Marking and breaking phraseology in English and Polish: a comparative corpus-informed study

Abstract In this corpus-informed cross-linguistic study, we focus on (1) ‘phraseology markers’ (PMs), which are recurrent and fixed word combinations used to demarcate instances of linguistic prefabrication, and (2) novelty markers (NMs), which are conventional expressions that mark novel phrasings of either new or familiar conceptualizations. Both classes of expressions have been largely neglected in phraseological studies conducted to date. Using selected corpora of general and spoken English and Polish, we study the use and discoursal functions of three pairs of loosely equivalent pre-selected phraseology markers and attempt to determine the amount of prefabricated language demarcated by those linguistic items. We found that the PMs and NMs perform opposing primary and secondary functions. By default, they are used to mark either prefabricated or supposedly novel expressions. In many contexts, however, PMs are used to break phraseology, that is, to mark expressions or phrases that represent unusual, unconventional, idiosyncratic phrasings unattested or rarely used in native texts.