Some functional relationships in grammar

The theoretical observation that certain types of pronominal differentiation are functionally related to certain types of transformational rules leads to a loose concept of a ‘functional component’ (independent of formal relationships), within which these two aspects of grammar play complementary roles. This complementarity is matched by an empirically observed inverse relationship in the functional values of the two from one language to another. By looking at the functional component as a whole (i.e. at a system rather than at individual elements), we arrive at an interesting new kind of universal.