Appositionelles

Appositionelles, in linguistics often described as appositive constructions, are a type of syntactic relation in which two noun phrases refer to the same entity. The first noun phrase presents the referent, and a second noun phrase in apposition provides identifying or descriptive information about that referent. For example: Paris, the capital of France, attracts many visitors. Here Paris and the noun phrase the capital of France refer to the same entity, with the second element adding detail.

Forms and variants

Appositions come in several forms. A simple example is a proper name in apposition to a common noun: My sister Jane arrived early. The name Jane identifies which sister. More complex appositions may extend the second NP: The author Albert Camus, a Nobel laureate, wrote several novels. Appositive clauses can also function in apposition, as in The claim that the Earth orbits the Sun, released long ago, influenced later science.

Punctuation and syntactic position

In many languages, punctuation signals the appositive relation. In English, non-restrictive (non-essential) appositions are typically set off by commas or dashes: Paris, the capital of France, …; My colleague, Dr. Singh, will present. Restrictive appositions, which help distinguish among possible referents, may be written without punctuation in some contexts, though this use is less common in standard English. Appositions can appear after or, less commonly, before the head noun, and they may be single NPs or extended phrases.

Typology and function

Appositionelles serve to clarify identity, provide additional description, or rename a referent without introducing a new clause. They are analyzed in syntax as a distinct relation from attributive modifiers and are widely cross-linguistic, though the exact punctuation and word order vary across languages.