promotion (n.)

A term used in RELATIONAL GRAMMAR for a class of relation-changing PROCESSES which make a NOUN PHRASE more prominent. In the process of advancement, an NP which bears a particular grammatical relation to some VERB comes to bear another grammatical relation to that verb, which is higher up the relational HIERARCHY. In the process of ascension, an NP which is part of a larger NP comes to bear the grammatical relation previously borne by the larger NP.

Promotion is also found in some models of FEATURE GEOMETRY, to refer to an alteration in the status of a construct (e.g. a feature, an articulation) from a lower to a higher level. For example, a minor ARTICULATION (such as PALATALIZATION) may be assigned MAJOR status under certain conditions.