How to study the word combinations

A
word-combination is a compound nominative unit of speech, which is
semantically both global and articulated. There are some differences
in the terminology in the Russian- and the English-speaking
linguistic tradition. In the Russian terminological system the term
словосочетание
is
used
to
denote the unit mentioned above, Englishmen use it to denote any
combination of words, but the usual term, which corresponds to our
approach to словосочетание,
is
collocation.

Word-combinations
— are the «building material» for syntax. Syntax as a
science of ordered speech deals with two basic problems:

the
first one -> what are those ultimate units that constitute
speech,

the
second one -> how these units are organized in actual speech.

To
understand the division of the sentence into the parts, it is
important to first see the syntagmatic relationships between the
elements. Word-combination is a unit of both, syntagmatics and
syntax.

Thus,
the interdependence between the syntactic and the syntagmatic
analysis is the main stumbling block for understanding. To fully
convey the purport of an utterance, it is necessary to penetrate into
the lexical-phraseological connections between the ultimate
meaningful units of the language.

The
difference between the syntagmatic and the syntactic analysis of
speech may be explained by means of the following example:

Simon
had become to look for himself at the family foto.

If
one analyses this sentence syntagmatically, it is clear that here to
become to look for oneself and
family
foto —
are word-combinations, functionally, they are equivalent to a word.
From the point of view of syntax, had
become is
a predicate, to
look for —
an adverb, foto
— an
object, family
— an
attribute.

The
unity of colligation and collocation which is so important for
syntactic study in general, has no less importance for the study of
word-combinations.

Syntactic
relationships may restrict the collocability of one word with
another. Thus, the word much
may
be used before prefer
in
a sentence like In
international political arena Mr. Bush much prefer the position of
power. But
it is a mistake if the word much
is
used at the end of the sentence. Colligation and collocation may put
intralinguistic restriction upon the freedom with which the speaker
chooses the combination of words. First of all, a speaker while
bringing words together should follow some grammatical rules. At the
same time the process of combining words is restricted by the
lexical-phraseological valences of the words.

The
difference between a word-combination and a combination of words is
the following: a combination of words presupposes the possibility of
combining words together in the process of speech production; f
word-combination should be regarded as a free equivalent of a
phraseological unit.

The
«building material» for the construction of sentences
consists of

1)
word,

2)
phraseological unit,

3)
word-combination.

Thus,
to
pay a call is
a phraseological unit, which is equivalent to the word to
visit. To go to see is
a word-combination, which is a free equivalent of the phraseological
unit and of the word to
visit.

There
are some types of word-combinations in the English language:

nominal
word-combinations:
adjective
+ noun: pretty
woman;

noun
+ preposition + noun: brick
at the top;

noun
+ preposition + adjective + noun: a
man with small nose;

noun
+ preposition + verbal -ing:
difficulty
in understanding;

noun
+ infinitive: a
book to read;

verbal
word-combinations:
verb
+ noun: to
give a speech;
verb
+ infinitive: to
forget to post;
verb
+ verbal -ing:
to
stop doing;

verb
+ preposition + verbal -ing:
to
insist on going;

adverb
+ verb: completely
forgot;

verb
+ adverb: to
forget completely;

adjectival
word-combinations:
adjective
+ infinitive: nice
to meet;
adjective
+ preposition + noun: full
of water;
adjective
+ preposition + verbal -ing:
fond
of reading.

All
the above-mentioned word-combinations function as global wholes, as
«the prefabricated units» in speech. The syntactic bond
that connects the elements of word-combinations is very tight,
usually it is the attributive bond or the closest types of the
completive bond. A very important parameter in the study of the
expression plane of word-combinations is prosody.

There
exist different methods of study of word-combinations, but bearing in
mind the idea of the unity of collocation and colligation, the
categorial method seems to be most fruitful. This method is based on
the opposition of the marked and unmarked element of the category.

There
exist five categories of word-combinations in English:

1) The
category of connotativeness.

The
opposition here is connotative word-combinations vs non-connotative
word-combinations. Connotative word-combinations fulfil the function
of impact, they possess expressive-emotional-evaluative connotations.
Non-connotative word-combinations are neutral, they fulfil the
function of message. Thus, in the sentence In
her tone, she made the understanding clear —
they
were of the same kind, he and she, a sort of diabolic free-masonry
subsisted between them the
word-combination diabolic
free-masonry is
connotative, while in the sentence He
speaks English fluently the
word-combination to
speak fluently is
non-connotative.

There
are two main parameters which help to understand the real meaning of
word-combinations — context and prosody. Thus, a word-combination
may be quite neutral, taken in isolation, for example, to
break the vessel. But
within a context it becomes connotative: He
knew how near to breaking was the vessel that held his life.
In connection with the category of connotativeness it is important to
note that connotations may be inherent.

In
oral speech, connotative word-combinations are usually determined by
prosody.

1. The
   category of reproducibility.
   (this category is also called the category of «clicheed
   expressions»)

The
opposition here is clicheed vs non-clicheed word-combinations or
usual vs occasional word-combinations. In ordinary speech people
hardly ever coin word-combinations of their own, usually they use the
already existing ones. For example, in the sentence: My
favourite book was written by the famous writer, the
word-combinations favourite
book and famous writer are
quite usual word-combinations for our speech.

As
for the non-clicheed word-combinations — they should be created
anew or for the nonce, usually they are not reproducible. For
example, in the sentence Nurse
placed her in my lap, a squiggling bundle of life the
word-combination a
squiggling bundle of life is
a creation of the writer of the book. This kind of word-combinations
is usually very connotative.

Word-combinations
that belong to this category are characterised by the non-idiomatic
globality. These word-combinations may be segmented into separate
words, but depending on the reproducibility they tend to fuse into a
global concept.

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Compare the thesaurus’s “similar words” for the verb “laugh”:

The similar words allow you to choose from among words for more specific kinds of laugh: from a quiet titter to a hearty guffaw. The Word Combinations allow you to choose from among adverbs that writers frequently use to modify the verb “laugh.” “Ashley laughed uneasily at the cruel joke,” you might write. Or, “Ashley laughed good-naturedly when her error was pointed out.” (Ashley’s a likable person, evidently.)

Word Combinations are the most frequent companions of the headword in published writing and broadcast speech. Thus, they represent the many ways in which the headword-concept is typically talked about and the words typically used to talk about them.

In the entries, word combinations are organized by part of speech combination. Take, for example, the word “election.” The word combinations for the noun “election” fall into four kinds:

adjective + (n.) election

verb + (n.) election 

(n.) election + verb   

noun + (n.) election

These formulas show you the kind of word (part of speech) and the position (before or after “election”) in which it appears in the corpus of texts. Notice that “election” has some verbs that appear before it and some that appear after it. Here are the full word combinations entries, with some comments in red:

adjective + (n.)election     coming, competitive, congressional, contested, democratic, direct, disputed, fair, federal, forthcoming, fraudulent, free, general, gubernatorial, judicial, legislative, local, mayoral, mid-term, multi-party, multiracial, municipal, nationwide, nonpartisan, off-year, parliamentary, periodic, presidential, primary, provincial, scheduled, statewide, transitional, upcoming

verb + (n.)election     boycott, cancel, certify, contest, delay, disrupt, influence, hold, monitor, oversee, overturn, postpone, precede, rig, schedule, steal, supervise  (These verbs that frequently have the word “election” as their object will give you a glimpse at all the things we can do to an election. )

(n.)election + verb      loom, near

(Which of these two verbs would you choose to talk about a coming election? It really depends how you feel about it.)

noun + (n.)election   ballot, boycott, candidate, eve, fall, financing, landslide, legitimacy, midterm, month, outcome, poll, primary, recall, registration, round, run-up, runoff, turnout, vote, voting

If you have read through these words, you may have noticed that some make sense when placed immediately before or after the headword “election”: “a fair election,” “postponed the election,” and “a fall [i.e., autumn] election.” True, you have to insert an article, “the” between “postpone” and “election,” but generally these are recognizable phrases that make sense.

Others, especially in the noun+noun category, don’t seem like a chunk of a sentence: “legitimacy election” and “voting election,” for example. Often a preposition will need to be inserted between the words: “the legitimacy of the election,” “voting in this election” are some possible ways the word combinations will work in these cases.

If you don’t know how to fit the two words together, a Google search on the two words will often return a number of similar examples of how they do.

You can try this little exercise to get a feel for how to fill out a word combination:

Complete these common noun + noun word combinations with the correct prepositions and articles.

1. the eve   ____    ____   election

2. the outcome  ____    ____   election

3. the turnout   ____    ____   election

 Word Combinations is a subscription feature, but you can try it by signing up for a 15-day free Trial Subscription, no strings attached. (There is a Trial Subscription button on most pages of the Wordsmyth website.) We also include Word Combinations with many Academic Vocabulary of the Day posts.

Read more about collocations here.

By Lauren Lowry
Hanen Certified SLP and Clinical Staff Writer

It’s so exciting when a child says his first word. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a child should say his first word by 15 months of age [1]. Parents eagerly await this milestone and proudly record their child’s first word amongst his other achievements in his “baby book”.

But another milestone which receives a lot less attention is also very important for a child’s language development – that is, a child’s ability to combine words. Children’s first word combinations express two ideas using any two words (such as “Daddy up” when the child wants to be picked up). But as children progress, their combinations start to include verbs, such as “want juice” or “car go!”. These combinations that include verbs are important as they set the stage for the child’s grammar skills to develop.  Children should be combining two words together by 24 months of age [1].

Children who were late to combine words were more at risk for future problems with language than children who were late with their first words.

A recent study looked at children’s first words and first word combinations, and whether delays in either of these milestones predicted later language problems. Interestingly, children who were late to combine words were more at risk for future problems with language than children who were late with their first words [2].

As toddlers move from using single words to combining them, parents and caregivers often have questions about this stage of language development. Here are some common questions and answers about children’s early word combinations.

Common Questions about Word Combinations

Are “thank you” and “night night” examples of two-word combinations?

Some toddlers learn expressions like “thank you” and “night night” early on, and parents may think that these are evidence of two-word combinations. However, these expressions are memorized as a single “chunk” of language, as opposed to two separate words that the child has combined together. When children learn “thank you”, they are not able to combine either of these words with other words to form new combinations (such as “thank Mom” or “you go”). True two-word combinations express two separate ideas.

My child uses several single words. Is he ready to combine words together?

Before a child can combine two words together, he must be able to:

• use a variety of words – In order to combine words, children need more than just nouns (names of people, places, things) in their vocabulary. Once children can use some early verbs (action words like “go”, “pour”, “give”), adjectives (words that describe like “hot”, “big”, “fast”) and/or prepositions (location words like “on”, “in”, “off”), they have the building blocks needed to combine words together.
• express two ideas – Before children express two ideas with two-word combinations, they can usually express two ideas by using a word and a “supplementary” gesture. Supplementary gestures add additional information to the word that is spoken. For example, when a child points to the cookie jar and says “Mommy”, his message has two ideas: he wants Mommy to give him a cookie. Or when a child does an action for “big” with his arms while pointing to a large teddy bear, his message has two ideas: the bear is big. This shouldn’t be confused with the child’s use of gestures that match the meaning of his word (e.g. pointing to a cookie and saying “cookie”), as this only expresses one idea.

When parents and caregivers notice that a child’s vocabulary includes words other than just nouns and he starts to use supplementary gestures, he is likely ready to start combining two words together.

My child isn’t combining words together. Should I be concerned?

If your child is 24 months of age or older and not yet combining two words together, you can contact a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for advice. The SLP will assess your child’s speech and language skills and determine if your child has any other risk factors for ongoing difficulties with language.

How can I help my child learn to combine words together?

• Follow your child’s lead – Children need a lot of practice sending messages, both with and without words, before they learn to combine words. In order to encourage your child to send messages, you need to follow his lead by observing him and waiting for him to send you a message. By letting him lead the interaction, he will be motivated to communicate with you. Get down to his level, notice what he is doing, and let him send you messages about whatever captures his interest at the moment. Then respond by saying something related to his message.
• Emphasize a variety of words – When you play and interact with your child, emphasize new words that are based on his interests at that moment. Use actions and your voice to make these new words stand out. Think about highlighting words other than just nouns, such as simple verbs (e.g. “stop”, “push”, “wash”), adjectives (e.g. “small”, “soft”, “cold”), and prepositions (e.g. “in”, “on”, “down”, “up”). Verbs are especially important for building early sentences and for the development of children’s grammar skills [3]. (For more information on helping your child learn some early verbs, see our article “Verbs Pave the Way for Language Development”.)
• Model short, grammatical sentences – Even though children’s first word combinations lack proper grammar (e.g. “go car”, “want juice”, “me up”), it’s important that you provide your child with models that are grammatically correct. This helps your child understand how words are used together and what the words mean. For example, if your child says “go car” when he is getting in the car, you can say “You are going in the car”. Or if your child says “want juice”, you could say “You want some juice”.
• Expand your child’s words – You can expand your child’s language by using his single word in a short sentence. If your child says “fast” while pushing a car, you can turn that into a little sentence like “The car is fast!”. Or if he smiles while eating a cookie and says “cookie”, you can say “It’s a yummy cookie”.
• Add gestures to your words – When you use gestures while you speak, it shows your child how to use gestures and words at the same time. This will prepare your child for using supplementary gestures.

These ideas about promoting word combinations come from Target Word^™ — The Hanen Program^® for Parents of Children Who Are Late Talkers [4].

References

1. Hagan, J., Shaw, J. S., & Duncan, P. M. (Eds.). (2008). Bright futures: Guidelines for health supervision of infants, children, and adolescents (3rd ed.). Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics.
2. Rudolph, J. M. & Leonard, L. B. (2016). Early language milestones and specific language impairment. Journal of Early Intervention, 38(1) 41 –58.
3. Hadley, P. A., Rispoli, M. & Hsu, N. (2016). Toddlers’ verb lexicon diversity and grammatical outcomes. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 47, 44–58.
4. Earle, C. with Lowry, L. (2015). Making Hanen Happen Leaders Guide for Target Word^™ — The Hanen Program^® for Parents of Children Who Are Late Talkers, Fourth Edition. Hanen Early Language Program: Toronto, ON.

The Hanen Centre is a Canadian not-for-profit charitable organization with a global reach. Its mission is to provide parents, caregivers, early childhood educators and speech-language pathologists with the knowledge and training they need to help young children develop the best possible language, social and literacy skills. This includes children who have or are at risk for language delays, those with developmental challenges such as autism, and those who are developing typically.

Click on the links below to learn more about how Hanen can help you help children communicate: