Dependency Theory: A Formalism and Some Observations

Abstract

1. I ntroduction . In the general theory of linguistics, dependency theory competes for the same role as immediate-constituent (IC) theory: each formalizes a view of tactic relations among elementary units in utterances. In each theory, a finite apparatus is taken to characterize (or generate ) a set of utterances that may be infinite. In addition, each theory specifies a structure, or perhaps alternative structures, for each utterance it generates.