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| Figurative Language | 1 |
| Higher Education | 1 |
| Idioms | 1 |
| Phrase Structure | 1 |
| Psycholinguistics | 1 |
| Syntax | 1 |
| Undergraduate Students | 1 |
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| Cognitive Psychology | 1 |
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Peer reviewedGibbs, Raymond W., Jr.; Nayak, Nandini P. – Cognitive Psychology, 1989
Six experiments (N=194 undergraduates) examined why some idioms can be syntactically changed and still retain their figurative meanings, while others cannot be syntactically altered without losing their figurative meanings. Idioms whose individual semantic components contribute to their overall meanings were judged as more syntactically-flexible…
Descriptors: Figurative Language, Higher Education, Idioms, Phrase Structure
