transparent (adj.)

A term used in several areas of LINGUISTICS to refer to an analysis which presents the relevant facts in a direct and perspicuous manner. In GENERATIVE PHONOLOGY, for example, transparency refers to the extent to which the applications of a given RULE to a given FORM can be seen in the PHONETIC OUTPUT at the end of the DERIVATION. Non-transparent rules are referred to as opaque. The term has also developed special senses in SEMANTICS and generative SYNTAX.