Chapter 7 - Towards the Bigger Picture

Summary

Chapter 7 summarizes the findings and offers a bigger picture with regard to (1) the idiom principle in L2 acquisition and use, (2) the model of a unit of meaning and (3) the processes behind the phraseological tendency of language. It argues that the idiom principle is available to L2 users to a larger degree than is often thought. It then proposes an ‘atomic’ model of a unit of meaning, shows how the processes of fixing and approximation fit into the larger processes of delexicalization and meaning-shift, further develops the idea of a continuum of delexicalization suggested in Chapter 2 as well as explains the connection between these ideas and the concepts of relexicalization and re-metaphorization. The chapter ends with a discussion of limitations and promising directions of future research.