Multiword Sequences as Building Blocks for Language: Insights into First and Second Language Learning

Many grammatical frameworks view words and rules as the basic building blocks of language, with multiword sequences being treated as peripheral exceptions in the form of idioms, etc. (e.g., Pinker, 1999). The new millennium, however, has seen a shift toward construing multiword sequences not as linguistic rarities but as important building blocks for language acquisition and processing. Based on a growing bulk of evidence of sensitivity to multiword sequences in language learning and use (see Ellis, 2012, for a review), multiword sequences have come to figure prominently in many current approaches to language, including item-based learning (Lieven, 2010), formulaic language (Wray, 2008), usage-based language processing (Arnon & Snider, 2010), and chunk-based learning (McCauley & Christiansen, in preparation). This symposium brings together experts from these different approaches to language to explore the idea that first (L1) and second (L2) language learners differ with respect to their ability to use multiword building blocks to learn and process language, and that this difference affects learning strategies and outcomes. Unlike young children, adult learners rarely reach native proficiency in pronunciation, morphological and syntactic processing, or the use of formulaic language and idioms (see Ellis, 2012, for a review). Yet adults do not have problems with all aspects of novel language learning: they seem to learn certain aspects of language (e.g., words) better than others (e.g., grammatical relations, formulaic expressions). Existing accounts of the differences between L1 and L2 language learning have tended to focus on biological, cognitive, and neural differences between children and adults. These accounts predict the general difference in proficiency between the two populations, but struggle to explain the specific patterns of language learning observed in children and adults. Understanding the different paths and outcomes of L1 and L2 learning has wide-reaching implications for cognitive science in terms of what it means to know a language, how much of such knowledge is ‘built-in’, and how learning changes as a function of prior knowledge and experience. Crucially, while L1 acquisition, adult psycholinguistics, and L2 learning are often studied separately, we bring together insights from developmental psychology (Lieven), psycholinguistics (Arnon), computational investigations of language structure (Christiansen), and applied psycholinguistics (Wray) to present a diverse and rich perspective on multiword building blocks in language learning and use. The symposium participants have all worked extensively on language acquisition and use. Lieven has been at the forefront of developing the usage-based approach to language learning and has conducted numerous studies on the nature of children’s early language use and representation. Arnon has been studying both the processing of multiword sequences by adult native speakers and the way chunk-based learning can impact adult performance in artificial languages. Christiansen has conducted extensive psycholinguistic and computational work exploring the units of language learning and the way such units affect learning. Wray has worked broadly on formulaic expressions in both native and non-native speakers as well as more recently in the language of Alzheimer’s patients. Together, the participants have published more than 70 papers relating to the role of multiword sequences in language.