taxis (n.)

A general term used in PHONETICS and LINGUISTICS to refer to the systematic arrangements of UNITS in LINEAR SEQUENCE at any linguistic LEVEL. The commonest terms based on this notion are: phonotactics, dealing with the sequential arrangements of sounds; morphotactics with MORPHEMES; and syntactics with higher grammatical units than the morpheme. Some linguistic theories give this dimension of analysis particular importance (e.g. STRATIFICATIONAL grammar, where several levels of tactic organization are recognized, corresponding to the strata set up by the theory, viz. ‘hypophonotactics’, ‘phonotactics’, ‘morphotactics’, ‘lexotactics’, ‘semotactics’ and ‘hypersemotactics’).