linguisticthat

Linguisticthat is a term used in linguistic theory to describe the cross-linguistic functions associated with the word that, including its role as a complementizer, a relative element, and, in some languages, a discourse marker. The concept is used to examine how that and its equivalents participate in clause embedding, information structure, and speaker stance across diverse language systems.

The term was introduced by researchers in typology and syntax as a way to compare multifunctional particles that surface as that across languages. It is not a single grammatical rule but a category for organizing observations about where and how a that-type element can appear, how it behaves in different morphosyntactic environments, and how its functions can blend with or diverge from dedicated complementizers and relative pronouns.

Functional profile and cross-linguistic variation are central to linguisticthat. In English, that commonly marks a subordinate clause (I believe that you are right) and can be omitted without altering basic meaning in many contexts. In other languages, a corresponding particle or clitic may also encode evidentiality, mood, or discourse-pragmatic nuance, thereby extending the role of that beyond simple embedding. Linguisticthat aims to capture these multifunctional uses under a unified analytic frame while recognizing language-specific realizations.

Methodologically, researchers employ comparative typology, corpus analyses, and psycholinguistic experiments to identify patterns of that-marking, its syntactic positions, and processing profiles. Critiques focus on ensuring that the umbrella category does not collapse distinct grammatical phenomena into a single label, and on clarifying the boundaries between discourse markers, complementizers, and evidential markers. See also complementizer, discourse marker, and evidentiality.