Lexical Priming: A New Theory of Words and Language

by Michael Hoey

Lexical Priming proposes a radical new theory of the lexicon, which amounts to a completely new theory of language based on how words are used in the real world. Here they are not confined to the definitions given to them in dictionaries but instead interact with other words in common patterns of use. Using concrete statistical evidence from a corpus of newspaper English, but also referring to travel writing and literary text, the author argues that words are 'primed' for use through our experience with them, so that everything we know about a word is a product of our encounters with it. This knowledge explains how speakers of a language succeed in being fluent, creative and natural.

Genres: Linguistics, Language

220 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2005

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe one day people will catch up with Michael Hoey's groundbreaking approach to language study. This evidently empirical approach to patterning in language forces linguistics to stand its priorities and assumptions on their head. According to the research laid out very clearly in this book, the choices we make are rarely our choices. In most cases we use language in the same way as we have seen it used - and so we use the same lexical chunks at the start of our paragraphs,but different chunks at the end. And we do it so consistently that it can't be just chance. Revealing and a little frightening all at once.