sub-categorization (n.)

An application of the general use of this term in LINGUISTICS and especially in GENERATIVE GRAMMAR, to refer to the further subclassification of a SYNTACTIC CATEGORY. In the ASPECTS MODEL, the function of strict sub-categorization features is to specify a class of restrictions operating on the choice of VERBS (and other elements) in DEEP STRUCTURE. Related notions include CATEGORY and SELECTIONAL features. The category verb is sub-categorized in terms of its sister-NODES within the verb phrase – whether or not it permits a following NOUN-PHRASE OBJECT. This distinction might be summarized using a sub-categorization frame, which specifies the range of sister constituents which a LEXICAL ITEM takes, as in such cases of verb COMPLEMENTATION as ‘go −[−NP]’, ‘kick +[−NP]’.