Antisymmetry

In linguistics, antisymmetry, is a theory of syntax described in Richard S. Kayne's 1994 book The Antisymmetry of Syntax. Building upon X-bar theory, it proposes a universal, fundamental word order for phrases (branching) across languages: specifier-head-complement. This means a phrase typically starts with an introductory element (specifier), followed by the core (head, often a verb or noun), and then additional information (complement). The theory argues that any sentence structure that deviates from this order results from rearrangements (syntactic movements) of this underlying structure. For instance, a sentence like "Eat the cake quickly" might be analyzed as a rearrangement of a more basic specifier-head-complement structure "Quickly eat the cake".

While Kayne proposes specifier-head-complement as the base order, some linguists have suggested alternative base orders, such as specifier-complement-head. Antisymmetry is reliant on x-bar notions, which are disputed by constituency structure theories (as opposed to dependency structure theories).

This framework is important for syntacticians as it offers a restrictive theory of possible sentence structures, potentially explaining cross-linguistic variations in word order and constraining the range of grammatical analyses.