3:45 AM
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9:05 AM
And it has stuck - everyone uses it, and you can't use synonyms instead of one of the words in the phrase
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12:58 PM
When you do research on collocations, that simply means that you look at which words commonly combine with a given word, and which do not.
You can use a corpus search for that. For example, COCA has a tab specifically for finding collocations.
In the first search box, you enter "crime". In the second, you enter "verb.ALL" to cover all possible verb forms. So it finds and counts not just commit, but also commits, committed, committing.
And then you click on the numbers to specify the relative position of the verb that you want the search results to include.
So for example, only selecting the number -1 will match "commit crime" and "reduce crime", but not "commit a crime" or "solve a horrible crime".
From these you see that a crime can be committed, solved, reduced, fought, organized, and so on. But not done. You do not do a crime.
A language with no collocations would need to consist of just one word. And you'd only use the word once and then never say anything ever again.
1:50 PM
2:03 PM
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Certain words you hear in English are only ever heard in a single context. For example, skirl is used to describe the sound a bagpipe makes. Etymonline generously says the word is "rarely" heard outside that context, but I can't recall ever hearing it used for anything else. I imagine one could u...
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It's a "stormy petrel." The idea, as described on the linked page, is that (for example) you never (or, at least, rarely) find a petrel that's not stormy. Similarly, "all shrift is short," and lots of other examples. One of the ones there is in fact "every skirl is of bagpipes."
> All PETRELS are STORMY (Except, of course, those that aren't. This item remains on the list
for historical reasons.) All SHRIFT is SHORT
All DUDGEON is HIGH
All MEEMIES are SCREAMING
All DURANCE is VILE
All RECRIMINATIONS are BITTER
All FIGMENTS are OF somebody's IMAGINATION
Every CYNOSURE is OF ALL EYES
All ZEST is FOR LIFE
All TURPITUDE is MORAL
Every SCRUFF is OF THE NECK
All FETTLE is FINE
Every NAPE is OF THE NECK
All PARLANCE is COMMON
All SNIFTERS are BRANDY
All GUIGNOL is GRAND
Every SKIRL is OF BAGPIPES
for historical reasons.) All SHRIFT is SHORT
All DUDGEON is HIGH
All MEEMIES are SCREAMING
All DURANCE is VILE
All RECRIMINATIONS are BITTER
All FIGMENTS are OF somebody's IMAGINATION
Every CYNOSURE is OF ALL EYES
All ZEST is FOR LIFE
All TURPITUDE is MORAL
Every SCRUFF is OF THE NECK
All FETTLE is FINE
Every NAPE is OF THE NECK
All PARLANCE is COMMON
All SNIFTERS are BRANDY
All GUIGNOL is GRAND
Every SKIRL is OF BAGPIPES
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4:36 PM
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10:31 PM
11:47 PM
@marcellothearcane That is not what collocation means. I'm not sure what pattern you're trying to describe.
Of course a single word that is repeated or appears multiple times in a phrase is definitely a 'self' collocation. But that is somewhat rare in English.
In linguistics, reduplication is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word (or part of it) or even the whole word is repeated exactly or with a slight change.
Reduplication is used in inflections to convey a grammatical function, such as plurality, intensification, etc., and in lexical derivation to create new words. It is often used when a speaker adopts a tone more "expressive" or figurative than ordinary speech and is also often, but not exclusively, iconic in meaning. Reduplication is found in a wide range of languages and language groups, though its level of linguisti...
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Nov16
Nov '1917
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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…
Not for the faint of heart or those easily triggered by Englis...