[net.nlang] Name for part of speech

mgh@mtunh.UUCP (Marcus Hand) (07/17/85)

I'm working on a paper and I need to know the word which describes
the calss of words which have no real function in the following context:
they are noise words inserted in the sentence to make it flow and sound
natural. They add no meaning or inflection.  An example from computer
languages would be:

	find employee WHERE salary IS > 30000
	insert model INTO cartypes
	for $i IN 1 2 3 ...
	hand me my hat and MY coat
	if you run out of cash THEN write a check

The words concerned are written in caps.
(Ellision in computer languages may or may not be permitted.)

What are these words called?

Thanks in advance,
-- 
			Marcus Hand	(mtunh!mgh)

hav@dual.UUCP (Helen Anne Vigneau) (07/18/85)

/* I think this got eaten the first time, so here goes again . . . */

=> I'm working on a paper and I need to know the word which describes
=> the calss of words which have no real function in the following context:
=> they are noise words inserted in the sentence to make it flow and sound
=> natural. They add no meaning or inflection.  An example from computer
=> languages would be:
=> 
=> 	find employee WHERE salary IS > 30000

        a.  WHERE.  Idiomatic English would probably call for WHOSE,
            which is, of course, a possessive pronoun.

        b.  IS.  This is the verb of the dependent clause, "WHOSE/WHERE
            salary IS > 30000."

=> 	insert model INTO cartypes

        Preposition.

=> 	for $i IN 1 2 3 ...

        Preposition.

=> 	hand me my hat and MY coat

        Possessive pronoun.

=> 	if you run out of cash THEN write a check

        This drives me NUTS!!!  I am a technical writer and can say 
        that the THEN following an IF at the beginning of a sentence
        is a tell-tale sign that the sentence was written by a programmer.
        I edit the THEN out of everything upon which I am called to edit.
        It is superfluous, no doubt about it.

=> 
=> The words concerned are written in caps.
=> (Ellision in computer languages may or may not be permitted.)
=> 
=> What are these words called?
=> 
=> Thanks in advance,
=> -- 
=> 			Marcus Hand	(mtunh!mgh)

Helen Anne

     {ucbvax,ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs,decwrl,unisoft,fortune,sun,nsc}!dual!hav 

             If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
             perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
             Let him step to the music he hears,
             however measured or far away.

grass@uiucdcsb.Uiuc.ARPA (07/19/85)

>I'm working on a paper and I need to know the word which describes
>the calss of words which have no real function in the following context:
>they are noise words inserted in the sentence to make it flow and sound
>natural. They add no meaning or inflection.  An example from computer
>languages would be:
>
>	find employee WHERE salary IS > 30000
>	insert model INTO cartypes
>	for $i IN 1 2 3 ...
>	hand me my hat and MY coat
>	if you run out of cash THEN write a check
>			Marcus Hand	(mtunh!mgh)

In computer languages those are sometimes refered to as "syntactic sugar".
(A term I don't particularly like, for no good reason).  I suppose you
could call them "filler words".  I have heard other terms for such, but
only in reference to computer languages (you could probably get them
from net.lang subscribers).  I don't know of a linguistic
term for this kind of redundant word.
	- Judy Grass,  University of Illinois - Urbana
	  {ihnp4,pur-ee,convex}!uiucdcs!grass   grass%uiuc.arpa