5. Idioms and collocations
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Christiane Fellbaum
Abstract
Idioms constitute a subclass of multi-word units that exhibit strong collocational preferences and whose meanings are at least partially non-compositional. Drawing on English and German corpus data, we discuss a number of lexical, syntactic, morphological and semantic properties of Verb Phrase idioms that distinguish them from freely composed phrases. The classic view of idioms as “long words” admits of little or no variation of a canonical form. Fixedness is thought to reflect semantic non-compositionality: the non-availability of semantic interpretation for some or all idiom constituents and the impossibility to parse syntactically ill-formed idioms block regular grammatical operations. However, corpus data testify to a wide range of discourse-sensitive flexibility and variation, weakening the categorical distinction between idioms and freely composed phrases. We cite data indicating that idioms are subject to the same diachronic developments as simple lexemes. Finally, we give a brief overview of psycholinguistic research into the processing of idioms and attempts to determine their representation in the mental lexicon.
Abstract
Idioms constitute a subclass of multi-word units that exhibit strong collocational preferences and whose meanings are at least partially non-compositional. Drawing on English and German corpus data, we discuss a number of lexical, syntactic, morphological and semantic properties of Verb Phrase idioms that distinguish them from freely composed phrases. The classic view of idioms as “long words” admits of little or no variation of a canonical form. Fixedness is thought to reflect semantic non-compositionality: the non-availability of semantic interpretation for some or all idiom constituents and the impossibility to parse syntactically ill-formed idioms block regular grammatical operations. However, corpus data testify to a wide range of discourse-sensitive flexibility and variation, weakening the categorical distinction between idioms and freely composed phrases. We cite data indicating that idioms are subject to the same diachronic developments as simple lexemes. Finally, we give a brief overview of psycholinguistic research into the processing of idioms and attempts to determine their representation in the mental lexicon.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1. Semantic features and primes 1
- 2. Frameworks of lexical decomposition of verbs 47
- 3. Thematic roles 99
- 4. Lexical Conceptual Structure 126
- 5. Idioms and collocations 152
- 6. Sense relations 172
- 7. Dual oppositions in lexical meaning 201
- 8. Ambiguity and vagueness: An overview 236
- 9. Semantic underspecification 272
- 10. Mismatches and coercion 321
- 11. Metaphors and metonymies 350
- 12. Adjectives 381
- 13. Comparison constructions 415
- 14. Adverbs and adverbials 477
- 15, Adverbial clauses 515
- 16. Secondary predicates 543
- Index 569
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1. Semantic features and primes 1
- 2. Frameworks of lexical decomposition of verbs 47
- 3. Thematic roles 99
- 4. Lexical Conceptual Structure 126
- 5. Idioms and collocations 152
- 6. Sense relations 172
- 7. Dual oppositions in lexical meaning 201
- 8. Ambiguity and vagueness: An overview 236
- 9. Semantic underspecification 272
- 10. Mismatches and coercion 321
- 11. Metaphors and metonymies 350
- 12. Adjectives 381
- 13. Comparison constructions 415
- 14. Adverbs and adverbials 477
- 15, Adverbial clauses 515
- 16. Secondary predicates 543
- Index 569
