path (n.)

A term used in GENERATIVE GRAMMAR referring to an unbroken series of BRANCHES and NODES moving in a single direction with respect to the top of a TREE diagram. The term is also used by some linguists as part of the grammatical analysis of a sentence: an entity takes a path from a source to a GOAL, e.g. in John rowed along the river, along is ‘path’.

In a WINDOWS model of COARTICULATION, the term refers to the connection made between individual windows, representing ARTICULATORY or ACOUSTIC variation over time in a specific context; also referred to as a contour.