A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OVER FORMULAIC LANGUAGE AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH PHRASEOLOGY

Abstract

This article analyses the characteristics and roles of formulaic language from cognitive and linguistic viewpoints, emphasising how fixed and repetitive phrases enhance discourse structure, processing efficiency, and communication stability, particularly from historical contexts. The study employs a descriptive, corpus-informed, and historical-philological approach to identify the structural characteristics, functions, and transmission methods of formulaic units across various textual sources. The findings indicate that formulaic expressions function as reliable cognitive anchors, enhancing memory, alleviating cognitive load, and promoting coherence in both spoken and written communication. The study shows that the phenomenon is not as new as we might think, but has been reconsidered and reformulated due to progressively sophisticated linguistic theory; what we have of it in modern times makes a much better description of its cognitive underpinning. It is argued in the paper that these types of formulaic language are an inherent and universal dimension of linguistic behaviour, and that its investigation can offer important insights into mental representation, patterns of use, and discourse structure.