embedding (n.)

A term used in GENERATIVE GRAMMAR to refer to the process or CONSTRUCTION where one SENTENCE is included (embedded) in another, i.e. in SYNTACTIC SUBORDINATION. Embedding is distinct from CONJOINING (COORDINATING). A RELATIVE CLAUSE within a NOUN PHRASE is an example of embedding, e.g. The man who has a suitcase is in the bar. In a process view, this sentence could be derived from The man has a suitcase, which is embedded within the MATRIX sentence The man is in the bar. Embedded clauses can also be COMPLEMENTS, as in the discussion of his new book. A derivative notion is SELF-EMBEDDING (or ‘centre-embedding’).