Lexical priming and register variation
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Tony Berber Sardinha
Abstract
Lexical priming predicts that repeated encounters with lexical patterns will prime users for register awareness (Hoey 2013: 3344). To verify this prediction, this chapter reports on a study that determined the dimensions of collocation in American English, which are the parameters underlying the use of collocations in spoken and written text. The method was inspired by the multidimensional framework for register variation analysis introduced by Biber in the 1980s. The corpus used was the 450-million-word Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA, 1990–2012 version). The most characteristic collocations of each register in COCA (spoken [American radio and television programs], magazine, newspaper, academic, and fiction) were computed using the logDice coefficient (Rychly 2008). These were then entered in a factor analysis, which yielded the statistical groupings of collocation across the registers. Nine dimensions were identified and are described in this chapter. The relationship between collocation and register was tested statistically through the dimensions, and the results suggested that register could predict the collocations (via the dimensions) between 39% and 67% of the time, which seems to lend support to the hypothesis that users are primed for register, as far as AmE collocations are concerned.
Abstract
Lexical priming predicts that repeated encounters with lexical patterns will prime users for register awareness (Hoey 2013: 3344). To verify this prediction, this chapter reports on a study that determined the dimensions of collocation in American English, which are the parameters underlying the use of collocations in spoken and written text. The method was inspired by the multidimensional framework for register variation analysis introduced by Biber in the 1980s. The corpus used was the 450-million-word Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA, 1990–2012 version). The most characteristic collocations of each register in COCA (spoken [American radio and television programs], magazine, newspaper, academic, and fiction) were computed using the logDice coefficient (Rychly 2008). These were then entered in a factor analysis, which yielded the statistical groupings of collocation across the registers. Nine dimensions were identified and are described in this chapter. The relationship between collocation and register was tested statistically through the dimensions, and the results suggested that register could predict the collocations (via the dimensions) between 39% and 67% of the time, which seems to lend support to the hypothesis that users are primed for register, as far as AmE collocations are concerned.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction xi
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Part I. Discourse analysis
- Cohesion and coherence in a content-specific corpus 3
- A corpus-based investigation into English representations of Turks and Ottomans in the early modern period 41
- Forced lexical primings in transdiscoursive political messaging 67
- Can lexical priming be detected in conversation turn-taking strategies? 93
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Part II. Similes, synonymy and metaphors
- Lexical priming and the selection and sequencing of synonyms 121
- Lexical priming and metaphor – Evidence of nesting in metaphoric language 141
- Teaching near-synonyms more effectively 163
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Part III. Collocations, associations and priming
- Lexical priming and register variation 189
- Colligational effects of collocation 231
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Part IV. Language learning and teaching
- Lexical and morphological priming 253
- Concordancing lexical primings 273
- Notes on authors 297
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction xi
-
Part I. Discourse analysis
- Cohesion and coherence in a content-specific corpus 3
- A corpus-based investigation into English representations of Turks and Ottomans in the early modern period 41
- Forced lexical primings in transdiscoursive political messaging 67
- Can lexical priming be detected in conversation turn-taking strategies? 93
-
Part II. Similes, synonymy and metaphors
- Lexical priming and the selection and sequencing of synonyms 121
- Lexical priming and metaphor – Evidence of nesting in metaphoric language 141
- Teaching near-synonyms more effectively 163
-
Part III. Collocations, associations and priming
- Lexical priming and register variation 189
- Colligational effects of collocation 231
-
Part IV. Language learning and teaching
- Lexical and morphological priming 253
- Concordancing lexical primings 273
- Notes on authors 297
- Index 303
