Talk:Center embedding

Latest comment: 1 year ago by 2A00:23C5:CF17:FD01:C032:E1D7:9930:9050 in topic What is this drivel?

First Contact...Mvsmith (talk) 00:35, 15 November 2016 (UTC) edit

Wow, never been the first to talk before...something for my diary!
Came to this very interesting article via search for chiang arrival, as the trailer for the movie Arrival had rung a bell on a story I'd read years ago.
Intending the following as a to-do list, intending to return later, after work...

Cross-article issues:

  • Article title is Center Embedding and starts with this concept, but expands to include edge embedding.
  • There is no article for edge embedding, so (being too much of a noob this afternoon to even consider attempting) wondering if this article should be renamed Embedding (linguistics) and redirect other links to it?
  • Searching for embedding linguistics leads to the article embedded, within which is listed dependent clause and center embedding.
  • The article Dependent clause doesn't mention embedding. As embedding describes the syntactic location of dependent clauses (right?), would it be better to incorporate Center embedding and edge embedding into a new section called something like Location of clause embedding in the article Dependent clause?
  • In the same search there's also a hit in the article generative grammar. In that article I linked the text center-embedding to this article (Center embedding).

Article-specific issues:

  • Under the heading "Example of effective embedding", the example seems to be of edge embedding, not center embedding?
  • Regarding use of the term effective, could assert that an instance of embedding could be grammatically effective, but ineffective as an attempt to communicate. Probably replace effective with something like grammatically correct, throughout.
  • An infinite number of sentences isn't the same as infinite sentences. Don't think it's possible to create an infinite number of sentences from a finite set of words and a finite set of rules, in English or any other natural language. Don't think it's possible (humanly or otherwise) to create an infinite sentence (number of atoms in the universe, etc.), except perhaps as some sort of mathematical expression involving set theory.
  • Example sentences should be broken out into separate paragraphs, especially the last example in Example of effective embedding (which section actually contains more than one example).
  • Probably move the TOC up to after the first example, then follow with the headings Theory, Examples, Uses in popular culture, etc.
  • Establish the idea of numerical degree of embedding early, and also: Maximal connotes optimal; exactly 3; limit set at 2
  • Article needs a copy edit.
  • Add markup for references.

Use in everyday language of tone, pauses, and use of "that/which/whom etc", for c-e? edit

Using the examples on the page

  • My brother opened the window that the maid had closed.
  • My brother opened the window that the maid whom the janitor Uncle Bill had hired had married, had closed.

FT2 (Talk | email) 06:15, 1 September 2017 (UTC)Reply

A question left open in the article edit

What is the center clause everyone is speaking about around Christmas? --89.204.139.24 (talk) 04:02, 26 December 2018 (UTC)Reply

What is this drivel? edit

I'm aware that centre-embedding is a thing. What's with the absurd, completely unintelligible, and completely incorrect pseudo-examples on this page? These 'that that that' constructions are _wrong_. English has who, which, etc, as well as multiple possible word orders.

These are not examples of embedding, they're gibberish. The sentences are examples of invalid, incorrect ways to write such things - while embedding is a valid, correct form of English usage. 2A00:23C5:CF17:FD01:C032:E1D7:9930:9050 (talk) 11:33, 17 September 2022 (UTC)Reply