EQUIVALENCE

NONRESTRICTIVE APPOSITION

 Appellation
 Designation
 Identification
 Reformulation

Appellation

 Common indicators: namely; who/which + be

 There is unique reference between two

appositives
 Appositive noun phrases are commonly
definite

Appellation
 The 2nd appositive

+ Is typically a proper noun

E.g.: Our capital, Hanoi, is in the
northeast of Vietnam
2nd
appositive
+ Can be replaced by corresponding
relative clause
E.g.: Our capital, which is Hanoi, is
in the northeast of Vietnam
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 Appellation
Note:
 The 2nd appositive is more specific than the
1st appositive

The 2nd appositive is often a finite clause

E.g.:
He told them the good news: (namely)
taxes are to be reduced

Designation
Common indicators: who/which + be
 There is also unique reference
 Both appositives are definite noun
phrases
 The 2nd appositive is less specific than
the first
E.g.:
Mary, (who is) my younger sister, is
addicted to watching cartoons.

Designation
Note: Compare these examples
 Designation:

Tom , the best singer in our family, is studying in a college.

1st app. 2nd app.

 Appellation:

The best singer in our family, Tom, is studying in a college.

1st app. 2nd app. 6
 Identification

 Common indicator: namely

 There is no unique equivalence

 The 1st appositive is an indefinite noun

phrase

Identification
 The 2nd appositive

+ More specific than 1st appositive

E.g.: A student in our class, (namely)
Mary, excels at maths.
2nd
appositive
+ Cannot be replaced by a
corresponding relative clause

Identification
Note:
The 2nd appositive can precede the 1st but only in
informal spoken English
E.g.:
That stubborn boy, he kept crying so hard.
2nd app. 1st app.
 Appositives need not be noun phrases
E.g.:
They summoned help – called the police.
1st app. 2nd app.
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 Reformulation

 Common indicator: or

 The 2nd appositive rewords the content of

the 1st appositive

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Reformulation

Based on linguistic knowledge

Based on knowledge about external world

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Reformulation

Based on linguistic knowledge

+ 2nd appositive as a synonymous expression

E.g.: anthropology, (or) the study of human beings
the words of a song, (or/ in other words) lyrics

+ Appositive adjectives
E.g.:
She likes to live in a tranquil, or peaceful, neighbourhood.

+ Translations from foreign languages

E.g.: Mesa (table in English) is a two-syllable noun.
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Reformulation

Based on knowledge about external world

+ 2nd appositive as a co-referential expression

E.g.: Fred, or Ginger as he is usually called, is busy looking
after the kids.

+ Correction of what was said

E.g.: He is American, Vietnamese-American to be more
exact.

+ Other appositives that are not noun phrases

E.g.: Thirdly and lastly, they would not accept his promise.
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