Abstract:

Formulaic language is composed of multi-word sequences that are form-meaning pairings stored in the mind of language users as a result of long-term language contact and extensive language experience. Psychological experiments focused on reading and auditory processing provide support for the existence of formulaic language; these studies show that formulaic language is stored and processed as a whole in our mental lexicon in the same way that words are. Future research should involve the following topics related to formulaic language: the identification of formulaic language, the relationship between formulaic language and the component words, and finally, the dynamic development of formulaic language, second language speakers and their formulaic language.

Key words: formulaic language, psychological reality, cognitive processing