The abandonment of extrinsic rule ordering in generative grammar

Víctor M. Longa
University of Santiago de Compostela
Summary

Extrinsic rule ordering was a device used within the Standard Theory of Generative Grammar which determined the correct order for transformations to apply. During the 1970s some linguists, led by Andreas Koutsoudas, showed how this device could be eliminated. However, the great importance of their work has never been recognised. The paper offers a recent example of such a lack of acknowledgement. Furthermore, it is argued why an accurate account of the abandonment of extrinsic rule ordering matters: it represents the first systematic achievement in constraining the strong expressive power of transformations.

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