Exploring the Boundaries of Formulaic Sequences

Formulaic Sequences are multi-word prefabricatedphrases of either literal (e.g. good morning) ornon-literal (e.g. kick the bucket) reading. Aproperty of such sequences is variation. Formulaicsequences can be subject to varying degrees oflexical substitutions grammatical variations andinsertions. This book investigates the boundaries ofvariation: the limits of lexical substitution andinsertions for formulaic sequences i.e. how muchvariation can occur before the sequence stops beingfixed and becomes context-dependent. The boundariesbetween one formulaic sequence and another and theboundaries between a literal and non-literal readingare also explored. The Longman Idioms Dictionary(1998) and the British National Corpus (BNC) providedthe data for the research and the technique andanalysis used contribute to lexicography and informcognitive models of storing and organizing language.