Explanation
A connective expresses a semantic relationship between propositions or other suitable units. The term identifies a function and therefore need not coincide with one word class. German weil and deshalb, for example, can express causal relationships while behaving differently syntactically. Analysis must separate the relation established from the expression's integration into sentence structure. Not every conjunction links propositions, and not every signal organising a conversation counts as a connective under a given account. The scope of the class must be stated explicitly.
Movement of thought
1. Identify the linked units. 2. Describe the relational contribution. 3. Examine syntactic integration. 4. Compare alternative connectives. 5. State the classification adopted.
Scientific use case
Corpus analysis can annotate relation type, position and register separately.
Example
German “Wir bleiben, weil es regnet” and “Es regnet; deshalb bleiben wir” express a similar explanatory relationship through different structures: roughly, “We are staying because it is raining” and “It is raining; therefore we are staying.”
Counterexample
Simply replacing weil with deshalb does not automatically preserve grammatical German word order.
Distinction
Distinguish connectives from conjunctions as a word class, mere adjacency and discourse markers more broadly.
Effect on thought and perception
A functional perspective connects semantically related expressions across word classes.
Resonance
A small expression can determine how two assertions bear on one another.
Provenance
Parallel source review reconciled 2026-10-07; human specialist review not claimed.
Cite this entry
Reich, Michael (Hrsg./ed.): „Connector“. Atlas der Sprache, AT-NAV-G03-040. ATLAS 259, data model 1.6.0. https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G03-040The address remains stable; editorial content may evolve. Editorial reading state: 2026-10-15. Include your access date for precise references.