Ellipsis

Peter Wilson
Table of contents

In the syntagmatic chain of language not every element needs to be expressed. Indeed, the expression of omissible elements is quickly perceived as ponderous overarticulacy or, in some types of language use, as deliberate stylistic artifice. Unlike the effect of omitting links in a metal chain, the omission of elements in the chain of language does not cause things to fall apart. Rather, the resulting gaps are more likely to have a cohesive effect, both at the level of local syntax and across more global stretches of discourse.

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