Idiom Acquisition and Processing by Second/Foreign Language Learners

Abstract

Abstract Acquiring competence in figurative language is a challenging aspect of the second/foreign (L2) language learning process. A crucial component of figurative competence is the knowledge of idiomatic expressions. The present chapter focuses on the acquisition and processing of idioms by L2 learners. It first discusses the different dimensions along which idiomatic expressions vary and reviews theoretical accounts of the representation and processing of idioms by native language (L1) and L2 speakers. A parasitic mechanism of L2 idiom acquisition is suggested as the most plausible cognitive strategy in building the L2 figurative competence. Factors affecting L1 idiom processing such as idiom literal plausibility, semantic decomposability, salience, and context are analyzed, and their potential role in L2 idiomatic processing is discussed. In addition, factors uniquely relevant for L2 idiom acquisition and processing, such as cross-language similarity, are identified. Keywords : foreign language idioms, lexical acquisition, parasitism, second language figurative competence, second language idiom processing We have the ability to speak in riddles . . . We call these special riddles idioms . . . [W]e use them so readily that we are usually unaware of their special characterunless we have the misfortune not to be a native speaker (Johnson-Laird, 1993, p. x) The quote above captures the prevalence of figurative language in everyday communication. It also points to an important contrast between native and non-native speakers: While the former use figurative language effortlessly and mostly unconsciously, for non-native speakers, idioms often constitute a major stumbling block on their way toward achieving a full mastery in the foreign language or second language (L2).