Recurrent multiword units as networks
Sequentiality as basis for linguistic generalizations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12197577 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alvin Cheng-Hsien Chen (National Taiwan Normal University, corresponding author), Alvin Cheng‐Hsien Chen (0000-0003-0740-4633, Department of English , 34879 National Taiwan Normal University , Taipei , Taiwan) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 63-104 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cognitive Linguistics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0936-5907 • E-ISSN: 1613-3641 |
| Publisher | De Gruyter Mouton (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/cog-2025-0015 |
| OpenAlex | W7129017858 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 65 |
Recurrent multiword units (RMUs) are central to language processing, yet their systematic identification and networked organization remain understudied. This study combines corpus-based and network-analytic methods to examine how RMUs contribute to the emergence of constructional schemas. Drawing on a 185-million-word corpus of Taiwan Mandarin, we pursue two aims. First, we propose a quantitative method for identifying cohesive RMUs based on word predictability in context. Second, we model RMUs as a network in which nodes represent RMUs and edges encode structural and semantic similarity, estimated with a state-of-the-art large language model. A comparison with a random sequence network confirms the non-random structure of the RMU network. Analysis of its topology reveals exemplar-based semantic groupings that support higher-level generalizations. These findings highlight RMUs as key building blocks in linguistic categorization, where subgroupings emerge through sequential lexical associations that underlie the formation of grammatical patterns and hierarchical structure
Basis (linear algebra · ENCODE · Identification (biology · Predictability · Semantic network · Semantics (computer science · Word (group theory · Language and cultural evolution · Natural Language Processing Techniques · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
Constructions at Work
Pattern Grammar
Language, Usage and Cognition
Frequency of Use and the Organization of Language
The Dynamics of the Linguistic System
The Grammar Network
Cognitive Network Science
Sentence-Bert
The Large‐Scale Structure of Semantic Networks
Finding community structure in very large networks
Network ‘Small-World-Ness’
Stored Word Sequences in Language Learning
Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks
A new computing method for extracting contiguous phraseological sequences from academic text corpora
Something Years of Work on Collocations
Dispersions and adjusted frequencies in corpora
Multi-unit association measures
Exposure and emergence in usage-based grammar
The processing of verb-argument constructions is sensitive to form, function, frequency, contingency and prototypicality
Constituency, dependency, and conceptual grouping
A constructional analysis of English un-participle constructions
Discovering constructions by means of collostruction analysis
Adult learners’ retention of collocations from exposure
Adding more fuel to the fire
If you look at
Durational Patterns of Recurrent Multiword Combinations in Mandarin Spontaneous Speech Production
Assessing Phraseological Development in Word Sequences of Variable Lengths in Second Language Texts Using Directional Association Measures
Pitch variability in spontaneous speech production and its connection to usage-based grammar
More than words
Extending collostructional analysis
Collostructions
Language Is a Complex Adaptive System
Processing Advantages of Lexical Bundles
The effect of usage on degrees of constituency
Regularity and Idiomaticity in Grammatical Constructions
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |