Center embedding

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In linguistics, center embedding refers to the process of embedding a phrase in the middle of another phrase of the same type. This often leads to difficulty with parsing which can't be explained on grammatical grounds. The most frequently used example involves embedding a relative clause inside another one as in:

A man that a woman loves $\Rightarrow$

A man that a woman that a child knows loves $\Rightarrow$

A man that a woman that a child that a bird saw knows loves $\Rightarrow$

A man that a woman that a child that a bird that I heard saw knows loves

In the theory of natural language parsing, the difficulty with multiple center embeddings is thought to arise from limitations of the human short term memory. In order to process multiple center embeddings, we have to store many subjects in order to connect them to their predicates.

The theory of natural language parsing also deals with garden path sentences, among other things.

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New speech disorder linguists contracted discovered!: A humorous example of excessive center embedding. The general gist is quite understandable, but the details of the relationships are hard to manage.