The muddy waters of idiom comprehension

Schweigert, Wendy A.

doi:10.1007/bf01074283

Cited by 59 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This conclusion is not particularly surprising, if one considers the relevance that familiarity has in the recognition of individual words (Connine et al, 1990;Gernsbacher, 1984) as well as in the processing of idioms (Cronk et al, 1993;Giora & Fein, 1999;Schweigert, 1991;Schweigert et al, 2003). It has been shown, for example, that familiarity is one of the variables that render idiomatic expressions a heterogeneous class (Glass, 1983;Schweigert, 1986).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why are idioms recognized fast?

2009

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It is an established fact that idiomatic expressions are fast to process. However, the explanation of the phenomenon is controversial. Using a semantic judgment paradigm, where people decide whether a string is meaningful or not, the present experiment tested the predictions deriving from the three main theories of idiom recognition-the lexical representation hypothesis, the idiom decomposition hypothesis, and the configuration hypothesis. Participants were faster at judging decomposable idioms, nondecomposable idioms, and clichés than at judging their matched controls. The effect was comparable for all conventional expressions. The results were interpreted as suggesting that, as posited by the configuration hypothesis, the fact that they are known expressions, rather than idiomaticity, explains their fast recognition.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why are idioms recognized fast?

2009

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“…To date, while each of the four models has received some empirical support (Cronk and Schweigert 1992, Estill and Kemper 1982, Gibbs and Gonzales 1985, Liontas 1997, 2001, Schweigert 1986, 1991, Schweigert and Moates 1988, and many others), agreement on any one model has been elusive. Moreover, the question as to which one of the four models is most appropriate for understanding second language data still remains open.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Context and idiom understanding in second languages

Liontas

2002

EUROSLA

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This article describes the results of a study conducted with fifty-three adult third-year learners of Spanish, French, and German in order to investigate (a) the degree to which idiom type affects the speed and ease of idiom comprehension and interpretation, (b) the effect that context exerts on idiom understanding, (c) the strategies second language learners employ in computing the idiomatic meaning of multiword phrasal units during contextualized and acontextualized reading of texts containing such idioms, and (d) the cognitive processes that are likely to constrain the construction of the right idiomatic mappings between target and domain idioms. Findings indicate that (a) there were significant main effects for lexical and post-lexical level idioms in both the context and the non-context treatment; (b) translation, guessing, and the use of context are highly important in the construction of idiomatic meaning; and (c) the degree of opacity between target and domain idiom, knowledge of vocabulary, graphophonics and syntactic arrangement, and literal meaning of an idiom influence and affect transfer of idiomatic knowledge in significant ways.

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“…Conventional, familiar idioms have been found to be interpreted faster than less familiar phrases (Schweigert 1991;Blasko-Connine 1993). Some idioms are predominantly figurative (spill the beans), whereas others (have one's name on something, take one's medicine) have both literal and figurative uses that are practically equal in frequency.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metaphor processing and the acquisition of idioms: A mentalistic model

Schnell¹

2007

Acta Linguistica Hungarica

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In this paper I review some of the theoretical issues surrounding metaphor, investigating the understanding of metaphor-based constructions from a developmental psycholinguistic view. Reviewing the classification of metaphorical expressions, I elaborate on the morphological aspect of idioms; thus on the typology of metaphors, distinguishing them on the basis of their decomposability and conventionality (Gibbs 1994). I hypothesize a new, mentalistic model of interpretation, in which our mentalizing, intention-reading skills play a key role in deciphering intended (figurative) meaning. Furthermore, I point out the importance of decomposability and conventionality determining our interpretative processes; both factors playing a facilitating role in interpretation.

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The muddy waters of idiom comprehension

Cited by 59 publications

References 13 publications

Why are idioms recognized fast?

Why are idioms recognized fast?

Context and idiom understanding in second languages

Metaphor processing and the acquisition of idioms: A mentalistic model

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