surface structure

noun

, Linguistics.

a structural representation of the final syntactic form of a sentence, as it exists after the transformational component has modified a deep structure. Compare deep structure.
the string of words that is actually produced.

surface structure

See deep structure
generative grammar a representation of a string of words or morphemes as they occur in a sentence, together with labels and brackets that represent syntactic structure Compare deep structure

First recorded in 1960–65

How does surface structure compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

It merely shows the surface structure, shows some of the fibers, and shows an imperfection.

The sub-surface structure, even though complex, can be readily read from one of these surface maps.

Big telescopes make it possible for us to see in detail the surface structure of the moon.

April 17, 2024axolotl

[ak-suh-lot-l ]

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