Dependency grammar

Dependency grammar or also Valence grammar designates one of justified, in the beginning in addition, already in the Middle Ages (Thomas's von Erfurt) form of the grammar which can be found. (valence grammar received the names in analogy to the valences with that .) the dependency grammar examines the hierarchical structure of a sentence on the basis of dependence. Dependency is dependence in the sense that a word (the governed) depends on another word (the governing thing). In the sentence exist central dependence on . "meal" suggests that someone is called, which eats, and something, which is eaten:

• "Hans eats bread".

Words open blank characters, those by words of other classes be filled can or have (so already . In the example sentence "Hans" and bread are "of" eat "dependently, Tesnière spoke of" Aktanten ", today talk one about" complements "or" additions ". Other sentence elements can be added freely:

• "Hans eats in the evening gladly bread before the television".

Usually that is data of place, time, reason or action modalities. Which is not demanded by other expressions, Tesnière called "Zirkumstanten", today speaks one of "supplementen" or "free data". The distinction between and Supplementen easy, isn't it gives tests (which one can not omit? What is always along? = complement), in addition, border lines. That comes along that the whole sentence structure over dependence is to be explained. But about which z.B. that hangs off into "a small girl"? Surely not simply of "girls", but rather of the expression "small girl". Behind it semantic stand and/or. functional relations. Today the valence of verbs is in word beeches such as H. Schumacher (Hg)(1986) "verbs in fields" described. Valence data are very helpful for instruction German as foreign language. But the dependency grammar entered also nut-linguistic instruction, furthermore into grammar models like the syntax of Chomsky or in grammars like the "German grammar" of Helbig and Buscha or the "grammar of the German language" of Zifonun, hoping man, Strecker u.A.

On the dependency grammar many formal-linguistic formalisms, z are based.B. those Functional generative description or also Extensible Dependency Grammar.

Literature

• H.W. Eroms: Syntax of the German language. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2000
• H.J. Heringer: German syntax. Tübingen: Stauffenburg, 1996
• L. Tesnière: Éleménts de syntaxe structurale. Paris: Klinksieck, 1959