On the compositional and noncompositional nature of idiomatic expressions

Abstract The present paper reviews linguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives on idiom representation and models of idiom processing. Two approaches in defining idiom representation and processing characteristics are compared. According to the ‘noncompositional approach’, idioms are represented and processed similar to long words. In contrast, the ‘compositional approach’ emphasizes the semantic contribution of an idiom's component word meanings in interpretation. We argue that neither approach alone adequately captures the existing body of data on idiom processing, and propose a model of idiom representation and processing that ascribes noncompositional and compositional characteristics to idiomatic expressions. In this view, idiomatic expressions function simultaneously as semantically arbitrary word sequences and compositional phrases. Consistent with this hybrid model, the results of an eye tracking study are presented in which reading rates differ as a function of the inherent decomposability of idioms.

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