Multi-word Lexical Units Research Articles

(Slovenska) leksika med leksikonom in slovnico

The article deals with a field labelled in linguistics as a “grey area” between lexical or semantic and syntactic problem areas in language. Our conclusions are based on the recognition that it is impossible to separate lexical knowledge from grammatical knowledge, and that lexical units are, in this sense, equally loaded with the meaning and syntactic potential of language. Taking this as a point of departure, we propose procedures, by compiling Word Sketches for Slovene within the Word Sketch Engine, for the syntactic and semantic identification of multi-word lexical units within the boundaries of the relevant context.

Lexicalisation of Polish and English word combinations: an empirical study

AbstractOne of the main research questions concerning multi-word expressions (MWEs) is which of them are transparent word combinations createdad hocand which are multi-word lexical units (MWUs). In this paper, we use selected corpus-linguistic and machine-learning methods to determine which lexicalization criteria guide Polish and English lexicographers in deciding which MWEs (bigrams such as adjective+noun and noun+noun combinations) should be treated as lexical units recorded in dictionaries as MWUs. We analyzed two samples: MWEs extracted from Polish and English monolingual dictionaries, and those created by the annotators, and tested two custom-designed criteria, i.e., intuition and paraphrase, also by using statistical methods (measures of collocational strength: PMI and Jaccard). We revealed that Polish lexicographers have a tendency not to include compositional MWEs as lexical entries in their dictionaries and that the criteria of paraphrase and intuition are important for them: if MWEs are not clearly and unambiguously paraphrasable and compositional, then they are recorded in dictionaries. We found that in contrast to Polish lexicographers English lexicographers tend to record also compositional and partly compositional MWEs.

Colocaciones sensoriales: el tacto y el dominio del intelecto

In this paper, I ponder on the connection between the sense of touch, generally associated with the expression of emotion, and some mental activities related to the notions of knowledge or intellection. This connection has been previously considered in different contexts: Cultural History of the Senses, Philosophy, Cognitive Linguistics and, in particular, Sensory Linguistics. The main objective is to find out how this correlation manifests linguistically in Spanish producing multi-word lexical units, specifically collocations. I thus try to determine which lexical units linked to touch make up the structure of these collocations and what types of tactile properties are related to these units. Considering the data extracted from the combinatory dictionary REDES, the existence of «tactile» collocations representing the materialization of the perception metaphor understanding is touching has been verified. The conclusion reached is that the sense of touch is a productive source domain in the Spanish language, becoming the basis for the creation of a large number of collocations linked to the domain of meta intellect.

Modyfikacje znaczenia i walencji związków frazeologicznych jako mechanizm frazeotwórczy

The article deals with the semantic and valence modifications of three phraseological units: leżeć i kwiczeć, mieć na pieńku and grać pierwsze skrzypce. Initially, these units were connected with personal nouns only and appeared in the multi-word lexical units ktoś leży i kwiczy (‘someone is in a predicament, has no choice’), ktoś ma z kimś na pieńku (‘someone wants to complain about something to somebody, someone bears a grudge against someone) and ktoś gra pierwsze skrzypce (‘someone controls, leads or makes decisions’). Eventually, new phrasemes appeared due to the enrichment ofmeaning of the units and modification of their semantic and selective valency: coś leży i kwiczy (‘something does not work, neither develops nor evolves, does not meet requirements or expectations’), ktoś ma z czymś na pieńku (‘someone does not follow the rules, does not act accordingly or acceptably’) and coś gra pierwsze skrzypce (‘something is most important or dominating, something is in a controlling position’). The research proved that the process of the appearance of these lexical units was facilitated by the language users’ tendency to forget the motivation of the units and the evo-lution of their semantics towards the content which would enable connectivity with impersonal nouns.

Streitgegenstand der Phraseologie(-forschung): Einwortphraseme, Einwortidiome und noch mehr?

One-word phrases, one-word idioms and what else? The subject of the phraseology dispute Although phrasemes comprise a group of multi-word lexical units, nearly 50 years ago it was postulated that one-word phrases (such as compounds) should also be included, which continues to be a subject of dispute in phraseology. In German, such one-word phrases are referred to as Einwortphraseme or Einwortidiome, the terms being used synonymously. This paper points out the heterogeneity of the group of one-word phrases, which results from the fact that not only idioms are the basis for their formation, but so are collocations and other non-idiomatic phrases. This paper proposes a broader approach to the concept of Einwortphraseme, identifies new one-word phrases, undescribed so far, and suggests their new classification.

‘Who would have thought that I’d ever know that!’: subject-specific vocabulary in CLIL student interactions

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), an educational approach where a foreign language is used to teach non-language subjects. More specifically, this contribution presents new insights into an under-researched area, namely the potential of CLIL in fostering the learning and use of subject-specific target language vocabulary (SSV). This is investigated in a case study analysing spontaneous oral classroom productions of two groups of advanced, secondary-school students in an Austrian CLIL programme within the subject European economics and politics. Based on a holistic definition of SSV comprising both single and multi-word lexical units, complementary quantitative lexical and qualitative discourse-embedded research methods are employed to present a comprehensive picture of the engagement of learners with subject-specific vocabulary. Findings of the lexical analysis show a substantial and active use of SSV with some homogeneity but also considerable variation between students. Discursive investigations of the affordances for learning arising in interactions indicate that in constructing and negotiating SSV, the students make use of a range of learning and communication strategies, which indicates their heightened level of SSV learning awareness.

FRANSUZ MATBUOTIDA FRAZEOLOGIK BIRLIKLARNING ISHLATILISHI

Phraseology is the focus of many linguists, and scholars who have studied the field have differing views on phraseological units. Phraseology is the study of set or fixed expressions, such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and other types of multi-word lexical units , in which the component parts of the expression take on a meaning more specific than or otherwise not predictable from the sum of their meanings when used independently. This article focuses on the semantic-pragmatic analysis of phraseological units commonly used in the French press.

Corpus-based Analysis of Lexicosemantic Behaviour of Nervous System Diseases Names

Terminology represents a significant factor in healthcare communication between specialists and patients. The present paper deals with the lexicosemantic characteristics of multi-word lexical units multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, epidural abscess, Huntington’s chorea, and carpal tunnel syndrome. The research questions focus on collocations, word combinations, and concordances in which they regularly appear; the first lemma to the left and the first lemma to the right from the studied lexeme demonstrate the principal positions of our interest. Simultaneously, the researcher considers their semantic restrictions, semantic prosody, and grammatical relations that influence their lexical features. The whole linguistic material is investigated in the framework of the text corpus English Web 2015 (enTenTen15) with the help of the search tool Sketch Engine. To begin the research, the frequencies of these lexical units are elaborated. The researcher also looks into the morphological classification of the studied words as these two factors affect them from the lexicological perspective. The research outcomes confirm that the nervous disease names appear in a wide range of structures, and they considerably contribute to successful communication in the medical surroundings. Moreover, the results indicate that the lexicosemantic behaviour of the terms reflects extralinguistic factors (psychological, social) of individual communication acts. The phenomenon is to be further examined and interpreted within the corpus analyses of other chosen lexical units, not only from the field of medicine. Eventually, the researcher outlines possible pedagogical implications of the research results in the process of teaching English.

Defining collocation for Slovenian lexical resources

In this paper, we define the notion of collocation for the purpose of its use in machine-readable language resources, which will be used in the creation of electronic dictionaries and language applications for Slovene. Based on theoretical and lexicographically-driven studies we define collocation as a lexical phenomenon, defined by three key aspects: statistical, syntactic, and semantic. We take lexicographic relevance as a point of departure for defining collocations within the typology of word combinations, as well as for distinguishing them from free combinations. Free combinations are (frequent) syntactically valid word combinations without lexicographic value and consequently there is no need for the description of their meaning, or syntactic role. Next, we distinguish collocations from all multiword lexical units (compounds, phraseological units and lexico-grammatical units) using the lexicographic view that multiword lexical units, whose meaning is not a sum of its parts, require a description of their meaning whereas collocations do not. In the final part, we return to the three aspects of collocation and their role in automatic extraction of collocational information from corpora. Semantic criterion or dictionary relevance of extracted collocations has particularly exposed the problem of semantically broad collocates such as certain types of adverbs, adjectives and verbs, and word which feature in different syntactic roles (e.g. pronouns and adjuncts). We discuss a particular issue of collocations related to proper names and the decisions about their inclusion into the dictionary based on the evaluation of lexicographers.

Teaching Multi-Word Lexical Units in English for Specific Purposes

Teaching Multi-Word Lexical Units in English for Specific Purposes

Multi-word Lexical Units in General Monolingual Explanatory Dictionaries of Slavic languages

V članku obravnavamo tipologijo večbesednih leksikalnih enot v enojezičnih splošnih razlagalnih slovarjih petih slovanskih jezikov (slovenskem, hrvaškem, slovaškem, poljskem in ruskem) in njihovo umestitev v slovarsko makro- oz. mikrostrukturo. Analiza je pokazala, da so večbesedne leksikalne enote v teh slovarjih najpogosteje obravnavane na mikrostrukturni ravni, izjema je le najnovejši poljski enojezični splošni razlagalni slovar, tipološko enake ali podobne večbesedne leksikalne enote pa so opisane v različnih mikrostrukturnih razdelkih slovarjev, najpogosteje med slovarskimi zgledi in v specializiranih mikrostrukturnih razdelkih. Razlike v opisu večbesednih leksikalnih enot se kažejo tudi z vidika medija, za katerega je slovar primarno oblikovan – v novejših slovarjih, namenjenih rabi v spletnem okolju in drugih digitalnih okoljih, ki temeljijo na strukturiranih računalniško berljivih podatkovnih bazah, so večbesedne leksikalne enote razumljene kot enobesednim leksikalnim enotam enakovredne enote, ki potrebujejo sistematičen in celovit slovarski opis. Pri njihovem opisu so zato načeloma navedeni vsi tisti slovarski podatki, ki jih dodajamo tudi enobesednim leksikalnim enotam. To spremembo je obenem mogoče pripisati tudi razvoju leksikologije, leksikografije in metaleksikografije. Seveda na obravnavo večbesednih leksikalnih enot zlasti v najnovejših slovarjih vplivajo tudi uporabniške zahteve in možnost vključitve slovarskih virov v večje jezikovne portale, celovita obravnava teh enot pa je smiselna tudi z vidika uporabe slovarskih podatkov za jezikoslovne raziskave in za razvoj jezikovnih tehnologij oz. pri procesiranju naravnih jezikov. Članek se osredotoča tudi na večbesedne leksikalne enote v eSSKJ: tretji izdaji Slovarja slovenskega knjižnega jezika, najnovejšem enojezičnem razlagalnem slovarju slovenščine, v katerem so te enote obravnavane kot relativno samostojne enote, opisane na podoben način kot enobesedne leksikalne enote.

Capturing technical terms in spoken CLIL

AbstractContent and language integrated learning (CLIL), an educational approach using a foreign language to teach non-language subjects, has been consistently gaining in popularity. Despite an increasing research base suggesting its benefits for general language proficiency, the contribution made to learning and using subject-specific target language elements is largely under-researched. This paper addresses one aspect of this, i.e. students’ use of subject-specific vocabulary in CLIL classroom communication. We propose a holistic model for identifying both single and multi-word lexical units specific to the school subject in oral classroom data, integrating corpus-linguistic and qualitative data analysis. The method is trialled using a data set of 16 hours of secondary-school CLIL classroom data within the subject of European economics and politics in Year 12. Findings show that a holistic definition of subject-specific vocabulary is vital, and that the model constitutes an adequate and flexible tool for specifying CLIL terminology in oral classroom discourse.

Is All Formulaic Language Created Equal? Unpacking the Processing Advantage for Different Types of Formulaic Sequences.

Research into recurrent, highly conventionalized "formulaic" sequences has shown a processing advantage compared to "novel" (non-formulaic) language. Studies of individual types of formulaic sequence often acknowledge the contribution of specific factors, but little work exists to compare the processing of different types of phrases with fundamentally different properties. We use eye-tracking to compare the processing of three types of formulaic phrases-idioms, binomials, and collocations-and consider whether overall frequency can explain the advantage for all three, relative to control phrases. Results show an advantage, as evidenced through shorter reading times, for all three types. While overall phrase frequency contributes much of the processing advantage, different types of phrase do show additional effects according to the specific properties that are relevant to each type: frequency, familiarity, and decomposability for idioms; predictability and semantic association for binomials; and mutual information for collocations. We discuss how the results contribute to our understanding of the representation and processing of multiword lexical units more broadly.

Evaluating the efficacy of yes-no checklist tests to assess knowledge of multi-word lexical units

One of the many challenges facing Japanese university students studying English is the multi-word phrase. The English language contains a large number of such multiple-word items, which act as single words with a single meaning. This study is concerned with evaluating the efficacy of yes/no checklist tests to assess knowledge of multi-word units. Participants (n = 206) took a yes-no test of 30 real words and 15 pseudowords. The 30 real words were selected from the students’ textbook, based on the teacher’s intuition of the words and multi-words posing the greatest learning burden for the students. Twenty-one of the selected words were single-word items. The remaining nine were multi-words, such as “get up” and “take turns”. Forty-five minutes following completion of the yes-no test, an English to Japanese translation test of the same 30 real words was taken by the same participants to evaluate the efficacy of yes/no test. Results suggest that the yes-no vocabulary test format may be able to measure student knowledge of multi-word lexical units as (or more) effectively than single-word units.

Leksikografska interpretacija višečlanih leksičkih jedinica u Rečnicima prizrensko¬ ¬timočkih dijalekata i pitanje njihovog statusa kao posebnih odrednica/Lexicographic interpretation of multiword lexical units in dictionaries of the Prizren–Timok dialect

This article examines the lexicographic interpretation of multiword lexical units in a dictionary of the Prizren–Timok dialect area and the justification for presenting these units as special headwords. Various lexicographic models for processing these are analyzed, and examples of the most frequent cases that deviate most from the lexicographic norm are commented on. The results of the analysis call for a different approach to processing multiword lexical units in order to harmonize dialect lexicography with the lexicographic norm and with lexicographic principles to the extent permitted by the dialect, as well as to reduce the size of the dictionary.

Distributional analysis applied to terminology extraction

This paper presents the first results of a new method for terminology extraction based on distributional analysis. The intuition behind the algorithm is that single or multi-word lexical units that refer to specialised concepts will show a characteristic co-occurrence pattern, described as a tendency to appear in the same contexts with other conceptually related terms. E.g. the term fluoxetine will systematically appear in the same sentences with other related terms such as depression, serotonin reuptake inhibitor, obsessive–compulsive disorder and others. Of course, terms will co-occur with general vocabulary units as well, but not with a characteristic pattern as when a conceptual relation holds. Experimental evaluation of this method was conducted in a corpus of psychiatry journals from Spain and Latin America, and concluded that the results are significantly better than other methods.

A contrastive analysis of dar ‘give’ in English and Brazilian Portuguese: semantic-syntactic relationships and implications for L2 instruction

In recent years, research on multiword lexical units has influenced second language acquisition research, but little work has been done on light verbs, especially comparing the use of light verbs in English and Brazilian Portuguese. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the syntactic and semantic aspects of dar and ‘give’ through the semantic continuum, event type, denominal verbs and incorporation. This study finds that distinct and varied semantic uses of light verbs present a unique challenge to second language learners in terms of both their understanding and their production. Furthermore, this study analyzes the semantic-syntactic interrelationships and suggests implications for teaching English and Portuguese light verbs to second language learners.

Multiword Modifiers in some Romance languages. Semantic formats and syntactic templates

AbstractThis paper focuses on a specific type of Multiword Expressions, particularly widespread in Italian as well as in other Romance languages: Multiword Modifiers, i.e. prepositional phrases functioning as modifiers of a noun (Multiword Adjectives) and of a verb (Multiword Adverbs). Exploiting both syntactic and semantic analysis, this paper explores the hypothesis that Multiword Modifiers are formed on the basis of regular syntactic templates, which can structure and organize the semantic information associated with words. In this perspective, after a brief presentation of Multiword Lexical Units and the class of Multiword Modifiers, the methodology and the general theoretical framework of this study will be explained. The last section is devoted to the analysis of some semantic relations frequently fulfilled by Multiword Modifiers of Italian, French and Spanish. This investigation aims at demonstrating that all Romance languages considered make a regular use of this kind of analytical resource in adjectival or adverbial function, showing similar patterns and syntactic templates.

The Role of Construct State in Multi-Word Lexical Units Formation in Arabic

As times change and new concepts become part of our reality, Arabic, just like any other language, is facing the challenge of building new lexical units into its vocabulary. However, its word formation system, relying heavily on derivation based on root and pattern system, characteristic of Semitic languages, defies the use of affixation, conversion and compounding as major word formation methods in English and other Indo-European languages. Although there are some examples of affixation and compounding in Modern Standard Arabic, their use remains largely limited, with blurred boundaries in linguistic description between the two and the Arabic equivalent of blending, i.e. naḥt. Therefore concepts expressed by compounds in other languages are usually rendered by the construct state or annexation construction in Arabic. Still, such structures manifest a high degree of variation in terms of their lexicalization and semantic compositionality, thus ranging from free word combinations to multi-word lexical units. The paper focuses on description of lexicalized non-compositional instances of Arabic construct state, including examples from Modern Standard Arabic, as well as a phenomenon dating from Classical Arabic. In addition to analysis of syntactic and semantic structure of Arabic construct state multi-word lexical units, based on which they are divided into several classes, discussion centers on different stylistic mechanisms operative in formation of their meaning. Keywords: Arabic, lexical, units, formation, construct, state.

Towards a lexicographic account of GIRL: forms, meanings and values

Summary Lexicography is basically concerned with the meaning and use of words. In recent times, lexicographers have investigated not only the meanings of words in their mutual systemic relations (e.g., synonymy, antonymy, hoponymy etc.), but modern lexicographic research has extended its interest into the area of studying the way words are used and, in particular, how lexical associations are used and how various meanings linked to individual lexical items are reflected in the areas of their word-formation; phraseological and paremiological productivity of lexicography is, therefore, directly connected to phraseology because the target of both disciplines is to investigate sets of fixed expressions (idioms, phrasal verbs, etc.) and other types of multi-word lexical units. This paper makes an attempt to make an in-depth lexicographic account of the lexical item girl and its productivity, as evidenced in lexicographic sources. Our sample data may provide a starting point for producing an alternative reference work for non-native learners of English.