Lexicology - Autumn 2004
Handout - week 6
COLLOCATIONS/WORD GROUPS. PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS. LEXICAL CHAINS.

Collocation -- the habitual, frequent co-occurrence or mutual
selection of lexical items.
Phrase -- a cluster of words smaller than a clause, forming a
grammatical unit. Such clusters are sometimes called groups.
Lexical phrases ( = sentence stems, composite forms, language
chunks) --
  -   polywords (function like individual lexemes: by the way,
     so to speak)
  -   institutionalized expressions (function as separate
     utterances; they are invariable, unseparable -- like polywords)
     (Have a nice day. Give me a break.)
  -   phrasal constraints (some variation possible: as far as I
     ___ , a ___ ago)
  -   sentence builders (considerable variation possible: not
     only ___, but also ___ ; let me begin by ___).
Idiom -- a sequence of words functioning as one lexeme. Its
meaning cannot be deduced by examining or adding up the
meanings of its constituent words. Idioms are fixed, both
grammatically and lexically.

Exercise 1:
How do the following adjectives collocate with the nouns?
Indicate normal collocations with a tick, doubtful or unusual
ones with a question mark, and unacceptable ones with a cross.
            problem      amount       shame        man
Large                                              
Great                                              
big                                                
Major                                              

                             (According to Michael
McCarthy: Vocabulary)
Exercise 2:
Which of the following groups of idioms would you label as
transparent, i.e. easy to understand without previously knowing
them, just from the meaning of their constituents, which would
be semi-transparent, and which opaque, i.e non-transparent?
What characterizes the second group?
         to be out of favour
         to give someone the gate
         to bring st. to light
to be like greased lightning
to grasp at straws
to be rolling in money
         salt of the earth
         no soap
         to rob the cradle
         to let up
                   to put sand in the wheels
                   to be a gone goose
                   to live on the fat of the land

Exercise 3:
What is the connection between an idiom and a metaphor? What is
the result of the process of semantic shift? How were the
idioms included in the following sentences formed?
His eyes are bigger than his belly.
I am all eyes.
At last, the company went belly up.
His fingers are all thumbs.
My mum has a green thumb.
Alisonīs family gave Terry the could shoulder.
Jews rub shoulders with Muslims and Orhodox Christians here.
Donīt talk to us with a chip on your shoulder!
That rings a bell.
Are you prepared to bell the cat?
His grandfather was eighty-six when he kicked off.
The paint wonīt come off.         How did you come off?
Come off it!
Am I my brotherīs keeper? (The Bible)
Beggars must not be choosers.

Lexical chains - in written and spoken discourses, vocabulary
items re-occur in different forms across boundaries (clause-,
sentence-, or turn-boundaries), creating regular patterns.
Exact repetition  x  reiteration/relexicalization
Negotiation of meaning - meanings become fixed in context by
the lexical environment created around them by the different
speakers or by a writer varying lexical choice.

Exercise 4:
How is the meaning negotiated in the following conversations
using lexical variation?

- I didnīt know he canīt speak English.
- Actually, he canīt speak any foreign language.

- She looks beautiful in the new dress.
- Yeah, she looks totally awesome!
- As pretty as a picture.

- And the people were very polite.
- Yes, not at all rude. Even the kids were well-behaved.

Exercise 5:
Find repetitions and relexicalizations in the written extract
and label them as exact repetition, synonym and superordinate:

BAGHDAD
A deal with a turbulent Shia and talks with rebel Sunnis offer
a chance of respite
Hundreds of gun owners have been converging on police stations
in Sadr City, the rebellious Shia slums of northeastern
Baghdad, to give up arms for cash. Some came with plastic bags
of rocket-launchers, others with carloads of mortar rounds. But
many others simply wanted to know the price they could get for
their private arsenals. Still, for the militiamen of Muqtada al-
Sadrīs Mahdi Army even to consider selling off their weapons
suggests they may not be bent on using them in the immediate
future against American troops or Iraqi police or soldiers
loyal to the interim government. Some militiamen admitted that
they hated to surrender the arms - a badge of honour for many
Iraqi families. But they said they had to obey Mr Sadr and turn
themselves from a fighting militia into a peaceful political
movement. If this actually happens, it will hugely buoy hopes
that Iraqīs government and its American backers can bring Iraq
to a more-or-less credible election in January.
Still, it is easy to be cynical about the arms deal. To qualify
to take part in the election, Mr Sadrīs lot must divest itself
of its militia - and arms. Yet even after he said he would
dissolve his Mahdi Army, American troops claim to have
uncovered arms caches in mosques loyal to the cleric. Some even
fear that under the arms deal Mr Sadrīs people may unload their
broken machineguns and rusty rockets , then use the cash to
stock up with newer weapons.