1. Introduction

Explored the discrete infinity feature of human language, emphasized the key role of recursion mechanism in language formation, and pointed out that appositive clause structure is one of the common recursive structures in English. Although the "recursive only hypothesis" is controversial, the universality of recursive structures in English cannot be ignored. The article analyzes academic English texts and reveals two ways of constructing complex appositive clause structures: marginal component recursion and core component recursion, as well as their similarities and differences.

2. The form and function of appositive clauses

The appositive clause has an appositive or equivalent relationship with the antecedent, and is divided into restrictive and non restrictive types. It has noun characteristics and is a noun clause. The antecedent summarizes the content of the clause and has a general meaning, while the clause expresses specific concepts. The antecedent of appositive clauses is usually a general abstract noun, such as fact, idea, etc., and usually contains a definite article. There are no empty arguments within the clause, forming a co referential relationship with the antecedent. The appositive clause can undergo sentence structure conversion with the subject complement clause, also known as the noun complement clause. Unlike relative clauses, the latter have empty arguments inside and involve referential relationships.

3. Basic concepts

In depth exploration of the concept of recursion in linguistics and its application in the structure of English appositive clauses. The definition and understanding of recursion, as the core mechanism of language generation, have always been controversial in the academic community. Chomsky's interpretation of recursion has changed at different times, from the closed loop in the initial finite state syntax, to the infinite merging in the simplest scheme era, and to the idea of simplest recursion, which is seen as enumerating discrete objects through finite programs. G ö del's definition of recursive functions emphasizes the characteristics of calling within the function body, which is reflected in the syntactic structure as recursively defining subsequent structures based on the previous structure. Recursion and extension are not mutually exclusive, but rather analyze problems from different perspectives. Martins u0026 Fitch distinguishes between three types of operations: iteration, nesting, and recursion, where recursion specifically refers to nesting between components of the same category. Recursive types include marginal component recursion and core component recursion. The former involves the marginal component constantly calling the rule itself, while the latter requires the core component to constantly self call. Chomsky believes that a closed loop itself does not constitute recursion, and true recursion comes from the self calling of the core components. In addition, the nesting method of clauses also affects the recursive method, including start nesting, center nesting, and end nesting, which determine the position and function of clauses in the parent clause.

4. Recursive pattern of English appositive clause structure

In depth exploration of the recursive patterns of English appositive clause structures, including their recursive properties, rewriting rules, and their applications in actual texts. There is a co referential relationship between appositive clauses and antecedents, but in grammar, as modifiers of noun phrases, it forms a dominant subordinate relationship. This relationship is manifested in formal rules as nested computation, i.e. recursion. English appositive clauses are usually postpositive, and their structure can be represented by specific formal rules.

5. Conclusion

The analysis reveals that the generation of English appositive clause structures relies on two methods: marginal component recursion and core component recursion, with core component recursion having a stronger ability to generate. Both recursive methods have the property of right-hand iteration, jointly constructing complex structures to meet communication needs.