Question

In linguistics, what does 'recursion' refer to?

• A. The repetition of sounds in a word.
• B. The ability of a linguistic rule to be applied to its own output.
• C. The historical development of a word's meaning.
• D. The process of learning a second language.

Answer 1

Answer:

B. The ability of a linguistic rule to be applied to its own output.

Recursion in linguistics is the capacity of a rule to be applied repeatedly to its own output, allowing for the generation of infinitely long and complex sentences. For example, a phrase can be embedded within another phrase of the same type, like in the sentence 'The cat that the dog chased meowed loudly.'