Diana Kukhar
Kamianets-Podilsky Ivan Ohiienko National University
Scientific Supervisor: O.V. Halaibida, PhD, Associate Professor
COLLOCATIONS IN MODERN LINGUISTICS
In modern linguistics, certain words frequently appear together in natural language use. J.R. Firth first brought attention to collocation and distinguished it from cognitive and semantic ideas of word-meaning, emphasizing its importance in generating meaning at the syntagmatic level. McCarthy defines collocations as “pairs of words that occur regularly together, with a high degree of probability” [9, p.5].
Linguists consider collocations in different aspects. Abu-Ssaydeh claims that the Lexis of a given language is not a random listing of words; rather, it is a grouping of interacting networks. Lexical items are complex entities, which enter into grammatical, stylistic and lexical relations with other members of the lexis. Therefore, the, effective use of a word will depend on a thorough understanding of the entire network of relations peculiar to the word [1, p.16]. Halliday and Sinclair believed that collocation could provide a lexical analysis of language independent of grammar, and saw it as part of the idiom principle rather than the open choice principle [6, p. 28].
Leech included “collocative” in his categories of meaning, but viewed it as an idiosyncratic property of individual words that does not contribute to generalizations. [7, p. 39]. However, Sinclair and Stubbs suggested that collocations play a crucial role in all linguistic levels. Haliday and Hasan consider collocation as lexical cohesion [5, p. 11]. Celce-Murcia refers to collocation as words come together or chunks that native speakers can access for comprehension or production [3, p. 12]. Similarly, Colin regarded collocation as the way words combine in a language to produce natural-sounding speech and writing [4, p. 5].
Collocations are categorized based on various criteria. One criterion is the semantic relationship between words or phrases in context. This classification results in three types of collocations: strong collocations, fixed collocations, and weak collocations. Strong collocations have a very close relationship between words, where they occur together frequently.
Fixed collocations are also known as idioms, which are expressions with a figurative meaning that cannot be inferred from their literal meaning. Weak collocations involve words that can be paired with other words, resulting in various meanings. For example, broad can be used with several words such as broad avenue, broad freedom, broad smile, broad clue, and so on [9, p.12].
Lexical collocations and grammar collocations are the two main categories into which collocations are divided by Benson [2 p. 3]
Lexical collocations are made up of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; grammatical collocations are made up of a noun, verb, or adjective coupled with a preposition or another grammatical construction, like an infinitive or a that clause.
As a result, every word in a language is a part of a network of linked lexical components that are connected to one another in grammatical, stylistic, and lexical ways. Collocation, which refers to the tendency for particular words to frequently occur together in natural language use, is an important aspect of all linguistic levels.
Lexical collocations
Verb + Noun (e.g., compose music; revoke a license)
Adjective + Noun (e.g., strong tea; rough estimate)
Noun + Verb (e.g., bees buzz; bombs explode)
Grammatical collocations Preposition + Noun (e.g., in advance, at anchor)
Adjective + Preposition (e.g., afraid of; interested in)
Noun + Infinitive (e.g., He was a fool to do it.) [2, p. 4]
Lewis enumerated additional categories of collocations using the same classification scheme, including the following: Adverb + Adjective (e.g., extremely inconvenient), Verb + Adjective + Noun (e.g., revise the original plan), Compound noun (e.g., fire escape), Binominal (e.g., backwards and forwards) [8, p. 24]
In conclusion, the term “collocation” refers to the tendency for specific words to frequently occur together in natural language use beyond what would be predicted based purely on syntax and semantics. It is considered to be a cohesive mechanism that only permits discussion in terms of probability and necessitates close proximity between collocating objects. A number of factors, including the semantic connection between words or phrases in context, are used to categorize collocations. Strong collocations, fixed collocations, and weak collocations are the three different kinds of collocations. All linguistic levels value collocation, which has a promising future in a variety of fields, including language instruction.
References
- Abu-Ssaydeh, A. F. (1995). An Arabic-English collocational dictionary. Issues in Theory and Methodology. Babel. 41 (1). pp.12-23.
- Benson, M., Benson, E., & Ilson, R. (1986). The BBI combinatory dictionary of English: A guide to word combinations. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
- Celce-Murcia, M. and Olshtain, E. (2000). Discourse and Context in Language Teaching. Cambridge: CUP.
- Colin, Mclntosh, Ben Francis and Richard Poole (2019). Oxford Collocations Dictionary for students of English. Oxford: OUP.
- Halliday, M. , and Hasan, R., (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman.
- Halliday, M., Robins, R.H. (eds.) In Memory of J.R. Firth. London:
- Leech, G. (1974). Semantics. London: Penguin.
- Lewis, M. (2000). Teaching Collocation. Further Developments in the Lexical
- O’Dell, F., McCarthy, M. (2008). English Collocations in Advanced Use. Cambridge University Press.
- Sinclair, J.M. (1966). Beginning the Study of Lexis.
- Yule, G. (1988). The Study of Language. Cambridge University Press.