Representation and Processing of Multi-Word Expressions in First and Second Language Speakers

Abstract

Multi-word expressions (henceforth, MWEs) are familiar, conventional sequences of two or more words in length. Common examples of MWEs include collocations (e.g., provide service, helping hand), binomials (e.g., bride and groom, research and development), lexical bundles (e.g., in line with, contrary to), idioms (e.g., tie the knot, spill the beans), proverbs (e.g., better late than never, early bird catches the worm), and other phrasal elements. MWEs vary vastly in their properties, but what they have in common is that proficient language users recognize them as familiar, conventional sequences. Because MWEs are familiar, established, and predictable ways of expressing thoughts and ideas, they render our discourse natural, idiomatic, and easily comprehensible. As has been shown in the literature, it is easier and more efficient to acquire and use language in chunks rather than having to create word combinations anew. Chunking has been recognized as an important strategy in linguistic processing, necessary for smooth and efficient language comprehension and production. MWEs have been of interest to scholars from a range of related disciplines—theoretical and applied linguistics, computational and corpus linguistics, psycholinguistics and cognitive science, neurolinguistics, and clinical linguistics. As a result, MWEs have been studied from a variety of distinct yet complementary perspectives that probed their acquisition, on-line processing (comprehension and production), and use by first (L1) and second (L2) language speakers, adults and children, as well as individuals with language disorders. These complementary approaches have painted an extremely detailed picture of MWEs as a complex linguistic phenomenon. The perspective covered in the present article will largely center on the cognitive and psycholinguistic properties and realities of MWEs, with a particular focus on MWE representation and on-line processing (that is, processing happening in real time).