Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-258) and index.

Acknowledgements; Preface; PART ONE; LEXICAL PHRASES IN LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION; 1. The nature and description of lexical phrases; 1.1 Introduction; 1.2 Competence, performance, and pragmatics; 1.2.1 Pragmatics as competence versus pragmatics as performance; 1.2.2 The nature of competence; 1.2.3 Pragmatic competence; 1.4 Pragmatic competence and form/function composites; 1.2.5 Conventions of lexical phrase selection; 1.2.6 Processing effort; 1.3 Computer analysis of text; 1.3.1 Collocations in computer analysis; 1.3.2 Collocations in natural language processing; 1.4 Prefabricated language and language acquisition; 1.4.1 Invariable routines and variable patterns; 1.4.2 The role of prefabricated language; 2. Formal aspects of lexical phrases; 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Pre-fabricated language and psychological processing; 2.2.1 Idioms and cliches; 2.2.2 Non-canonical phrases; 2.3.3 Variability as points on a continuum; 2.3.4 From less variable to more variable; 2.3 Lexical phrases as variable units; 2.3.1 Lexical phrases, collocations, and syntax; 2.3.2 Categories of lexical phrase; 2.4 Issues of form and flexibility; 2.4.1 Indirect speech acts as lexical phrase sentence builders; 2.4.2 Non-conventional indirect speech acts; 2.4.3 Conventional indirect speech acts; 2.4.4 Conventionalized sets and basic lexical phrase frames; 2.4.5 Distinctions in variability and lexical phrase types; 3. Functional aspects of lexical phrases; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 Functions of lexical phrases; 3.2.1 Social interactions; 3.2.2 Necessary topics; 3.2.3 Discourse devices; 3.2.4 Forms of lexical phrases in functional groups; 3.2.5 Lexical phrases in other languages; 3.3 Lexical phrases in conversational discourse; 3.3.1 Patterns in conversation; 3.3.2 Interconnected functions; 3.4 Lexical phrases in transactional discourse; 3.4.1 Interactional versus transactional discourse; 3.4.2 The role of discourse devices; 3.5 Transactional spoken discourse; 3.5.1 Cha

Recent second language acquisition research is used here to present a language teaching programme based on the use of 'prefabricated language'. The authors show that the unit of language they term the 'lexical phrase' can serve as an effective basis for both second and foreign language learning.