Does the processing advantage of formulaic language persist in its nonadjacent forms? Evidence from Chinese collocation processing in children

Recent studies have accumulated to suggest that children, akin to adults, exhibit a processing advantage for formulaic language (e.g. save energy) over novel language (e.g. sell energy), as well as sensitivity to phrase frequencies. The majority of these studies are based on formulaic sequences in t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFirst language Vol. 44; no. 5; pp. 533 - 558
Main Authors Jiang, Shang, Siyanova-Chanturia, Anna
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.10.2024
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Chinese
Chinese languages
Collocations
Elementary school students
Energy
Formulaic language
Language
Language usage
Middle school students
Native language acquisition
Natural language
Phrases
collocation
nonadjacency
Chinese
usage-based
Phrase frequency
age
child
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0142-7237
1740-2344
DOI10.1177/01427237231201580

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Summary:Recent studies have accumulated to suggest that children, akin to adults, exhibit a processing advantage for formulaic language (e.g. save energy) over novel language (e.g. sell energy), as well as sensitivity to phrase frequencies. The majority of these studies are based on formulaic sequences in their canonical form. In natural language use, however, many formulaic sequences, collocations in particular, can be modified with words intervening in between the individual constituents (e.g. save energy → save all forms of energy). For some collocations, their nonadjacent forms are equally, and even more frequently used than their adjacent form. Despite this, it remains almost unknown whether the processing advantage and sensitivity to phrase frequencies persist in nonadjacent collocations in children. Based on reading times in a self-paced reading experiment, the current study found that two age groups – third and sixth graders – exhibited a processing advantage for Chinese collocations and sensitivity to phrase frequencies, with two and even four Chinese characters inserted in the middle. The persistence of processing advantage and sensitivity was affected by insertion length as well as age. These results are in line with a usage-based theoretical approach to language learning, processing and use.
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ISSN:0142-7237
1740-2344
DOI:10.1177/01427237231201580