Phraseology and Culture in English

5. Semantic 
schemata 
Semantic schemata are patterns in language use of habitually recurring multi-
word units and grammatical structures that are variable but recognisably simi-
lar. They share a pragmatic intention or evaluation, visible in habitual se-
mantic prosodies of related sets of collocates of the node word. Hunston 
and Francis (2000: 37) define patterns as “all the words and structures which 
are regularly associated with the word and which contribute to its meaning 
… if a combination of words occurs relatively frequently, … and if there is 
a clear meaning associated with it”. 
Two aspects are important here: The first is the generally applicable 
“idiomatic principle”, that is the co-selection of lexical elements in syntag-
matic structure, documented in detail by Sinclair (1996, 1998). He shows 
how normal native language use consists of a large number of semi-pre-
constructed phrases, which are chosen as one unit although they seem to be 
analysable as segments. This is based on the Firthian concept of ‘the com-
pany a word keeps’, i.e. the continuum from words co-occurring habitually 
with one or a set of related words to more unrestricted choices of word 
combinations. Below, this “idiomatic principle” is illustrated in the summa-
ries of semantically related sets of collocates of the investigated node 
words. These sets each show a shared evaluation of the main concept un-
derlying the phrases around the node. If, for example, the majority of the 
collocates of tourist/s are concerned with aspects of “masses of people be-
ing a nuisance”, we can conclude that this is a central semantic aspect of 
the words in today’s language use. 
The second aspect concerns the more fixed end of the continuum of 
collocational stability. The terminology around such phraseological phe-
nomena is manifold and differently used by different athors
4
. We will fo-

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Andrea Gerbig and Angela Shek 
cus here in a less formalistic manner on “extended lexical units” (ELU) 
(Sinclair 1996). The term “lexical item”, i.e. form-function units across 
word boundaries, that are habitually used and have a conventionalised 
meaning in a community of language users is preferred in Sinclair (1998). 
Sinclair’s model of ELUs leaves enough descriptive scope to cover sets of 
semantically related collocates as well as more narrowly delimited (fixed) 
phrases.
Fillmore (1997) points out the relevance of such phraseological phe-
nomena to their respective cultural background
5
. According to him, such 
pre-fabricated units of meaning fulfil a unifying function within a socio-
cultural community, because people can rely on a common stock of con-
cepts and references. This implies that a substantial part of our experience 
is categorized by, and organized into, cognitive schemata. They, in turn, 
are analysable as linguistic patterns and routines, which encode pragmatic 
attitudes and evaluations. These are visible in “discourse prosodies” 
(Stubbs 2001), i.e. habitual evaluations marked in sets of semantically 
related collocates of a node. A discourse prosody can be understood as 
the pragmatic motivation for choosing the particular ELU in the first 
place
6
. In its pragmatic function, this evaluative element can be compared 
to the illocutionary force of speech acts. Therefore, it plays an important