When is a noun string a phraseological unit ?

Abstract

The present article focuses on one small subset of the multi-faceted and complex phraseological universe, that of noun + noun formations. After discussing the various types of nominals and describing their semantic, lexical, psycholinguistic and functional characteristics, I analyze two sets of nominals drawn from two different textual varieties (a work of fiction and news articles from the daily press) and attempt to answer the following questions : is it possible to distinguish stable N+N constructions functioning as phraseological units from other types of nominals, either non-lexicalized ad hoc or fully transparent phrasal collocations, and on the basis of what criteria ? Do different types of nominals fulfill distinct functions in different contexts of use ? The hypothesis underlying this study is that the functional roles and stylistic properties of noun strings will provide more fruitful definitional criteria than semantic classifications, and I propose a functional classification of the N+N units drawn from the fictional text.