relative pronoun is omitted.The relative pronouns in English are who, whom, whose,...
- AppositionAppositionApposition is a grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side, with one element serving to define or modify the other. When this device is used, the two elements are said to be in apposition...