ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews research on formulaic language in second language pragmatics, called conventional expressions. Conventional expressions indicate the illocutionary force of speech acts, are associated with specific pragmatic settings, and are the preferred expression of native speakers in those contexts. This chapter considers how conventional expressions are defined in pragmatics and identified for research, how conventionality is established, how learner knowledge is evaluated, how the investigation of the acquisition of conventional expressions contributes to our understanding of second language pragmatics, and how research on second language pragmatics contributes to a broader understanding of the second language acquisition of formulaic language more generally.
