Phrasal template
Encyclopedia
A phrasal template is a phrase
-long collocation
that contains one or several empty slots which may be filled by words to produce individual phrases. Often there are some restrictions on the grammatic category of the words allowed to fill particular slots. An example is the phrase "common stocks rose to ", e.g., "common stocks rose 1.72 to 340.36".
Phrasal templates are akin to form
s in which blanks are to be filled with data.
A word game utilizing phrasal templates is Mad Libs
.
The notion is used in natural language processing
systems and in language generators, such as application-oriented report generators.
A recently invented word, "snowclone
," attempts to describe a special case of phrasal templates that "clone" popular cliché
s. For example, "pink is the new red", Quiet Is the New Loud
and the multitudes were spawned by "Pink is the navy blue of India"
according to the template "Y is the new X".
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
-long collocation
Collocation
In corpus linguistics, collocation defines a sequence of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. In phraseology, collocation is a sub-type of phraseme. An example of a phraseological collocation is the expression strong tea...
that contains one or several empty slots which may be filled by words to produce individual phrases. Often there are some restrictions on the grammatic category of the words allowed to fill particular slots. An example is the phrase "common stocks rose
Phrasal templates are akin to form
Form (document)
A form is a document with spaces in which to write or select, for a series of documents with similar contents. The documents usually have the printed parts in common, possibly except for a serial number...
s in which blanks are to be filled with data.
A word game utilizing phrasal templates is Mad Libs
Mad Libs
Mad Libs is a phrasal template word game where one player prompts another for a list of words to substitute for blanks in a story, usually with funny results...
.
The notion is used in natural language processing
Natural language processing
Natural language processing is a field of computer science and linguistics concerned with the interactions between computers and human languages; it began as a branch of artificial intelligence....
systems and in language generators, such as application-oriented report generators.
A recently invented word, "snowclone
Snowclone
A snowclone is a type of cliché and phrasal template originally defined as "a multi-use, customizable, instantly recognizable, time-worn, quoted or misquoted phrase or sentence that can be used in an entirely open array of different variants"....
," attempts to describe a special case of phrasal templates that "clone" popular cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
s. For example, "pink is the new red", Quiet Is the New Loud
Quiet Is the New Loud
-Track listing:# "Winning a Battle, Losing the War"# "Toxic Girl"# "Singing Softly to Me"# "I Don't Know What I Can Save You From"# "Failure"# "The Weight of My Words"# "The Girl From Back Then"# "Leaning Against the Wall"# "Little Kids"...
and the multitudes were spawned by "Pink is the navy blue of India"
The new black
"_____ is the new black" is a snowclone used to indicate the sudden popularity or versatility of an idea at the expense of the popularity of a second idea. It is the originator of the phrasal template "X is the new Y". The phrase seemed to have started in the 1950s or 1960s and became very popular...
according to the template "Y is the new X".
See also
- Computational humorComputational humorComputational humor is a branch of computational linguistics and artificial intelligence which uses computers in humor research. It is not to be confused with computer humor ....
; usage of phrasal templates for computer generation of jokeJokeA joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
s - Phrase structure rulesPhrase structure rulesPhrase-structure rules are a way to describe a given language's syntax. They are used to break down a natural language sentence into its constituent parts namely phrasal categories and lexical categories...
- Joke template
- SnowcloneSnowcloneA snowclone is a type of cliché and phrasal template originally defined as "a multi-use, customizable, instantly recognizable, time-worn, quoted or misquoted phrase or sentence that can be used in an entirely open array of different variants"....