COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION Meaning and
Definition
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Complementary distribution is a linguistic concept that refers to the relationship between two or more linguistic elements in a language, where they never appear in the same context or environment. In other words, when two linguistic elements are said to be in complementary distribution, they are mutually exclusive and cannot occur in the same linguistic environment.
This phenomenon is often observed in the distribution of phonemes or sounds in a language. For example, certain sounds in a language may only occur at the beginning of words, while others may only occur at the end. These sounds are said to be in complementary distribution, as they occupy different positions within words and are never found in the same position.
Complementary distribution can also be observed in the distribution of grammatical features or morphemes within a language. For instance, some languages may have two different words to express pluralization, but each word is limited to specific contexts. One word may be used exclusively with animate nouns, while the other may be used only with inanimate nouns. Therefore, the two plural markers are in complementary distribution, as they cannot occur in the same contexts.
Overall, complementary distribution is a crucial concept in linguistics to understand the pattern and constraints of how linguistic elements are distributed and allows for a deeper analysis of the structure and organization of languages.
Common Misspellings for COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION
- xomplementary distribution
- vomplementary distribution
- fomplementary distribution
- domplementary distribution
- cimplementary distribution
- ckmplementary distribution
- clmplementary distribution
- cpmplementary distribution
- c0mplementary distribution
- c9mplementary distribution
- conplementary distribution
- cokplementary distribution
- cojplementary distribution
- comolementary distribution
- comllementary distribution
- com-lementary distribution
- com0lementary distribution
- compkementary distribution
- comppementary distribution
Etymology of COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION
The word "complementary" in the term "complementary distribution" comes from the Latin word "complementum", which means "that which fills up or completes". In English, "complementary" refers to something that complements or completes another thing.
The word "distribution" in this context comes from the Latin word "distributus", which means "to distribute or divide". It refers to the way in which linguistic elements or sounds are distributed or divided in a language.
The term "complementary distribution" is used in linguistics to describe the relationship between different sounds or linguistic elements, where each one occurs in a particular context or environment, and they never appear in the same context. They "complement" each other by filling in different positions or roles within a language.
