ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
V+N MISCOLLOCATIONS IN THE WRITTEN PRODUCTION OF
UNIVERSITY LEVEL STUDENTS
Magdalena Zinkg ä
Uni e sidad Nacional del Comahue, A gen ina
maguizinkg a @je band.com.a
The s udy o colloca ion – he es ic ed way in which wo o mo e wo ds
combine ac oss ex s – has ecen ly gained much ele ance. The acquisi ion
o hese combina ions has p o ed an impo an obs acle o non-na i e
speake s o a o eign language as e inced in eco ded unusual combina ions
o wo ds. This pape analyses nons anda d colloca ions p esen in he
w i en p oduc ion o Spanish-speaking uni e si y s uden s o English as a
o eign language (EFL), in sea ch o ecu en pa e ns and s a egies ha
may explain hese inapp op ia e colloca ions as a way o con ibu e o EFL
eaching and lea ning.
The esul s show a conside able in luence o lea ne s’ mo he
ongue, which induces hem o ansla e li e ally om L1 in o L2 one o bo h
elemen s in any gi en colloca ion. Seman ic o e lap be ween app op ia e
o ms and possible synonyms o ei he he base o he colloca e appea s o
be ano he ac o leading o e o . The s udy also poin s o some e bs
which in his pa icula con ex migh equi e consis en and explici
eaching.
Key wo ds: second language acquisi ion, o eign language eaching,
colloca ions, e bs, nouns, da a base, w i en p oduc ion
El es udio de la colocación – la combinación es ingida de dos o más
palab as en di e sos ex os – ha cob ado mucha ele ancia en las úl imas
décadas. La adquisición de es as combinaciones se con ie e en un
obs áculo impo an e pa a hablan es no-na i os de un idioma ex anje o,
Es udios de
lingüís ica inglesa aplicada
92 Magdalena Zinkg ä
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
quienes combinan palab as de mane a poco usual. Es e abajo analiza las
des iaciones colocacionales egis adas en la p oducción esc i a de
alumnos uni e si a ios de inglés como lengua ex anje a cuya lengua
ma e na es el español pa a explo a es uc u as ecu en es y las
es a egias que las gene an, y con ibui , de es a mane a, a la enseñanza y
el ap endizaje del inglés como lengua ex anje a.
Los esul ados señalan la impo an e in luencia de la lengua
ma e na, que impulsa a es os alumnos a aduci , en o ma di ec a, uno o
ambos elemen os en las combinaciones del español al inglés. O o ac o
que conduce a e o es es la supe posición semán ica en e la base o el
colocado en una colocación y posibles sinónimos. El es udio indica ambién
la necesidad de una ins ucción explíci a y sis emá ica de cie os e bos en
es e con ex o educa i o en pa icula .
Palab as cla e: adquisición de una segunda lengua, adquisición de una
lengua ex anje a, colocaciones, p oducción esc i a, e bos, nomb es, base
de da os.
1. In oduc ion
Mul iple s udies ha e explo ed he acquisi ion o colloca ions in lea ne s o a
o eign language which ha e p o ed qui e a di icul aspec o he language
o lea n, as well as a ell- ale sign o a lea ne ’s non-na i e use o language.
The ollowing s udy is based on a manually-compiled co pus o V+N
miscolloca ions ga he ed om he w i en p oduc ion o 102 Spanish-
speaking s uden s aking an English language cou se in Teache and
T ansla o T aining p og ammes a a uni e si y in A gen ina. Analysis o
his co pus h ows ligh on he essence o hese de ia ions o a ypical
combina ions and he na u e o he mis akes hey e ince.
This pape p esen s e idence e ealing an impo an p opo ion o
nega i e ans e om hei mo he ongue.
V+N miscolloca ions in he w i en … 93
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
2. Colloca ion
Colloca ions in ol e mo e han andom co-occu ence o wo o mo e
lexical i ems ac oss di e en ex s and ac oss di e en gen es, as in make he
bed and lay he able. Fo easons o space, no all he di e en de ini ions
pos ula ed o he e m will be explo ed he e; su ice i o say ha he e a e
as many as he e a e au ho s who ha e esea ched he opic. The issue has
been s udied om mul iple heo e ical amewo ks, he mos ele an o
which a e B i ish Con ex ualism (Halliday, Sinclai , Hoey, and Phillips),
Lexical Seman ics (C use) and di e en b anches o Lexicog aphy. Many
dic iona ies ha e been published which include o deal pa icula ly wi h he
combina ion o wo ds, and al hough hese will no be commen ed on
indi idually, i is wo h men ioning ha bo h he Spanish and he English
lexicog aphic mo emen s ha e widely explo ed and analysed he issue o
colloca ion in specialised monolingual dic iona ies, some o which a e
o ien ed o o eign language lea ne s o hese languages.
Wi h he pu pose o es ic ing he possible in e p e a ions o wha a
colloca ion is, and o make clea wha is unde s ood by his e m he ein, a
numbe o cha ac e is ics will be p esen ed as essen ial o he concep . We
shall e e o ‘colloca ion’ in hose cases whe e
he e is an a bi a y and syn agma ic link be ween a leas wo
lexemes ( e bs, nouns, ad e bs, adjec i es), o example, commi a c ime,
bliss ully unawa e;
he e is a cons an and ecu en uni y obse ed ac oss mul iple ex s;
i s meaning can be in e ed om he elemen s ha compose i , e en
hough one o hem may be used in a igu a i e sense (bu no bo h);
a ce ain deg ee o a iabili y (subs i u ion) is possible a one o wo
poin s in he colloca ion (exe + powe / con ol/ in luence / au ho i y);
a ce ain deg ee o g amma ical a iabili y ypical o he syn agma ic
ela ion be ween he componen elemen s is allowed (e.g., The powe
exe ed by ha g oup was oo s ong);
94 Magdalena Zinkg ä
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
he appea ance o o he close-class (p eposi ions, a icles, e c.) o
open-class wo ds ( e bs, nouns, ad e bs, adjec i es) be ween he elemen s in
he colloca ion does no a ec he link be ween hem (e.g., he exe ed all his
au ho i y o…);
a ce ain deg ee o a ia ion ela ed o pa s o speech is allowed (i
he e exis s a link such as colloca ion be ween a e b and a noun, he
colloca ion is s ill accep able i he e b is nominalised, e.g., an exe ion o
powe );
he combina ion e inces s o ed knowledge in he memo y o na i e
speake s o a language as pa o he meaning o any wo d ( ha i colloca es
wi h o he s like x o y);
he exp ession o ideas and in e ac ion be ween speake s is aided
ough p e-selec ion o lexical al e na i es;
he combina ions p esen a ce ain speci ici y, i.e., a pa icula
seman ic bond be ween he meanings o he lexical i ems con eyed h ough
he choice o wo ds (all nouns accompanying he e b o exe sha e a
seman ic associa ion wi h he concep o powe ).
These cha ac e is ics may help in he ecogni ion o a colloca ion,
ypically classi ied in o wo b oad g oups: lexical and g amma ical. Those
combina ions which in ol e wo open-class wo ds co espond o he o me ,
while he la e combine an open-class wo d and a pa icle o p eposi ion.
This pa icula s udy ocuses on one ins ance o lexical colloca ions, namely
hose in ol ing a e b and a noun which pe o ms he unc ion o i s di ec
objec , o in e nal a gumen .
3. O e iew o S udies on he Acquisi ion o Colloca ion in Fo eign
Language Se ings
Many au ho s ha e in es iga ed he puzzling issue o colloca ion in a o eign
language se ing, basically awa e o he ac ha compe ence in his espec
enables lea ne s o pe o m almos as p o icien ly as na i e speake s o he
V+N miscolloca ions in he w i en … 95
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
language (Paquo , 2005). The main conclusions d awn om a ious s udies
in o he acquisi ion o English colloca ions in lea ne s o di e en L1
backg ounds a e p esen ed below
1
:
Polish lea ne s o English success ully ex ended he meaning o L2
colloca ions on he basis o an equi alen combina ion in L1, whe eas
Ge man lea ne s o English made swi ching mis akes and blends be ween L1
and L2 (Biskup, 1992).
The wide he meaning scope o a lexical i em, he mo e he
in e e ence o L1 in he colloca ions ha lexical i em pa icipa ed in.
Simila ly, he mo e synonyms a wo d had, he mo e di icul y lea ne s ound
o p oduce a es ic ed colloca ion (Biskup, 1992).
Ad anced EFL lea ne s’ colloca ional compe ence did no ma ch
hei gene al compe ence in he o eign language; lea ne s ound i di icul
o pa aph ase colloca ions hey could no p oduce (Bahns & Eldaw, 1993).
Ad anced EFL lea ne s we e insu icien ly awa e o he
phenomenon o colloca ion in gene al (Bahns & Eldaw, 1993; Fa ghal &
Obieda , 1995).
Fa ghal and Obieda (1995) claim ha hei A abic lea ne s “ end o
espond o he open choice p inciple (…) a he han he Idiom P inciple
2
”
(p. 326), making use o lexical simpli ica ion h ough synonymy, a oidance,
ans e and pa aph asing.
The success ul use o o e lapping colloca ions (which combine
“appa en openness a iabili y- wi h ac ual es ic ion”) and he subsequen
p oduc ion o clus e s o e b-noun combina ions could be a ma ke o
p o iciency among na i e w i e s and p esen di icul ies o non-na i e
w i e s (Cowie & Howa h, 1995, p. 84).
Typically, lea ne s o English ended o use he mos open o ee
ype o colloca ions, which p esen ed almos no challenge o hei
ph aseological compe ence, a oiding he ype o language hey migh
conside p oblema ic (Cowie & Howa h, 1995, p. 89).

96 Magdalena Zinkg ä
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
Lea ne s in Cowie and Howa h’s expe imen eso ed o he
ex ension o a lea n -by-hea es ic ed colloca ion used as he basis o
new, inapp op ia e combina ions. The p ocess o combining he igu a i e
senses o abs ac e bs and nouns in academic w i ing was pe cei ed as
c ea i e by na u e, and he e o e, p oduc i e
3
, which led o miscolloca ions.
Non-na i e F ench speake s o English ended o eso o some
ad e bial ampli ie s in excess in compa ison wi h na i e speake s o he
language, as a c ea i e s a egy o minimise he chances o making mis akes
because he app op ia e ad e bial combina ions we e no salien o non-
na i e speake s o English, i.e., hey did no pe cei e hem as colloca ions
(G ange , 1998).
Non-na i e speake s o English made use o epe i ion when hey
ound hei colloca ional knowledge insu icien o exp ess in ended
meanings (Huang, 2001).
Japanese lea ne s o English u ned o a g ea ex en o delexical
e bs (make, do, ha e, pu ), and as hei le el o gene al p o iciency in he
o eign language inc eased, he nominal ph ase ha colloca ed wi h he
selec ed e b go mo e complex in e ms o modi ica ion (Ba ield, 2001).
Japanese lea ne s ended o uni o mly mis ake alse e b-noun
colloca ions (expe imen al dis ac o s) o eal colloca ions (Ba ield, 2001).
F ee combina ions we e easie o comple e and ansla e by
Taiwanese lea ne s o English han pu e idioma ic exp essions (which allow
li le o no a ia ion), leading o a g ea numbe o inco ec a ian s (Huang,
2001, p. 9).
Dis ance be ween L1 and L2 esul ed in mo e incomple e
colloca ional knowledge and nega i e ans e (Huang, 2001; Mahmoud,
2005).
When he e was insu icien knowledge o he e b componen o a
colloca ion, ecogni ion o he colloca ion was impeded (Ba ield, 2003),
V+N miscolloca ions in he w i en … 97
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
indica ing ha e bs play a de e minan ole in he p oduc ion o hese
colloca ions.
Taiwanese college EFL lea ne s’ use o lexical colloca ions
posi i ely co ela ed wi h hei o e all online w i ing luency (Hsu, 2007).
Mos o hese au ho s ha e done esea ch in o he acquisi ion o
English colloca ions by lea ne s o di e en linguis ic backg ounds and
ag ee on he ypical s a egies ha may gi e ise o awkwa d combina ions,
namely epe i ion and eliance on he belie ha es ic ed combina ions a e
ee . Lea ne s may also o e gene alise he meaning scope o hose
synonymous i ems pa icipa ing in a es ic ed combina ion o eso o
o e simpli ica ion and ans e o colloca ions om L1. Howe e , he e is no
eco d o such a s udy in Romance-language-speaking lea ne s o English. In
he ollowing sec ion, an analysis o he p oduc ion o a ypical V+N
colloca ions by Spanish lea ne s o English is p esen ed.
4. The S udy
The s udy consis ed o wo phases: i s ly, he esea che was o c ea e a
co pus o Ve b-Noun miscolloca ions eco ded in ad anced EFL lea ne s’
w i en assignmen s a an A gen inean uni e si y; secondly, he co pus was
o be manually analysed in sea ch o ypical pa e ns ha would e eal he
sou ce o hese e o s and he unsuccess ul, compensa o y s a egies ha
hese lea ne s make use o when hey need o con ey meanings ha in ol e
colloca ions.
4.1. Pa icipan s, Da a-Collec ion P ocedu es, and Da a Desc ip ion
Pa icipan s in his esea ch in ol ed 102 lea ne s o English aking ei he
he English IV o English V cou ses du ing he academic yea 2003/ 04
wi hin he Teache and T ansla o aining p og ams a he Uni e sidad
Nacional del Comahue, A gen ina, who ag eed o submi hei w i en wo k
o inspec ion and analysis. The le el o p o iciency o hese lea ne s in he
o eign language was assessed h ough X_Lex: The Swansea Le els Tes s, a
98 Magdalena Zinkg ä
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
ocabula y ecogni ion es (Mea a, Mil on, & Lo enzo-Dus, 2005) ha
“measu es s uden s’ lexical and s uc u al ocabula y knowledge a he mos
equen le els in English” (Mea a, Mil on, & Lo enzo-Dus, 2005, p. 1)
4
.
The mean adjus ed sco e ob ained was 4188.56 o English IV pa icipan s,
and 4612.12 o English V lea ne s, espec i ely (s anda d de ia ion: 420.37
in bo h cases). The i s g oup’s p o iciency le el is cha ac e ized by he
p og am as ”compe en ” and “in e media e le el o pe o mance”, and is
equalled o ha o a CAE cou se in he es desc ip o (UCLES exams) o
he 3750-4240 ange. The mo e ad anced g oup o lea ne s in his s udy is
desc ibed as ha ing a “ e y good le el o pe o mance” co esponding o
CPE (UCLES exams) wi h sco es anging om 4500 o 4740.
The da a we e collec ed om 13 di e en p ac ical assignmen s,
including eading comp ehension asks, essays and e iews (a o al o
270,170 wo ds). Table 1 shows he dis ibu ion o hese asks ac oss cou ses
as well as he opics explo ed in each o hem.
Table 1
Da a collec ion ins ances by ask- ype and cou se
Ac i i y Type Topic Cou se
Reading comp ehension + essay Fashion IV
Reading comp ehension + essay Swimming IV
P oposal Menus a he can een IV
Reading comp ehension +
summa y Maxwell & he laws o
Elec omagne ics IV
Reading comp ehension + essay Child-ca e cen es IV
Essay Tele ision and iolence
IV
Reading comp ehension + essay
Oes ogen: science and
na u e IV
V+N miscolloca ions in he w i en … 99
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
Ques ions on a no el O yx and C ake IV
Reading comp ehension +
summa y Mo he kind V
Repo A es i al V
Reading comp ehension +
summa y Mu phy’s Laws V
Re iew (s uden s’ choice) V
Reading comp ehension + essay The Mayas V
To build he co pus, all ins ances o possible inapp op ia e e b-
noun colloca ions ollowing he basic s uc u e in (1) we e ansc ibed and
analysed - he b acke s indica e he possible omission o elemen s.
(1) [(De
) + (Adj) + N] + V + (De ) + (Adj) + N
This p ocedu e was ollowed by he eache o he cou se and an
ex e nal e alua o .
Examples like hose in (2) and (3) cons i u ed a la ge pa o he
co pus.
(2) [The emale body] emi ed [ e e sal clea (sic) signs]
(3) [you] a e aining [you muscles]
O he g amma ical ealisa ions o he same pa e n, such as passi e
o ms (4), a nominal ph ase modi ied by a ( educed) ela i e clause (5), a o-
in ini i e pu pose ad e bial ph ase con aining a ansi i e e b (6), bo h
ge unds (7) and o he nominalisa ions o ansi i e e bs accompanied by
hei di ec objec s, we e also included in he da a-base.
106 Magdalena Zinkg ä
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
elabo a e s uc u es, while on he o he , poin o a possible eason o he
o ma ion o hese a ypical combina ions. When he canonical o de is
in e ed o when he sequence is in e up ed by a p e-modi ie o he noun,
lea ne s may be led o choose an inco ec elemen o he in ended
colloca ion, echoing Nesselhau ’s (2005) discussion o syn ac ic pa e n and
i s co ela ion wi h lea ne s’ di icul ies wi h colloca ions.
5.4. Mos F equen Ve bs
The analysis o he esul s so a has cen ed on he equency and s uc u al
cha ac e is ics o he combina ions as a whole in he co pus. In his sec ion,
howe e , he occu ence o e bs pa icipa ing in he miscolloca ions is
analysed.
Th ough s a is ical analysis i has been es ablished ha delexical
e bs ha e been ex ensi ely in ol ed in he a ypical combina ions o he
co pus. Mo e han a qua e o he o al colloca ions in he da a (28%)
in ol es one o he ollowing delexical e bs: do, make, ake, ha e, p oduce
and hold, all o which ha e also been eso ed o by Japanese lea ne s o
English in he inco ec o ma ion o V+N colloca ions (Ba ield, 2003). In
his s udy Ba ield e lec s on lea ne s’ endency o use a delexical e b plus
a nominaliza ion ins ead o he mo e equen combina ion ound in na i e
speake s’ use o a ull, lexical e b eplacing he odd V+N cons uc ion.
Examples in he co pus analysed in his pape a e:
(8) his disco e ies we e no ecognised a he ime he did hem
(9) he abulous con ibu ion he did o mankind
These ins ances show an awkwa d ela ionship be ween e b and
noun which could easily be sol ed i lea ne s had di ec ly eso ed o he
e bs disco e and con ibu e.
Fu he analysis o he equency dis ibu ion o e bs in he co pus
e inces a endency o employ e y common e bs in English. Table 4
p esen s six speci ic e bs which appea in mo e han 6 miscolloca ions

V+N miscolloca ions in he w i en … 107
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
each, and o each o hem, he numbe o epe i ions ound in he co pus
(Rep) acco ding o he S a is ix 8.0 es o equency dis ibu ion, as well as
hei equency a ing in he Gene al Se ice Lis (GSL)
8
and in he B i ish
Na ional Co pus (BNC)
9
o compa ison.
Table 4
Dis ibu ion o he mos equen e bs
Make and do a e by a he mos equen delexical e bs in ol ed in
miscolloca ions, each epea ed 24 and 19 imes espec i ely. Many o he
“e o s” in his da abase a e due o w ong choice o delexical e bs,
especially his minimal pai , and could ha e been a oided i lea ne s had
used he o he op ion. Thus, in
(10) […] hey do a se ies o changes
he combina ion becomes accep able i do is changed o make.
Wha appea s bo h su p ising and wo ying is ha hese lea ne s
ha e o he wise eached an ad anced le el in hei gene al p o iciency o he
o eign language, as ce i ied by he sco es hey ob ained in he Swansea
Le els Tes X-Lex (Mea a e al., 2005). These mis akes, howe e , poin o an
impo an lack in hei colloca ional compe ence in ol ing mas e y o e y
basic e bs, like make and do.
Table 5 p esen s mo e e y equen e bs, hough hese ha e been
epea ed ewe han i e imes, as calcula ed h ough S a is ix 8.0 es o
equency dis ibu ion. These ha e been classi ied as “conside ably
equen ” in opposi ion o he ones abo e, which pa icipa e in mo e han 6
colloca ions in he co pus.
Ve b Rep GSL BNC Ve b Rep GSL BNC Ve b Rep GSL BNC
do 24 98 18 make 19 37 46 Imp o e 9 604 865
hold 9 172 197 use 7 65 92 P ac ice 6 - 2658
108 Magdalena Zinkg ä
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
Table 5
Ve b Rep
GSL
BNC
Ve b Rep
GSL
BNC
Ve b Rep
GSL
BNC
p oduce
4 444 332 ake 4 60 54 de elop 4 130 411
lose 4 417 362 ha e 3 9 8 enhance
3 - 2666
achie e 3 - 611 p o e
3 687 691 Design 3 262
11810
ain 3 - 855 ace 3 190 599
A ca e ul look a he equency a ing o he e bs in ables 4 and 5
in GSL and BNC p o ides an in iguing insigh in o he use o hese e bs.
Mos o hese cases a e no only equen in he co pus o miscolloca ions
analysed he e, bu a e all he mo e so in he language, mos o hem
belonging o he 1,000 mos equen wo ds in English. The ac ha hese
e y common wo ds in English appea in a ypical colloca ions p oduced by
ad anced lea ne s o he o eign language is e idence o he une en
de elopmen o lea ne s’ gene al linguis ic and colloca ional compe ences.
As has been s a ed elsewhe e, Bahns and Eldaw (1993), Ba ield (2003) and
Fa ghal and Obieda (1995) ha e ound his o be he case in hei
in es iga ions. The da a in his s udy indica e ha he e bs used a e o so
basic a na u e ha i migh be assumed ha hese lea ne s a e a an
elemen a y le el in e ms o hei handling o colloca ion.
On he o he hand, he da a migh also be in e p e ed as e idence o a
s a egy lea ne s eso o when aced wi h he ac ha hey a e no
con iden in he use o he al e na i e lexical e b ha would o he wise
comp ise he meanings o bo h he delexical e b and he in ended noun.
This pa icula s a egy has been ound o be widesp ead among FL lea ne s
ac oss he s udies e iewed abo e, and a e y use ul one in ha hese
delexical e bs can be ypically accompanied by a g ea - and un es ic ed, in
s uden s’ eyes - numbe o nouns. Unde he assump ion ha hese e bs lack
a speci ic meaning, lea ne s o e -gene alise and combine hem wi h any
noun unde he illusion ha he e is no es ic ion o he way hey can be
used. These indings migh a es o lea ne s’ eliance on Sinclai (1991)’s
Open Choice P inciple. Acco ding o Huns on (2002), e iewing Sinclai ’s
wo k on his issue,
V+N miscolloca ions in he w i en … 109
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
meaning [o any g oup o sequence o wo ds] is made ei he by he ph ase
as a whole, ope a ing in acco dance wi h he con en ional ph aseology, o
(less o en) i is made by he indi idual wo ds, ope a ing in acco dance wi h
g amma ical ules (p. 145).
The esul s o his s udy seem o show ha i Spanish lea ne s’
knowledge o English colloca ions and hei inhe en es ic ions a e
incomple e, hey will cons uc meaning by adding up meanings o
indi idual wo ds (The Open Choice P inciple), igno ing he “whole ph ase”
p inciple (The Idiom P inciple). In hei s udy o A abic lea ne s’
colloca ional compe ence, Fa ghal and Obieda (1995) ha e eached simila
conclusions in his espec .
Al hough in e es ing insigh s can be gained h ough he analysis o
noun equency in he s udy o miscolloca ions, and in e ms o seman ic
clus e ing o bo h nouns and e bs, o easons o space hese aspec s will
no be discussed he ein (see Zinkg ä , 2005). Ins ead, he issue o he impac
o lea ne s’ L1 on hese a ypical combina ions will occupy he ollowing
sec ion.
5.5. The Role o he Mo he Tongue
To u he in es iga e he mo i es o he a ypical colloca ions in he co pus,
each elemen in he combina ions ( e b and noun) was gi en a ansla ion
in o he mo he ongue by he esea che . In o de o ensu e he alidi y o
hese ansla ions, ou ex e nal a e s whose mo he ongue is also Spanish
and whose pe o mance in English is quasi na i e we e asked o accep o
ejec he gi en ansla ion o he elemen s in each miscolloca ion. These
a e s’ assessmen s esul ed in 61% o hese a ypical V+N colloca ions being
uni o mly accep ed as gene a ed by nega i e ans e om L1. The esul s,
which echo Hoey’s (2005) p edic ions o L2 acquisi ion o colloca ions,
coincide wi h hose ob ained by Bahns (1993), Biskup (1992), Bonci (2004),
Fa ghal and Obieda (1995), G ange (1998), Mahmoud (2005) and
Ma yńska (2004) as ega ds he impac o he mo he ongue, in his
pa icula case, Spanish, on he p oduc ion o inapp op ia e combina ions
be ween e bs and hei in e nal a gumen s in lea ne s o English.
110 Magdalena Zinkg ä
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
A u he s ep in he explo a ion o his issue was aimed a
de e mining which cons i uen is esponsible o he de ia ion in hese cases.
To his pu pose, each o he miscolloca ions in he da a base was p o ided
wi h an accep able al e na i e o exp ess he in ended meaning. Fo ins ance,
o he combina ion [ex inguish] + [disease] in
(12) [...] so as o p e en , cu e, o ex inguish a disease (In . 20)
he dic iona ies consul ed o e he lemma ERADICATE as an
accep able colloca e o DISEASE.
This p ocedu e was epea ed wi h e e y miscolloca ion in he co pus
o assess whe he he noun, he e b o bo h in he o iginal e sion needed o
be modi ied. 70.5% o he a ypical combina ions in he co pus can be made
accep able by eplacing he o iginal e b wi h one sugges ed by he
lexicog aphical wo ks consul ed. On he o he hand, he combina ions ha
could be made igh by changing he o iginal noun only ep esen 19%. In
9% o he cases i was ha d o de e mine which elemen had been selec ed
inco ec ly, o wha message o idea had been in ended by he in o man s in
he i s place.
These da a indica e ha e bs a e mainly esponsible o he
inco ec ness in hese a ypical V+N colloca ions, while showing ha
pa icipan s in his in es iga ion ha e insu icien knowledge o he igh
colloca es ( e bs) he bases (usually nouns) o he colloca ions ypically
ake. Once again i is wo h no icing ha ou o he 70.5%, a signi ican
numbe o w ong e bs belonged o he delexical ca ego y, and he
“mis ake” could be co ec ed by selec ing i s coun e pa (e.g., make s. do).
The esul s e ince an in e media e s age in he acquisi ion o
colloca ions, since he e is e idence ha p o es hese lea ne s lack he
linguis ic ools o p oduce es ic ed colloca ions, which in u n migh lead o
hea y eliance on L1 o p oduc ion o V+N combina ions. The pa icipan s
in his in es iga ion ha e p oduced colloca ions ha in ol e delexical e bs
o an unusually impo an ex en as compa ed o na i e speake s’
pe o mance, e en choosing he w ong one among a se o possibili ies.
Wha appea s signi ican ly wo ying is he ac ha he miscolloca ions
V+N miscolloca ions in he w i en … 111
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
eco ded in ol e ideas, concep s and ela ions ha a e o common use in
basic exchanges in he o eign language.
6. Conclusions
The analysis o he da a base ob ained h ough 13 w i en assignmen s
submi ed by 102 Spanish-speaking lea ne s o English a he Uni e sidad
Nacional del Comahue, A gen ina, shows he di e en s a egies hey
ypically eso o wi h espec o hei colloca ional compe ence. Mos o he
de ia ions a e he esul o nega i e ans e om hei mo he ongue, (61%)
o , in some o he cases, o he exagge a ed use o inapp op ia e delexical
e bs. The w ong choice o bo h nouns and e bs al e na i ely is ecu en in
hese a ypical colloca ions, esponsible o 70% o he miscolloca ions in he
co pus. O he usual s a egies employed a e epe i ion o one same e b
combined wi h nouns which do no colloca e, simpli ica ion e inced in he
eliance on he Open Choice P inciple when lea ne s igno e he es ic ions
some combina ions a e subjec o, and ex ension by analogy, in hose cases
whe e hey assume ha i a noun sha es meaning elemen s wi h ano he , hey
bo h colloca e wi h he same e b.
The esul s also poin o ecu en pa e ns in he s uc u es lea ne s
use o con ey he e b-noun ela ion. These conclusions indica e a clea
misma ch be ween lea ne s’ gene al compe ence in he o eign language and
hei colloca ional compe ence, simila o he esul s in Schmi e al. (2004)
wi h espec o a possible co ela ion be ween size o he ‘indi idual wo d
lexicon’ and he ‘ o mulaic sequence lexicon’ (p. 64). Al hough he da a and
conclusions he ein p esen ed ha e li le po en ial o gene alisa ion o wide
educa ional con ex s, many o he esul s ob ained may be made ex ensi e o
simila si ua ions in which ad anced lea ne s o a o eign language p esen
limi a ions as ega ds he w i en p oduc ion o e b-noun colloca ions.
The insigh s o e ed by his s udy poin o an impo an need o he
de elopmen o hese lea ne s’ colloca ional compe ence h ough speci ic
awa eness- aising ac i i ies as o he es ic ed na u e o he phenomenon in
ques ion. Mo eo e , as some au ho s sugges (Lewis, 2000; Ba ield, 2003),
special emphasis should be placed on hose a eas whe e L1 and L2 di e in

112 Magdalena Zinkg ä
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
meanings and colloca ions. Bea ing his linguis ic dis ance in mind should
help eache s an icipa e possible occasions o nega i e ans e , and hus
selec he combina ions o be wo ked on in he English class. In addi ion, a
poin should be made o ocussing on colloca ions in o eign language
eaching om he e y beginning a e y ea ly s ages in he lea ning p ocess.
Thus, a basic colloca ional compe ence could be de eloped, and on i s basis,
mo e es ic ed and complex meanings buil and d awn a en ion o in
subsequen , mo e ad anced cou ses. Enabling lea ne s o pe cei e language
as being made up o ecu en g oups o wo ds should be one o a eache ’s
mos impo an aims and migh e en ually help s uden s in he p oduc ion o
he o eign language, leading hem o ely mo e on he Idiom P inciple han
on he wo d-by-wo d cons ual o meaning, hus esembling a na i e
speake ’s na u al pe o mance in he use o he language.
V+N miscolloca ions in he w i en … 113
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
No es
1
These indings ha e been a anged ollowing a ch onological o de .
2
Re e ence o Sinclai (1991)’s Idiom P inciple and Open Choice P inciple is
made in sec ion 4.4.
3
See Sinclai (1991)’s Idiom P inciple and Open Choice P inciple in sec ion
4.4.
4
This compu e p og am p o ides a ocabula y p o ile in e ms o i e di e en
le els o ocabula y knowledge. An adjus ed sco e deduces he numbe o
pseudowo ds om he o al sco es, hus aking es - ake s’ guessing in o
accoun .
5
'de ' should be unde s ood as 'de e mine '
6
Consul ed a www.collins.co.uk/Co pus/Co pusSea ch.aspx
7
Compu e p og amme downloadable om h p://unde na ion.com/c ack-s ep7-
mic o/c ack-S a is ix+8.0-se ial-keygen- ee- ull-download- o en .h ml
8
The Gene al Se ice Lis is a lis o equen wo ds in English and can be
consul ed a h p://jbauman.com/gsl.h ml
9
A hie a chy o he mos equen lemmas in his co pus can be consul ed a
p:// p.i i.b on.ac.uk/bnc/lemma.al
114 Magdalena Zinkg ä
ELIA 8, 2008, pp. 91-116
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