On the Phraseology of Spoken English: The Evidence of Recurrent Word-Combinations

Abstract Phraseology is a fuzzy part of language. Although most of us would agree that it embraces the conventional rather than the productive or rule-governed side of language, involving various kinds of composite units and ‘pre-patterned’ expressions such as idioms, fixed phrases, and collocations, we find it difficult to delimit the area and classify the different types involved. Indeed, as Pawley and Syder (1983) and others have pointed out, the existence of a large number of more or less prefabricated expressions in language blurs the distinction between lexicon and grammar and strongly suggests that ‘lexicalization and productivity are matters of degree’ rather than a clear-cut dichotomy. This state of affairs creates problems of description for both the empirical and the theoretical linguist, at the same time as it provides a challenge to anyone who wants to get a better understanding of language and language use.