deelativization

Deelativization is a linguistic concept referring to the process by which a relative clause is reduced or eliminated, often without a significant change in meaning. This can occur in several ways. One common form is the omission of the relative pronoun and the copular verb when they are followed by an adjective or a participle. For example, "The man who is tall" can become "The man tall" or "The tall man." Similarly, "The book that was written by her" can be shortened to "The book written by her."

Another type of deelativization involves the transformation of a relative clause into a prepositional phrase or an appositive. For instance, "The house that is on the hill" might be deelativized to "The house on the hill." The process can also result in the creation of a compound adjective from a relative clause. "A person who is intelligent" could be deelativized to "an intelligent person."

Deelativization is a common phenomenon in both spoken and written language, contributing to conciseness and fluency. It is often observed in languages that have flexible word order or a tendency towards nominalization. While it simplifies sentence structure, the degree to which a relative clause can be deelativized often depends on the specific grammatical context and the language in question. The underlying semantic relationship between the modified noun and the descriptive element is generally preserved.