Frasen

Frasen is a term used in linguistic theory to denote a syntactic unit that groups together a contiguous sequence of words and functions as a unit within a sentence. In many grammars this unit is called a phrase, such as a noun phrase (NP), verb phrase (VP), or prepositional phrase (PP). The term frasen is not part of standard syntax nomenclature and appears only in a small number of theoretical discussions or cross-linguistic comparisons.

Usage and properties

When used, frasen are described as having internal structure that can be represented as a hierarchical tree with a head and dependents, and they can undergo the same constituency tests as phrases, such as substitution, topicalization, movement, or coordination. Frasen are often discussed as a cover term to compare unit-level properties across languages without committing to a fixed typology of phrase types.

Relationship to phrases

In some frameworks, frasen coincide with what is traditionally labeled as phrases; in others, frasen is employed to emphasize unit-level analysis in cross-linguistic data or in discussions of phrase structure theory. Because frasen is not universally adopted, its precise definition and scope can vary by author.

Examples

In the sentence The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, the sequences "the quick brown fox" and "jumps over the lazy dog" are typically treated as separate frasen (NP and VP, respectively) in discussions that employ the term.

See also

Phrase structure, constituent, syntactic theory, constituency tests.