2 - Detecting Formulaicity

Summary

Introduction

Of two constructions made according to the same pattern, one may be an ad hoc construction of the moment and the other may be a repetition or reuse of one coined long ago…. This may be reflected in a number of ways other than that of their grammatical structure, which is presumed constant. They may be characterized by different internal entropy profiles. They may have different text frequencies. They may have different latency patterns, these being reflected in observably different timing patterns and in differences in the introduction of hesitation pauses.

(Lounsbury 1963:561)

In this chapter, we shall consider how various features associated with formulaic sequences might be used to help identify them, and in Chapter 3 we shall review approaches to definition. It might seem rather odd to do things in this order, since identifying something obviously relies on how you define it. However, the relationship between definition and identification is circular: in order to establish a definition, you have to have a reliable set of representative examples, and these must therefore have been identified first. In actual fact, in the case of formulaic sequences, identification relies less on formal definitions than the definitions rely on identification, and that tips the balance in favour of dealing with the two in this order. We do, of course, have our working definition of formulaic sequences (Chapter 1) to guide us.