ABSTRACT
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) articulated some of the key concepts that framed linguistics in the twentieth century. Among his contributions was the distinction between syntagmatic and paradigmatic (or ‘associative’) relations (de Saussure 1986). Syntagmatic relations have to do with combinatorial possibilities – with constituency (one unit composed of one or more others) – but also (and perhaps more significantly in de Saussure’s formulations) with aspects of serial order and dependencies between items that allow, signify or constrain constituency. Serial order involves both permissible and impossible sequences that are language particular. For example, in English, except in a few loan words, the phoneme /s/ can precede, but not follow, a voiceless stop /t/ in a syllable onset (/st/ but not */ts/); articles precede, rather than follow, nouns with which they are in construction (a miracle not *miracle a); verbs precede their complements in unmarked orders (Sam eats squid not *Sam squid eats), and so on.
