Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword
- Preface
- Section I Theoretical Implications
- 1 Embodiment in Metaphor and (Not?) in Bilingual Language
- 2 Is the Idiom Principle Blocked in Bilingual L2 Production?
- 3 Linking the Figurative to the Creative: Bilinguals’ Comprehension of Metaphors, Jokes, and Remote Associates
- Section II Methodological Approaches
- Section III Figurative Language Processing
- Section IV Cross-Linguistic Approaches and Applied Issues
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- References
2 - Is the Idiom Principle Blocked in Bilingual L2 Production?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2015
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword
- Preface
- Section I Theoretical Implications
- 1 Embodiment in Metaphor and (Not?) in Bilingual Language
- 2 Is the Idiom Principle Blocked in Bilingual L2 Production?
- 3 Linking the Figurative to the Creative: Bilinguals’ Comprehension of Metaphors, Jokes, and Remote Associates
- Section II Methodological Approaches
- Section III Figurative Language Processing
- Section IV Cross-Linguistic Approaches and Applied Issues
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- References
Summary
Abstract
This paper hypothesizes that the idiom principle (Sinclair, 1991) that drives word selection in monolinguals may be blocked in the second language (L2) of bilinguals and the open choice principle governs instead. In order to investigate the validity of this hypothesis a small corpus of non-native speaker – non-native speaker (lingua franca) communication is examined and compared to a similar study (Kecskes, 2007) where the bilingual speakers used their L2 (English). Based on the two studies we can conclude that the idiom principle is the most salient guiding mechanism in any language production. But it results in less formulaic language use in L2 than in the first language(L1) of bilinguals. This claim basically concurs with the findings of other studies (cf. Bolander, 1989; Pawley & Syder, 1983; Warga, 2008; Weinert, 1995), which also talked about the limited use of formulaic language in L2.
Keywords: idiom principle, bilingual idiom processing, formulaic language, psychological salience, second language idiom processing, lingua franca
Based on the findings of some studies that argued that even advanced second language (L2) users have difficulty with formulaic language (Ellis, Simpson-Vlach, & Carson, 2008; Kecskes, 2007; Prodromou 2008; Warga, 2005), this paper hypothesizes that the idiom principle (Sinclair, 1991) that drives word selection in monolinguals may be blocked in the L2 of bilinguals and the open choice principle governs instead. In order to investigate the validity of this hypothesis, a small corpus of non-native speaker - non-native speaker (lingua franca) communication is examined where the bilingual speakers use their L2 (English).
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- Chapter
- Information
- Bilingual Figurative Language Processing , pp. 28 - 52Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015
References
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