copying (n.)

A basic SYNTACTIC operation within the framework of TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR which adds a duplicate of a CONSTITUENT in a PHRASE-MARKER to some other part of the phrase-marker. For example, to make a RULE deriving TAG QUESTIONS from such SENTENCES as He is a doctor, the VERB is taken and copied to the right of the sentence (changing its status from POSITIVE to NEGATIVE); the tag-SUBJECT is a PRONOMINAL copy of the main subject, placed to the right of this verb. This would be one way of generating the sentence He is a doctor, isn’t he? The verb is copied only if it is AUXILIARY or COPULA, and replaced by a form of do otherwise (e.g. John knows the answers, doesn’t he). Outside GENERATIVE LINGUISTICS, some linguists use copy tags to refer to a subtype of tag questions, viz. only those which retain the same POSITIVE or NEGATIVE value as the main-CLAUSE verb (the others being referred to as CHECKING tags), e.g. He’s coming, is he? The MINIMALIST PROGRAMME endorses the copy theory of movement: when a CONSTITUENT moves, it leaves a copy of itself. A CHAIN therefore consists of multiple copies of the moved constituent. Copy theory replaces TRACE theory in GOVERNMENT-BINDING THEORY.