Wray (language and communication, Cardiff U., Wales) was puzzled that intermediary and advanced students of a second language have more trouble using formulaic expressions correctly than do beginning students. Her investigation led her to reaffirm that native-speaker intuition is the best witness to the part of a lexicon that speakers use with the most creative flexibility. She warns that those who are committed to the notion that lexis, grammar, interaction, and discourse structure can be understood in mutual isolation will be disappointed. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
A considerable proportion of our everyday language is "formulaic". It is predictable in form and idiomatic--apparently stored in fixed or semi-fixed chunks. This book explores the nature and purposes of formulaic language, and looks for patterns across the research findings from the fields of discourse analysis, first language acquisition, language pathology and applied linguistics. It gradually builds up a unified description and explanation of formulaic language as a linguistic solution to a larger, non-linguistic, problem, the promotion of self.
Explores the nature of formulaic language.
