Trace (linguistics)
Encyclopedia
In transformational grammar
, a trace is an empty (phonologically null) category that occupies a position in the syntactic structure. In some theories of syntax, traces are used in the account of constructions such as wh-movement
and passive
.
Traces are important theoretical devices in some approaches to syntax.
speakers, the contraction
of want to to wanna is possible in some contexts, but not in others:
One way to explain this contrast is to assume that the trace left behind by the extraction of which candidate in the second example blocks the contraction of want and to.
The statement "I want John to go" is transformed into an 'echo'-question. If "who" is moved to the beginning of the sentence, it will leave a trace. The existence of the trace will make it impossible to contract "want" and "to". Consider the following:
Vicky wants that candidate to win.> Vicky wants which candidate to win?
> Which candidate does Vicky want to win? (not "Which candidate does Vicky wanna win?")
However, the validity of this and similar
arguments have been called into question by linguists favoring non-transformational approaches.
, traces are subject to the empty category principle
(ECP), which states that all traces must be "properly governed". Proper government is either theta-government or antecedent-government:
However, intermediate traces are not subject to the ECP because they are deleted at LF (logical form
).
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...
, a trace is an empty (phonologically null) category that occupies a position in the syntactic structure. In some theories of syntax, traces are used in the account of constructions such as wh-movement
Wh-movement
Wh-movement is a syntactic phenomenon found in many languages around the world, in which interrogative words or phrases show a special word order. Unlike ordinary phrases, such wh-words appear at the beginning of an interrogative clause...
and passive
English passive voice
The passive voice is a grammatical construction in which the subject of a sentence or clause denotes the recipient of the action rather than the performer...
.
Traces are important theoretical devices in some approaches to syntax.
Evidence for traces
Empirical evidence pointing to the existence of traces, independently of all theory-specific considerations, has also been presented in the literature. For example, for many EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
speakers, the contraction
Contraction (grammar)
A contraction is a shortened version of the written and spoken forms of a word, syllable, or word group, created by omission of internal letters....
of want to to wanna is possible in some contexts, but not in others:
- Which candidate does Vicky want to vote for t? → Which candidate does Vicky wanna vote for?
- Which candidate does Vicky want t to win the election? → *Which candidate does Vicky wanna win the election?
One way to explain this contrast is to assume that the trace left behind by the extraction of which candidate in the second example blocks the contraction of want and to.
The statement "I want John to go" is transformed into an 'echo'-question. If "who" is moved to the beginning of the sentence, it will leave a trace. The existence of the trace will make it impossible to contract "want" and "to". Consider the following:
Vicky wants that candidate to win.
> Vicky wants which candidate to win?
^ v
|____________|
> Which candidate does Vicky want to win? (not "Which candidate does Vicky wanna win?")However, the validity of this and similar
arguments have been called into question by linguists favoring non-transformational approaches.
Principles that regulate traces
In government and binding theoryGovernment and binding theory
Government and binding is a theory of syntax and a phrase structure grammar in the tradition of transformational grammar developed principally by Noam Chomsky in the 1980s...
, traces are subject to the empty category principle
Empty category principle
In linguistics, the empty category principle was proposed in Noam Chomsky's syntactic framework of government and binding theory. The ECP is supposed to be a universal syntactic constraint that requires traces to be properly governed....
(ECP), which states that all traces must be "properly governed". Proper government is either theta-government or antecedent-government:
- Who did John say that Mary saw t? (The verb "see" both governs and theta-marks the trace, so the trace is theta-governed.)
- Who t said that? (The wh-word governs the trace and is coindexed with it, so the trace is antecedent-governed.)
However, intermediate traces are not subject to the ECP because they are deleted at LF (logical form
Logical form (linguistics)
In the field of linguistics, particularly in the minimalist program, Logical Form , refers to a mental representation of a linguistic expression, derived solely from Surface Structure. In the words of Chomsky, LF captures "those aspects of semantic representation that are strictly determined by...
).