Identifying formulaic language: persistent challenges and new opportunities

Wray, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2144-4458 2009. Identifying formulaic language: persistent challenges and new opportunities. Corrigan, Roberta L., Moravcsik, Edith A., Oulali, Hamid and Wheatley, Kathleen M., eds. Formulaic Language: Distribution and Historical Change, Vol. 1. Typological Studies in Language, vol. 82. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 27-52.

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Abstract

Identifying examples of formulaic language in text is a non-trivial challenge, but the difficulties can be much alleviated by the use of an appropriate definition. Three types of definition are distinguished. Type (i) lays out an analytic working space. Type (ii) derives from an analysis and represents a theoretical position. Type (iii) locates examples for subsequent analysis. Examples of each type are discussed. Extreme examples of formulaicity (pre-memorized material, political slogans and military bugle calls) are then used to explore the boundaries of the definition of formulaicity as morpheme-equivalence. Addressing the question ‘Do formulaic sequences constrain expression?’ reveals the inherent tension between novelty and formulaicity in balancing processing parsimony and the need to respond appropriately in unique communicative events.

Item Type:	Book Section
Status:	Published
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Publisher:	John Benjamins
ISBN:	9789027229953
Related URLs:	Publisher
Last Modified:	18 Oct 2022 12:57
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/11779

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