WORD ORDER: CHAIN AND CHOICE

These two notions describe two important and related principles of linguistic organisation, and are essential to understanding the basic rules of word order. The term CHAIN refers to the way in which units may be linked together in linear sequence, like the carriages of a train or the links of a chain. Language must always exist sequentially, along the axes of time and (in writing) space. At every point in the sequence, and at every level of organisation we can find restrictions and prescriptions as to how this linking of units may take place, and the question as to which unit can follow which gives rise to the system of CHOICE. We have already discussed one such system in the case of verbs. It is important to realise that such systems occur at all levels of the language hierarchy.

An example from phonology

In the English phonological system vowels are linked sequentially with consonants, so that the consonant /b/ may be followed by any of the vowels used in the English system. But linkage between consonants is much less free, and only certain consonants may follow /b/, such as /l/ or /r/. Other consonants such as /p/ may not be linked at all to /b/ if they together combine as constituents of a higher unit. Thus we cannot have /pb/ as immediate constituents of a higher unit.

There is on the other hand a system of choices whereby /b/ may be replaced by /p/, which like /b/ may also be followed by any of the vowels. There is thus a system of choice between /b/, /p/ and some other consonants which operates on the principle that if one is chosen then the others are excluded. In other words it is an "either/or" system of choice. This can be represented diagramatically in the following way (which you will recognise as the familiar "minimal pairs" principle as used in pronunciation practice).

The vertical axis represents the system of choice (the PARADIGMATIC axis). The horizontal axis is the axis of chain and is also known as the SYNTAGMATIC axis.

The paradigmatic axis operates at every point in the chain. For example, consider the word 'the'. We can predict that where this word occurs as part of a word group, it will be followed by words such as numbers, adjectives, or nouns which may form part of the same nominal group, but which do not constitute members of the same paradigmatic class as . It will not therefore be followed by words such as "my", "some" or "John's" since these would be paradigms of "the" and as such, under the "either / or" rule are excluded by virtue of having selected "the". 

Similarly, if I select the word "good", I may choose to follow this with either the word "chap", or "fellow", or "man", but whichever is selected will exclude the use of the others because they are members of the same paradigmatic set.

Closed and open sets

An open set means that items can be added, whereas a closed set cannot have items added to it. Both types of paradigmatic sets work in language, and closed sets are typically grammatical categories such as subject pronouns, articles, prepositions and so on. On the other hand nouns, verbs and adjectives are open sets - they can be added to and new words created.

(1) Take any text available and select at random any word you like (say for example the word "MORE"). Now examine the word which comes immediately to the right. Can you think of some other word or words which could also have followed the one you have chosen? Do they have anything in common with the word in the text? What sort of restrictions (if any) can be observed as to the types of words which can follow the word which you selected? Can you think of any words which could replace the original in the text?

 CAN; STOVE; SMOKING; MY; INTERESTING; QUICKLY; THEY; HAS; QUITE.

If you were writing such a test what are the sorts of words which could most usefully be left to the student to supply?

** SUGGESTED READING.

Halliday MAK, "System and Function in Language", Chapter 7: "Chain and choice in language", pages 84 - 87.