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Literal salience in on-line processing of idiomatic expressions by second language learners

Bibliographic Data

ID11655980
AuthorsAnna Cieślicka (Adam Mickiewicz University,), Anna B Cieślicka (0000-0002-9676-4819, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume22
Issue2
Pages115-144
Publication date2006-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSecond language Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0267-6583 • E-ISSN: 1477-0326
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1191/0267658306sr263oa
OpenAlexW2161505242
LanguageEN
Citations received57
References cited39

This article addresses the question of how second language (L2) learners understand idiomatic expressions in their second/foreign language and advances the proposition that literal meanings of idiom constituents enjoy processing priority over their figurative interpretations. This suggestion forms the core of the literal-salience resonant model of L2 idiom comprehension, whose major assumptions are outlined in the article. On the literal salience view, understanding L2 idioms entails an obligatory computation of the literal meanings of idiom constituent words, even if these idioms are embedded in a figurative context and if their idiomatic interpretation is well-known to L2 learners. The literal salience assumption was put to the test in a cross-modal lexical priming experiment with advanced Polish learners of English. The experiment showed more priming for visual targets related to literal meanings of idiom constituent words than for targets related figuratively to the metaphoric interpretation of the idiomatic phrase. This effect held true irrespective of whether the stimulus sentence contained a literal or a non-literal idiom

Cognitive psychology · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Literal (mathematical logic · Literal and figurative language · Priming (agriculture · Salience (neuroscience · Sentence · Categorization, perception, and language · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Psychology · Second Language Acquisition and Learning

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Unique citing works57
Citations per year3,8
Citation span2011 - 2026 (16)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 57
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