extrinsic (adj.)

A term used in GENERATIVE GRAMMAR referring to a type of constraint imposed on the ORDERING of RULES (as opposed to a condition where such rules are allowed to apply in a random order). An extrinsic ordering is one where the SEQUENCE of rules is motivated solely by a consideration of the facts of a LANGUAGE and not by considerations of a logical kind: it is a specific ordering which is required to ensure that only GRAMMATICAL sentences are generated. Extrinsic rules are held by many to be of particular importance in organizing the TRANSFORMATIONAL rules in grammar, but the nature of these CONSTRAINTS is controversial, such as how much extrinsic ordering there ought to be, and how many times the rules in an ordered sequence should apply. It is opposed to INTRINSIC.