Informationalthat

Informationalthat is a neologism occasionally used in linguistics and information-structure studies to denote a specific function of the complementizer that when introducing a clause containing informational content. The term is not part of standard grammar references and does not have wide scholarly consensus; its usage appears mainly in online discussions, annotation schemes for corpora, and exploratory writings on how information is conveyed in that-clauses.

Definition and function

An informationalthat clause is a that-clause whose primary purpose is to convey propositional content expected to be known or reported as factual information. The label highlights the information status of the clause rather than its potential to express attitude, belief, or evaluation, though in practice context can blur these distinctions.

Etymology

The term combines informational with that, signaling that the clause introduced by that serves information-bearing content rather than other functional nuances.

Usage

In data annotation or analytic discussions, informationalthat may be used to tag clauses following verbs of stating, reporting, or claiming when the embedded content is treated as reportable information. It is a methodological label rather than a distinct, universally recognized grammatical category.

Examples

- The report asserts that the project will finish on time. Here, the embedded clause that the project will finish on time could be labeled informationalthat in certain annotation schemes.

- Studies show that language development accelerates in early childhood. The clause that language development accelerates in early childhood functions as informational content within the sentence.

See also

Content clause, complementizer that, information structure, annotation scheme.