Abstract

This paper attempts to offer a general review of studies on lexical chunks at home and abroad to reveal prospective readers a clear path to approach this promising language phenomenon. It starts with definitions of chunks, followed by an exemplification of the essential characteristics, different classifications, and functions proposed by researchers, and then it summarizes some major findings both theoretically and empirically. Based on these, some crucial aspects are pointed out that previous studies fail to cover but a worthwhile attempt for the future study.

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