1. What is formulaic language Multi-word collocations which are stored and retrieved holistically rather than being generated de novo with each use. Collocations, fixed semantic units, frozen metaphors, phrasal verbs, speech formulas, idioms and situation- bound utterances. Word strings occurring together tend to convey holistic meanings that are either more than the sum of the individual parts, or else diverge significantly from a literal, or word-for-word meaning and operate as a single semantic unit (Gairns and Redman 1986).

2. Formulaic language is not among the favorite topics of pragmaticians Formulaic language just does not fit into the “what is said – what is communicated” modular view. Besides, it is a real reflection of the social rather than structural side of language with most formulaic expressions being ready-made units of social functions

3. Question in intercultural communication How exactly do we expect interlocutors to use the common language, the lingua franca? Is it enough for the participants just to use the common language as a system of linguistics signs (sticking mainly to the literal meanings of lexical units) with possible meanings that are disambiguated and negotiated in the process of interaction, or do we expect that the interlocutors stick to the rules of the game and do similarly to what the NSs of that language do: rely on both prefabricated chunks and ad-hoc generated elements and combine them in a creative way?

4. ‘ Nativelike selection,’ in the words of Pawley & Syder, 1983 Coulmas (1981): “Rather, a great deal of communicative activity consists of enacting routines making use of prefabricated linguistic units in a well- known and generally accepted manner”. The ability to sound idiomatic plays a very important role in language production and comprehension.

5. Linguistic creativity Linguistic general relativity means that every meaning element depends synchronically on every other (Ross, 1992:158), and the "value" (or sense) of a meaning-element (its particular meaning) depends on what it is combined with and in what perlocutionary role. Ross (1992): accepted views of the componantiality of utterance-meaning be rejected because "we are not combining fixed meaning-values (like fixed quantities) under a single structural syntax, but are combining varying values in a syntax-affecting way.

6. Examples The vironuar lobamities may have perflunced the mart of livanox. Brimack is evally wipful. Colorless green ideas sleep furiously (Chomsky). They stopped talking when they saw me. They stopped to talk when they saw me.

7. Creativity is not a sentence level phenomenon (Kecskes 2002) Creativity in communicative behavior means much more than just combining words, meaning-units in a syntax- affecting way. Combining prefabricated units with novel items (newly generated items) to express communicative intention and goals is what makes language use really creative and native-like.

8. Psychological saliency of word sequences A: - What can I do for you? C: - Thank you, I am just looking. A: - Are you looking for something particular? C: - No, not really. A: - If you need help, just let me know. xxx S: - If you want to see me again you will need to do what I tell you to. B: - OK, my friend.

9. Open choice and idiom principle Sinclair (1991) ‘idiom principle:’ “a language user has available to him or her a large number of semi- preconstructed phrases that constitute single choices, even though they might appear to be analyzable into segments.”

10. Two groups Groups of prefabricated expressions that have psychological saliency for speakers of a particular language community. Loosely-tied, frequently occurring word- sequences (usually consisting of common words) such as ‘if they want’, ‘to do with it’, ‘tell them to’, Simpson-Vlach and Ellis (2010): psycholinguistically salient sequences like ‘on the other hand’, ‘suffice it to say’ cohere much more than would be expected by chance. They are “glued together” and thus measures of association, rather than raw frequency, are likely more relevant to these formulaic expressions.

11. Why is this issue important for intercultural pragmatics? The development of psychological validity/saliency of these expressions is a matter of not only frequency and exposure to the language use but also the wish of the nonnative speaker whether /she wants to use them or not. Frequent encounters with these expressions for nonnative speakers help but are not enough to develop psychological saliency.

12. Gramm.Fixed Sem.Phrasal SpeechSituation-boundIdioms UnitsUnitsVerbs FormulasUtterances be going as a matter put up you know welcomekick the to of fact with it’s OK aboard bucket have tosuffice itget alongnot badhelp yourselfspill the to saywithbeans Formulaic continuum

13. Why do we have preferred ways of saying things? Formulas decrease processing load. Phrasal utterances have a strong framing power. Formulas create shared bases for common ground in coordinating on joint communicative actions.

14. Formulas decrease the processing load In communication we want to achieve more cognitive effects with less processing effort. Sinclair’s idiom principle says that the use of prefabricated chunks “..may.. illustrate a natural tendency to economy of effort (Sinclair 1991: 110).” Formulaic expressions ease the processing overload not only because they are “ready-made”, but also because their meanings are easily accessible in online production and processing.

15. Phrasal utterances have a strong framing power Frames are basic cognitive structures which guide the perception and representation of reality (Goffman 1974). Frames structure which parts of reality become noticed. Formulaic expressions usually come with "frames“. Most fixed expressions are defined relative to a conceptual framework. Policeman: “Step out of the car, please.” “Let me tell you something.” “Not that I blame you but…”

16. Formulaic units create shared bases for common ground Formulas decrease the chance of misunderstanding. (In L2 this is not always true.) Tannen and Öztek (1981: 54) argued that “cultures that have set formulas afford their members the tranquility of knowing that what they say will be interpreted by the addressee in the same way that it is intended,…..” “You bet”; “I’ll talk to you later”; Güle güle kullan (use it with a smile); gözünüz aydin (may your eyes shine)

17. Formulaic language does not fit into the modular view The leading thinking in current linguistic research on meaning is that linguistic units only prompt meaning construction. Linguistic units are just a guide in the performing of sophisticated inferences about each other’s states of minds and intentions. Standard pragmatic model posits distinct mechanisms for literal and non-literal language processing (Grice, 1975): “What is said” --  “What is communicated” Robin Williams’ films (The Survivors), where the hero (Williams) says, “I had to sleep with the dogs. Platonically, of course….”

18. ‘What is said’ is not well defined for formulaic utterances - I am the black Mercedes over there. - Could you please fill me up with diesel? Bar: – Two vodka tonics. Museum ticket booth: – Three adults and one child. Formulas: Frozen implicatures: “you are all set”; nice meeting you”; “you bet”; “how do you do?”; it’s not my cup of tea. One way to understand their situational function.

19. Literal meaning and figurative meaning “What is said” is “closely related to the conventional meaning of words” (Grice 1975). The classical definition (see Katz 1977) says that linguistic meaning is direct, sentential, specified by grammar, and context-free. Use literally words denote what they mean according to common or dictionary usage, while words in figurative expressions connote additional layers of meaning.

20. Why do we need figurative language? His nose is running. He is running a business. He is running home. It’s raining cats and dogs. Get out of here. I have nothing to wear. Be my guest.

21. What does the speaker mean when s/he utters a sentence? Berg (1993): “What we understand from an utterance could never be just the literal meaning of the sentence uttered”. Bach (2007): (actual situational) context does not literally determine, in the sense of constituting, what the speaker means. Kecskes (2013): Inferencing for the lingua franca hearer usually means something close to decoding.

22. Kent Bach (2007) “..it is commonly overlooked that these maxims or presumptions are operative even when the speaker means exactly what he says. They don’t kick in just when something is implicated. After all, it is not part of the meaning of a sentence that it must be used literally, strictly in accordance with its semantic content. Accordingly, it is a mistake to suppose that “pragmatic content is what the speaker communicates over and above the semantic content of the sentence” (King and Stanley 2005: 117).

23. Examples - Which book do you want? - The black one over there. Give me your pen, please. I have had a headache. Do you have an aspirin?

24. Bach continues Pragmatics doesn’t just fill the gap between semantic and conveyed content. It operates even when there is no gap. So it is misleading to speak of the border or, the so- called ‘interface’ between semantics and pragmatics. This mistakenly suggests that pragmatics somehow takes over when semantics leaves off. It is one thing for a sentence to have the content that it has and another thing for a speech act of uttering the sentence to have the content it has. Even when the content of the speech act is the same as that of the sentence, that is a pragmatic fact, something that the speaker has to intend and the hearer has to figure out”.

25. Example Husband: Let’s go visit your boss tonight. Wife: Why? Husband: All right, we don‘t have to go.