right-branchingadj.n.
/ˌrʌɪtˈbrɑːn(t)ʃɪŋ/, /ˌrʌɪtˈbran(t)ʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌraɪtˈbræn(t)ʃɪŋ/ Linguistics.
A. adj.
Of a language, sentence, etc.: characterized by dependants which successively follow their heads (and which, in a parse tree representing the connection between main and subordinate units, branch successively towards the right).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > [adjective] > specific feature of tree diagram
left-branching1961
right-branching1961
1961 N. Chomsky in Proc. Symposia Appl. Math. 12 14 We would predict that a hearer..would tend to treat right-branching units..as successive and disjointed, rather than integrated segments, on first hearing.
1965 N. Chomsky Aspects Theory Syntax i. 13 Right-branching structures are those with the opposite property [to left-branching], for example,..[this is [the cat that caught [the rat that stole the cheese]]].
1978 Language 54 84 In English, sentential complement constructions are right-branching.
1986 Phonology Yearbk. 3 393 In (30) we see that a verb and a following (right-branching) complement NP will together form a domain.
1997 Poetics Today 18 87 Russian is..a right-branching language, but its word order is freer than that of English, and left-branching structures are possible.
B. n.
The fact of having dependants which successively follow their heads; the technique of organizing syntactic elements in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > [noun] > study or science of > diagram representing structure > specific feature of
left-branching1961
right-branching1961
1961 N. Chomsky in Proc. Symposia Appl. Math. 12 13 From the fact that memory is finite, the fact that a sentence is heard or spoken from ‘left-to-right’.., or the fact that the rules of a generative grammar..may be partially ordered, nothing whatsoever can be concluded about left- and right-branching in P-markers.
1965 N. Chomsky Aspects Theory Syntax i. 13 A left-branching structure is of the form [[[…]…]…]—for example, in English, such indefinitely iterable structures as [[[[John]'s brother]'s father]'s uncle]... There are no clear examples of unacceptability involving only left-branching or only right-branching.
1980 R. N. St. Clair in B. Ketterman & R. N. St. Clair New Approaches to Lang. Acquisition 27 The social scientist wants to impart new information and the use of right branching enhances the readability of his or her pedagogical materials.
1995 B. L. M. Bauer Emergence & Devel. SVO Patterning in Lat. & French vii. 215 What I argue is that in languages where we observe word order change, the shift is from OV to VO, or from left to right branching.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1961