Chômeur¶
A Relational Grammar non-term relation borne by a nominal displaced when another nominal takes its former term relation at a later clause stratum.
Core Idea¶
In Relational Grammar, a chômeur is a nominal that held a subject, direct-object or indirect-object term relation at an earlier clause stratum and becomes a non-term after another nominal takes that same relation. It is the theory's displaced relation, not merely a passive agent, an oblique-looking phrase or any retired term.[^ref-d65e028174f3]
Scope of Application¶
Harris illustrates the rule with an English passive: a direct object becomes final subject and the initial subject becomes a subject chômeur. In her Georgian Series III inversion analysis, the initial subject becomes final indirect object and displaces the initial indirect object to indirect-object chômeur. These are unlike relation changes under the same Chomeur Law. English is an introductory theoretical illustration; the Georgian derivation is Harris's framework-specific analysis, not an observed stratal fact independent of theory.[^ref-d65e028174f3]
Clarity¶
Identify the clause and its earlier and later strata. Name the term relation first held by the candidate nominal, then the different nominal that takes that same term relation. The first holder must consequently be a later non-term. If either its earlier term status or the successor's takeover is absent, the chômeur derivation fails. A by-phrase, Georgian tvis marking or oblique form by itself cannot establish it.[^ref-d65e028174f3]
Manages Complexity¶
The name compresses a relation-changing derivation without erasing which term was lost. It distinguishes a retired subject from a retired indirect object and separates both from the advancing nominal. Harris also shows the limit of surface shortcuts: Georgian chômeur and emeritus terms can share the inspected marking and superficial behavior, so the analyst must justify the stratal path.[^ref-d65e028174f3]
Abstract Reasoning¶
If nominal B assumes term relation R previously borne by nominal A, the Chomeur Law assigns A an R-chômeur status at the later stratum. That conditional rule is more precise than “A looks oblique.” Stratal Uniqueness and Chomeur Laws are premises of Relational Grammar, not universal surface observations accepted by every syntactic theory.[^ref-d65e028174f3]
Knowledge Transfer¶
The wider lesson is to separate a theoretical relation from evidence for it. Case marking, agreement and position may support an analysis but are not the relation itself. This method of checking analytic history can inform other grammar work; the specific chômeur status applies only within a framework that defines the relevant strata and displacement rule.[^ref-d65e028174f3]
Example¶
English passive: the clause begins with a subject and direct object. The object advances to final subject, displacing the first subject into subject-chômeur status. Mapped back: the clause supplies term inventory and strata; the first subject is earlier holder; the object is successor to the same subject relation; the first subject is later non-term. Harris describes lost subject privileges, but an overt by-phrase is not required.[^ref-d65e028174f3]
Georgian Series III: in Harris's example Rezo begins as subject, samajuri (“bracelet”) as direct object and deda (“mother”) as indirect object. Rezo becomes final indirect object and displaces the mother to indirect-object chômeur; the bracelet becomes final subject under a separate rule. Mapped back: the mother is earlier indirect-object holder, Rezo is successor to that relation, and the mother is later non-term. Surface marking alone cannot distinguish chômeur from emeritus in all inspected Georgian cases.[^ref-d65e028174f3]
Relationships to Other Abstractions¶
Current abstraction Chômeur Domain-specific
Parents (1) — more general patterns this builds on
-
Chômeur is a kind of Grammatical Relation Domain-specific
A chômeur is a Relational Grammar grammatical relation defined by displacement of a prior term holder.
Hierarchy path (1) — routes to 1 parentless root
- Chômeur → Grammatical Relation → Relation
Neighborhood in Abstraction Space¶
Chômeur sits in a sparse region of the domain-specific corpus (68th percentile for distinctiveness): few abstractions share its structure, so a faithful description tends to retrieve it precisely.
Family — Unclustered & Miscellaneous (2551 abstractions)
Nearest neighbors
- Subjacency — 0.84
- Folk Etymology — 0.84
- Adjunct (Grammar) — 0.84
- Cross-Serial Dependencies — 0.84
- Ship of Theseus — 0.83
Computed from structural-signature embeddings · 2026-10-08
Not to Be Confused With¶
An emeritus term is another retired relation that may resemble a chômeur on the Georgian surface but lacks the same Chomeur Law derivation. A passive by-phrase or oblique phrase may be evidence to examine, not the criterion. The advancing nominal is the successor, not the displaced chômeur. Live Grammatical Relation is the broader proposed strict parent; this entry adds the framework-specific same-relation displacement. Formal Syntax describes a rule-system approach, not the resulting nominal relation.[^ref-d65e028174f3]
References¶
[^ref-d65e028174f3]: Harris, Alice C. (1981), “Georgian Syntax, A Study in Relational Grammar”, Cambridge University Press; the printed book title uses a colon. Full original book scan inspected: Introduction §2.1, printed pp. 4–7 (PDF pp. 25–28); ch. 8 §2, printed pp. 118–120 (PDF pp. 139–141); ch. 11 §1, printed pp. 168–170 (PDF pp. 189–191). The scan's URL slug names another topic, but its title and copyright pages identify this book.