linking (adj./n.)

(1) A term used in PHONOLOGY to refer to a sound which is introduced between LINGUISTIC UNITS, usually for ease of pronunciation. In English, the linking r is the most familiar example of this process, as when the r in car is pronounced before a VOWEL, or when an /r/ is introduced without there being justification in the writing (e.g. Shah of ...  . . . /). In French, a linking /t/ is introduced in the third-PERSON QUESTION form of VERBS, when this ends in a vowel, e.g. il a ‘he has’ ⇒ a-t-il. In SYNTAX, the COPULA be, and sometimes such verbs as seem, become, etc., may be referred to as linking verbs.

(2) In models of NON-LINEAR PHONOLOGY, a FORMAL means of relating UNITS (nodes, features, particles, etc.) within a HIERARCHICAL REPRESENTATION; the disassociation of a unit from a SEGMENT is called delinking. A delinked unit occurs on a TIER on its own. Units which are linked to more than one segment (as in the various kinds of ASSIMILATION, or in certain kinds of GEMINATION) are said to show multiple linking (or be multilinked). Various CONDITIONS have been proposed to ensure the WELL-FORMEDNESS of ASSOCIATION lines in STRUCTURAL DESCRIPTIONS, such as the linking constraint, which requires that all association lines be interpreted exhaustively.

(3) A family of CONSTRAINTS in OPTIMALITY THEORY, usually referred to as Link, requiring that a FEATURE be associated to a CONSONANT or a VOWEL, whether or not the association is part of the lexical INPUT. For example, in a TONE language, LINK[TONE] would associate a tone with a vowel.