Complement - Revision history

Volker gast at 13:20, 14 June 2009

2009-06-14T13:20:42Z

Wohlgemuth: /* References */ utrecht

2009-02-12T17:47:38Z

References: utrecht

Luo: /* Example */ +

2008-06-25T18:28:21Z

Example: +

Luo: var.

2008-06-25T18:21:08Z

var.

Luo: /* Comments */

2008-06-25T18:06:07Z

Comments

Luo: example: from Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

2008-05-05T20:12:00Z

example: from Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

Skrylov: /* other languages */

2007-07-09T01:15:31Z

other languages

Skrylov: /* other languages */

2007-07-09T01:15:10Z

other languages

Linguipedia: New page: In syntax, the term '''complement''' is sometimes used in the same sense as argument. === Comments === The term is fairly common in the syntax of German (''Ergänzung''), especially i...

2007-06-25T13:04:01Z

New page: In syntax, the term '''complement''' is sometimes used in the same sense as argument. === Comments === The term is fairly common in the syntax of German (''Ergänzung''), especially i...

New page

In syntax, the term '''complement''' is sometimes used in the same sense as [[argument]].

=== Comments ===
The term is fairly common in the syntax of German (''Ergänzung''), especially in German dependency / valence grammar (e.g. Vater 1978, Engel 1988).

In English-language linguistics the term ''complement'' in this sense is common only as part of the term [[complement clause]] (= "argument clause", a clause that is an argument).

=== Polysemy ===
The term ''complement'' also refers to
* a syntactic position in the X-bar schema (see [[complement (in X-bar theory)]]).
* a non-subject [[argument]], i.e. roughly an [[object]]. (This usage seems to have been widespread in 20th century traditional grammar. In this usage, a sentence consists of [[subject]] and [[predicate]], and the predicate consists of the [[verb]] plus the complements and optional [[adjunct]]s. This meaning is standard in Russian-language linguistics.)
* a [[complement clause]] (since ''complement'' in the sense 'argument' is much rarer than ''complement clause'', this can be abbreviated to ''complement'' without serious risk of misunderstanding in many contexts; see Rosenbaum for an influential work)
* a predicate nominal (see [[complement (predicative)]])

=== Synonyms ===
*[[argument]]
*[[actant]]
*[[term (in relational grammar)]]

===Origin===
The term is not old in English (the OED's first attestation is from 1874),and its equivalents are much more common in French, German (''Ergänzung'') and Russian (''dopolnenie'').

The oldest meaning of complement seems to have been [[dependent]] (i.e. not just [[argument]]s, but also [[adjunct]]s), cf. ''Grande encyclopédie du XIX siècle'' (1868) "compléments: mots qui servent à compléter l'idée exprimée par d'autres mots" (the examples make it clear that all kinds of [[dependent]]s are meant).

=== References ===
*Engel, Ulrich. 1988. ''Deutsche Grammatik.'' Heidelberg : Groos.
*Rosenbaum, Peter S. 1967. ''The grammar of English predicate complement constructions.'' Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
*Vater, Heinz. 1978. “On the possibility of distinguighing between complements and adjuncts”. In: Abraham, Werner (ed.) ''Valence, semantic case, and grammatical relations.'' Amsterdam: Benjamins, 21-46.

===other languages===
German [[Ergänzung]], [[Komplement]]

{{dc}}
[[Category:Syntax]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:20, 14 June 2009
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−	In syntax, the term '''complement''' is sometimes used in the same sense as [[argument]].	+	In syntax, the term '''complement''' is sometimes used in the same sense as [[argument]] or, more precisely, [[argument term]]. A constituent A is the complement of another constituent B iff A is required by the valency of B. Mostly, the term 'complement' is only used for [[internal argument\|internal]], but not for [[external argument]]s, i.e. the [[subject]] of a given [[predicate]] is regarded as an [[argument]], but not as a complement of that predicate.

	=== Examples ===		=== Examples ===

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 In syntax, the term '''complement''' is sometimes used in the same sense as [[argument]].
-=== Example ===
+=== Examples ===
 YP in [H' H YP], where H is a [[head]] and H' the [[projection]] of H. According to [[X-bar theory]], the complement of a [[head]] X<sup>0</sup> is defined either as a position attached or [[adjoined]] to X', or as a sister of X<sup>0</sup>. Thus, in the configuration, either A and B are complements of X<sup>0</sup>, or just B (the [[sister]] of X<sup>0</sup>).
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
            B	X<sup>0</sup>
 Sometimes, the complement of a head X<sup>0</sup> is equated with its [[internal argument]](s).
 === Comments ===

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 In English-language linguistics the term ''complement'' in this sense is common only as part of the term [[complement clause]] (= "argument clause", a clause that is an argument).
-The term has been employed only in relation to nominal or adjectival expressions which combine with the [[copula]]. In traditional grammar, the term is used to refer to any [[word]] or [[phrase]] (other than the [[verb]] itself) which is an obligatory constituent of the [[predicate]].
+The term has been employed only in relation to nominal or adjectival expressions which combine with the [[copula]]. In traditional grammar, the term is used to refer to any [[word]] or [[phrase]] (other than the [[verb]] itself) which is an obligatory constituent of the [[predicate]] (Lyons 1968: 345).
 The difference between an [[adjunct]] and a complement is, the former is an optional (extrnuclear) [[constituent]], and the latter an obligatory (nuclear) [[constituent]] of the [[sentence]].
@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 === References ===
 *Engel, Ulrich. 1988.  ''Deutsche Grammatik.'' Heidelberg : Groos.
-*Rosenbaum, Peter S. 1967. ''The grammar of English predicate complement constructions.'' Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
+*{{: Lyons 1968}}*Rosenbaum, Peter S. 1967. ''The grammar of English predicate complement constructions.'' Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
 *Vater, Heinz. 1978. “On the possibility of distinguighing between complements and adjuncts”. In: Abraham, Werner (ed.) ''Valence, semantic case, and grammatical relations.'' Amsterdam: Benjamins, 21-46.
 ===other languages===
 *German [[Ergänzung]], [[Komplement]]
 *Russian [[Дополнение]] ([[Dopolnenie]])

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:06, 25 June 2008
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	In English-language linguistics the term ''complement'' in this sense is common only as part of the term [[complement clause]] (= "argument clause", a clause that is an argument).		In English-language linguistics the term ''complement'' in this sense is common only as part of the term [[complement clause]] (= "argument clause", a clause that is an argument).
		+
		+	The term has been employed only in relation to nominal or adjectival expressions which combine with the [[copula]]. In traditional grammar, the term is used to refer to any [[word]] or [[phrase]] (other than the [[verb]] itself) which is an obligatory constituent of the [[predicate]].
		+
		+	The difference between an [[adjunct]] and a complement is, the former is an optional (extrnuclear) [[constituent]], and the latter an obligatory (nuclear) [[constituent]] of the [[sentence]].

	=== Polysemy ===		=== Polysemy ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:12, 5 May 2008
Line 1:		Line 1:
	In syntax, the term '''complement''' is sometimes used in the same sense as [[argument]].		In syntax, the term '''complement''' is sometimes used in the same sense as [[argument]].
		+
		+	=== Example ===
		+	YP in [H' H YP], where H is a [[head]] and H' the [[projection]] of H. According to [[X-bar theory]], the complement of a [[head]] X<sup>0</sup> is defined either as a position attached or [[adjoined]] to X', or as a sister of X<sup>0</sup>. Thus, in the configuration, either A and B are complements of X<sup>0</sup>, or just B (the [[sister]] of X<sup>0</sup>).
		+
		+	X'
		+	/ \|
		+	/ \|
		+	A X'
		+	/ \|
		+	/ \|
		+	B X<sup>0</sup>
		+
		+	Sometimes, the complement of a head X<sup>0</sup> is equated with its [[internal argument]](s).

	=== Comments ===		=== Comments ===