Multiword expressions and the lexicon

Thesis

The term ‘multiword expression’ (MWE) refers to a diverse group of linguistic phenomena connected by the fact that they do not fit neatly into the word-phrase dichotomy: like phrases, they appear to be made up of multiple words; but, like words, they have idiosyncrasies (of meaning, form, or both) which must be learned. Examples include idioms, like spill the beans, ‘reveal the secrets’; prepositional verbs, like rely on; or light verb constructions, like have a break...

Expand abstract

Authors: Findlay, J

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-dp8m79pd5
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: semantics; multiword expressions; MWEs; Lexical Functional Grammar; idioms; TAG; syntax; Tree-Adjoining Grammar; LFG
• Subjects: Linguistics