What is Branching?
'''Branching''' is a term in [[linguistics]]. It refers to the way a [[phrase]] or [[sentence]] is made up. There is a '''head word''' and various other words to make the phrase or sentence. ==Examples== Most languages make phrases with a head word and dependents (modifiers). These examples show the phrase heads in bold. Examples of left-branching phrases (= head-final phrases): ::the '''house''' <small>- Noun phrase (NP)</small> ::very '''happy''' <small>- Adjective phrase (AP)</small> ::too '''slowly''' <small>- Adverb phrase (AdvP)<br></small> Examples of right-branching phrases (= head-initial phrases): ::'''laugh''' loudly <small>- Verb phrase (VP)</small> ::'''with''' luck <small>- Prepositional phrase (PP)</small> ::'''that''' it happened <small>- Subordinator phrase (SP = subordinate clause)</small> Example of phrases that contain both left- and right-branching (= head-medial phrases): ::the '''house''' there <small>- Noun phrase (NP)</small> ::very '''happy''' with it <small>- Adjective phrase (AP)</small> ::only '''laugh''' loudly <small>- Verb phrase (VP)</small> Most structures in English are, however, not completely left- or completely right-branching, but rather they combine both. The following trees show a combination of left- and right-branching in English: :::[[File:Branching6.jpg|Branching picture 6]] There are more right-branching structures than left-branching structures in English. This means that trees usually grow down to the right. [[Category:Linguistics]]