Phrase

A phrase (Greek ?????, sentence, expression, see also strophe) is a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence.

Semiotic approaces to the concept of "phrase"

In more semiotic approaches to language, such, as for instance, the more cognitivist versions of construction grammar, a phrasal structure is not only a certain formal combination of word types whose features are inherited from the head. Here each phrasal structure also expresses some type of conceptual content, be it specific or abstract.

Related Topics:
Semiotic - Construction grammar - Conceptual content

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For example prepositional phrases express a figure-ground relation in which the prepositional complement is the ground, the preposition itself specifies the relation, and the precedent element is the figure.

Related Topics:
Prepositional phrase - Figure-ground

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Thus, in semiotic approaches to phrasal structure, a phrase not only has a specific formal configuration, but is also characterized by a recognizable (abstract or specific) semantic content.

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See phrase structure rules, syntax, grammar.

Related Topics:
Phrase structure rules - Syntax - Grammar

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See also: Proverb

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