Explanationthat

Explanationthat is a term used in linguistic and educational discussions to describe a particular style of explanation that explicitly states the content of the explanation using a that-clause. It focuses on the logical content of the justification and how the reasoning is presented to the audience. The construction often takes the form: "The explanation that [content] ..." or "The reason is that [content]." Characteristics include explicit reference to both the explanandum (what is being explained) and the content of the explanans (the that-clause), enabling clearer mapping of cause, rationale, and evidence.

Etymology and history: The term is a modern neologism found mainly in online glossaries and classrooms. It is not widely standardized and may be used variably across disciplines. In rhetoric and pedagogy, the concept aligns with practices that promote transparent reasoning and stepwise justification.

Usage: In education, explanationthat helps instructors model explicit reasoning and aids learners in understanding how conclusions are supported. In linguistics, it is used to analyze the syntax and semantics of explanatory sentences, particularly the use of that-clauses to convey content. In AI explainability, a similar approach can be described as providing that-clauses to reveal the justification behind a decision.

Examples:

- The explanation that the delay was caused by weather conditions clarified the sequence of events.

- The model's failure is explained by the fact that the input exceeded the training distribution, i.e., that the model could not generalize.

See also: Explanandum, Explanans, That-clause, Explanatory rhetoric.

References: Not standardized; term usage varies.

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