sister-adjunction (n.)

A type of SYNTACTIC operation in classical TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR, referring to a RULE which places certain elements of STRUCTURE in adjacent POSITIONS, with the aim of specifying how these structures fit together in larger units. To sister-adjoin elements, a CONSTITUENT A is joined to B immediately under a mother NODE. A contrast was drawn with CHOMSKY-ADJUNCTION, where A is joined to B by creating a new B node, which immediately dominates both A and B. In GOVERNMENT-BINDING THEORY, the only type of adjunction is Chomsky-adjunction.