What word is used in linguistics and science to describe distinct concepts?
Syncretism (linguistics) Syncretism (linguistics) In linguistics, syncretism exists when functionally distinct occurrences of a single lexeme, morph or phone are identical in form. The term arose in historical linguistics, referring to the convergence of morphological forms within inflectional paradigms. In such cases, a former distinction has been 'syncretized'. The term "syncretism" is often used when a fairly regular pattern can be observed across a paradigm. Syncretism can arise through either phonological or morphological change. In the case of phonological change, originally distinct forms change to be pronounced identically, so that their distinctness is lost. Such change can often be observed in the
Government (linguistics) the head (of the relevant word) are distinct, otherwise they are the same word. Exactly how the terms "head" and "governor" are used can depend on the particular theory of syntax that is employed. Government (linguistics) In grammar and theoretical linguistics, government or rection refers to the relationship between a word and its dependents. One can discern between at least three concepts of government: the traditional notion of case government, the highly specialized definition of government in some generative models of syntax, and a much broader notion in dependency grammars. In traditional Latin and Greek (and other) grammars, government is