Binarity, or binarism

in this sense is relatable to the principles of binary coding used in INFORMATION theory, but the status of such contrasts in language is often controversial, as it is not always clear whether the linguistic possibilities available in phonology, grammar and semantics are best seen as a series of binary choices. In IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENT analysis, for example, which uses a binary technique for splitting SENTENCES into smaller parts, it is sometimes impossible to decide where a binary division should be made, as in the case of ADJECTIVE sequence (e.g. nice old red chair is not really divisible into nice + old red, or nice old + red). It has sometimes been suggested that binary BRANCHING is the norm in a PHRASE-MARKER; in its strong form, binary branching requires that any NODE can have at most two branches. In cases where binary features are used, it is sometimes possible to see one of the features as neutral, or unmarked, and the other as positive, or MARKED.