mapping (n.)

This term, used to characterize a feature of MODEL construction in scientific enquiry, has been applied in several areas of LINGUISTICS and PHONETICS. Mapping refers to the correspondence between the ELEMENTS defined in a model of a situation, and the elements recognized in the situation itself. If these elements are in a one-to-one correspondence, at a given level of abstraction, then the mapping is said to be ISOMORPHIC; if there is a superficial or selective correspondence (again, at a given level of abstraction), the mapping is ‘homomorphic’. For example, one could evaluate the extent to which an isomorphic relationship existed between SYNTACTIC and SEMANTIC LEVELS of REPRESENTATION of SENTENCE STRUCTURE. In TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR, the term is used specifically to refer to the process whereby a particular stage in the DERIVATION of a sentence is formally related to a subsequent stage, e.g. an input phrase is mapped by a set of transformations on to a derived PHRASE-MARKER.