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Collocation

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The habitual juxtaposition of particular words in poetic language

Detailed Definition
Collocation refers to the habitual pairing of words (e.g., "strong tea," "heavy rain"); in poetry, unusual or disrupted collocations create defamiliarization, as in Hopkins’s "dappled things" or Plath’s "black telephone," refreshing language and perception.
Example
Example in poetry:
Collocation: In Seamus Heaney’s “Digging,” the phrase “nicking and slicing” exemplifies collocation—words habitually paired in poetic diction to evoke precise sensory action.
Additional Notes
Collocation: Habitual word pairings (e.g., “strong tea,” “heavy rain”); in poetry, subverting or reinforcing collocations shapes tone and surprise—e.g., “green ideas sleep furiously” (Chomsky) illustrates unnatural collocation.
Also Known As
Word partnership lexical association habitual pairing word combination
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