Coordination

Abstract

This article gives an overview over the basic concepts and notions of coordination. In defining the formal properties of coordination the article discusses the typological variation of the coordinator, the order of the conjuncts, the functions of coordination and its syntactic structure. Coordination shows properties of a symmetric structure which is analysed with respect to semantic symmetry, symmetric contrast, and the Coordinate Structure Constraint. At the same time, coordination may exhibit asymmetries, which concern the categories and feature specification of the conjuncts, or, in cases of so-called asymmetric coordination, the collocation of the conjuncts. The article also addresses nominal coordination without a determiner. It investigates ellipsis in coordination and finally discusses the influence of information structure on the syntax and intonation of the conjuncts.