Chapter 1. Familiar phrases in language competence
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Diana Van Lancker Sidtis
Abstract
Under the umbrella term of “familiar phrases,” this paper presents an overview of current understanding of formulaic language, categorizing the phenomena, for heuristic reasons, as formulaic expressions (idioms, proverbs, conversational speech formulas, expletives), lexical bundles (sentence stems, conventional expressions, discourse organizers), and collocations (a range of other unitary, multiword expressions). These exemplars share the features of cohesion and familiarity: they are known and recognized by speakers of a language, and stored in mental representation with their concomitant features of structure, phonetic and prosodic shape, meaning, and use. This tripartite grouping of expressions can be differentiated in terms of nuance, role of frequency, and degree of cohesion. These characteristics lead to new conceptions of memory capacity. Examples from everyday observations and from the media, revealing cohesion and knowledge of typical expressions and their characteristics, are included along with linguistic and psychological studies to support various views of the similarities and differences between these classes of familiar phrases. Revised views of the processes involved in acquisition of FPs are also considered. Performance by persons with neurological disorders reveals specific effects on production of formulaic expressions and lexical bundles, suggesting not only that novel and familiar language are modulated by different brain structures, but that subclasses of FPs may be differently represented. Linguistic, psychological, and neurolinguistic evidence converge to a dual-process model of language, whereby grammatical, newly created and unitary, familiar phrases are acquired and processed according to different cerebral mechanisms.
Abstract
Under the umbrella term of “familiar phrases,” this paper presents an overview of current understanding of formulaic language, categorizing the phenomena, for heuristic reasons, as formulaic expressions (idioms, proverbs, conversational speech formulas, expletives), lexical bundles (sentence stems, conventional expressions, discourse organizers), and collocations (a range of other unitary, multiword expressions). These exemplars share the features of cohesion and familiarity: they are known and recognized by speakers of a language, and stored in mental representation with their concomitant features of structure, phonetic and prosodic shape, meaning, and use. This tripartite grouping of expressions can be differentiated in terms of nuance, role of frequency, and degree of cohesion. These characteristics lead to new conceptions of memory capacity. Examples from everyday observations and from the media, revealing cohesion and knowledge of typical expressions and their characteristics, are included along with linguistic and psychological studies to support various views of the similarities and differences between these classes of familiar phrases. Revised views of the processes involved in acquisition of FPs are also considered. Performance by persons with neurological disorders reveals specific effects on production of formulaic expressions and lexical bundles, suggesting not only that novel and familiar language are modulated by different brain structures, but that subclasses of FPs may be differently represented. Linguistic, psychological, and neurolinguistic evidence converge to a dual-process model of language, whereby grammatical, newly created and unitary, familiar phrases are acquired and processed according to different cerebral mechanisms.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- The brain and the mind behind grammar 1
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Part I. Dualistic approaches to language and cognition
- Chapter 1. Familiar phrases in language competence 29
- Chapter 2. Dual process frameworks on reasoning and linguistic discourse 59
- Chapter 3. Language activity in the light of cerebral hemisphere differences 91
- Chapter 4. Dual processing in a functional-cognitive theory of grammar and its neurocognitive basis 133
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Part II. Dualistic approaches to the analysis of forms and structures in languages
- Chapter 5. Dichotomous or continuous? 159
- Chapter 6. The semantics, syntax and prosody of adverbs in English 191
- Chapter 7. Formulaic language and Discourse Grammar 233
- Chapter 8. Local and global structures in discourse and interaction 267
- Chapter 9. Agreement Groups and dualistic syntactic processing 309
- Index 355
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- The brain and the mind behind grammar 1
-
Part I. Dualistic approaches to language and cognition
- Chapter 1. Familiar phrases in language competence 29
- Chapter 2. Dual process frameworks on reasoning and linguistic discourse 59
- Chapter 3. Language activity in the light of cerebral hemisphere differences 91
- Chapter 4. Dual processing in a functional-cognitive theory of grammar and its neurocognitive basis 133
-
Part II. Dualistic approaches to the analysis of forms and structures in languages
- Chapter 5. Dichotomous or continuous? 159
- Chapter 6. The semantics, syntax and prosody of adverbs in English 191
- Chapter 7. Formulaic language and Discourse Grammar 233
- Chapter 8. Local and global structures in discourse and interaction 267
- Chapter 9. Agreement Groups and dualistic syntactic processing 309
- Index 355
