Research on collocations in the Croatian language has mostly been directed towards issues relating to linguistics and lexicography, while research on their use is scarce and mostly directed towards second language speakers (Burić & Lasić, 2012; Ordulj, 2016; Petrović, 2007). This paper brings forth the results of research on the use of collocations among native speakers of the Croatian language. Based on the corpus analysis of characteristics of collocations and investigation of native Croatian language speakers, the influence of two factors on the use of collocations was researched: frequency of collocations and associative strength of collocation elements. The use of collocations in a morphologically unmarked form (nominative) and in dependent cases, along with their use in the narrower and broader context was researched. The research results indicate that the key factors for using collocations by native speakers are factors of frequency and associative strength, while the morphological form of the collocation is irrelevant to native speakers. The research also showed stronger influence of context on the use of less frequent collocations and weaker associative strength from the use of collocations of high frequency and strong associative strength. The results obtained are relevant for understanding general processes in the acquisition of the Croatian language as the mother tongue and suggest a starting point for considering more efficient ways of teaching the Croatian language. Key words: associative strength of collocation; frequency; context; mother tongue attainment. ---SažetakIstraživanja kolokacija u hrvatskome jeziku uglavnom su usmjerena na njihov lingvistički opis i leksikografsku problematiku, a istraživanja njihove uporabe rijetka su i uglavnom usmjerena na inojezične govornike (Petrović, 2007, Burić i Lasić, 2012, Ordulj, 2016). U ovome se radu donose rezultati istraživanja uporabe kolokacija kod izvornih govornika hrvatskoga jezika. Na temelju obavljenih korpusnih istraživanja obilježja kolokacija i ispitivanja govornika hrvatskoga kao materinskoga jezika, istražen je utjecaj dvaju čimbenika na uporabu kolokacija: čestote kolokacija te asocijativne snage kolokacijskih sastavnica. Istražena je uporaba kolokacija u morfološki neobilježenome obliku (nominativu), u kosim padežima, kao i uporaba u užem i širem kontekstu. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da su u uporabi kolokacija kod izvornih govornika ključni čimbenici čestote i asocijativne snage, a da je morfološki oblik kolokacije izvornim govornicima nebitan. Istaživanje je također pokazalo veći utjecaj konteksta na uporabu kolokacija manje čestote i slabije asocijativne snage od uporabe kolokacija veće čestote i jake asocijativne snage. Dobiveni rezultati važni su za razumijevanje općih procesa ovladavanja hrvatskim kao materinskim jezikom i kao polazište za promišljanja o učinkovitijim načinima poučavanja hrvatskoga jezika. Ključne riječi: asocijativna snaga kolokacije; čestota; kontekst; ovladavanje materinskim jezikom.

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Abstract:The acquisition process of the target language is characterized by the complexity of linguistic rules in learner's L1 and linguistic purposes of that particular language. This process accomplishes a system called interlanguage (Selinker, 1972). In this system the linguistic transfer, especially a negative one, often causes a large number of cross-linguistic deviations in the target language. (Medved Krajnović, 2010). Previous research on L1 interference in the acquisition and production of Italian as a foreign language has shown that many different linguistic transfers take place at lexical, phonological, grammatical and morphological levels (Alujević Jukić & Brešan, 2010;Sironić Bonefačić, 1990). In this paper we focus on the negative transfer of lexical elements from L1 Croatian to L2 Italian by analyzing the most frequent errors occurred in the oral productions of a group of intermediate (CEFR levels B1-B2) Croatian-speaking learners (approximately 40 students). Our analysis shows that the Croatian L1 significantly affects the choice of lexical structures and words in Italian L2. Indeed, during the oral production in L2 language, we noticed that errors are mostly calques, substitutions and use of lexical structures based on L1 linguistic model. The examination of the negative transfer reveals useful to draw both didactic and learning suggestions, which can be beneficial for the whole language learning process. For learners, the implication is the possibility of developing and strengthening a strategy to memorize lexical words and structures. In doing so, they can be helped by different activities during the lesson, such as contrastive demonstrations of errors in both the languages involved, cloze tests, as well as presentations of the texts that are being studied. We therefore suggest that teachers should model their didactic approach by focusing more on systemic errors related to the structures already learnt by the student (Cattana Nesci, 2004).