A Probe Into Formulaic Sequences: An Adaptation Perspective

"Formulaic sequences" is a cover term for ready-made constructions that can be used without having to be built up from scratch. They are so pervasively used in daily speech, and the proper use and interpretation of them consist of a considerable part of pragmatic and communicative competence. Hence, investigation into this linguistic phenomenon bears both theoretical and practical significance. The study of various kinds of formulaic locutions such as proverbs, similes, and other loci communis were traditionally treated in rhetoric or stylistics. As a long-recognized phenomenon, observations of unexpected levels of fixedness in language can be traced back to the records of aphasic patients by John Hughlings Jackson in the mid-19^th century. However, it is not until the late 20th century that the development of linguistics witnessed the growing interest of researchers on this topic at home and abroad. Generally speaking, there are three main approaches to the study of formulaic sequences, namely, language acquisition (Wong Fillmore, 1976; Peters, 1983; Nattinger and DeCarrico, 1992; Hickey, 1993; Weinert, 1995; Ellis, 1996; 刘正光, 2001; 刘仕明, 2002), sociolinguistics (Wray, 1998, 2000; 谢军, 2001; 常晨 光, 2004), and psycholinguistics (Howarth, 1998; Wray, 1999, 2000, 2002; Nattinger & DeCarrico, 1992; Pawley, A. & F. H. Syder, 1983). These studies have indeed thrown light on the nature of formulaic sequences and given impetus to the relevant researches.