Non-collocation

A 'non-collocation' refers to a word or phrase that is used in a context or combination that is statistically infrequent or considered unnatural by native speakers of a language. Collocations are words that frequently and predictably occur together, forming idiomatic expressions and enhancing fluency. A non-collocation, therefore, deviates from these established patterns, resulting in phrasing that sounds awkward, unusual, or even incorrect, despite the individual words being grammatically correct. The detection of non-collocations is crucial for achieving natural language understanding and for evaluating language proficiency in both native and second language learners.

Non-collocation meaning with examples

• Instead of 'strong tea', a non-collocation example is 'powerful tea'. While the word 'powerful' is grammatically correct, it's not a typical descriptor for tea. 'Strong' is the more natural and expected collocation, indicating a concentration. This non-collocation undermines the fluidity and naturalness of the sentence.
• Consider 'make a mistake' versus 'construct a mistake'. 'Construct' can be used to build houses or build a model, but is not an appropriate term for a mistake. 'Make' is an established collocation. The use of 'construct' sounds unnatural to native speakers.
• An example of a non-collocation would be saying, 'high rain'. The word collocation in this case is 'heavy rain', which accurately and naturally describes a considerable amount of precipitation. High could describe the position of the rain, but does not accurately describe the amount of the rainfall.
• Another non-collocation example is 'pay attention', the natural and idiomatic collocation, versus the non-collocation which is 'pay importance'. While the meaning is close, native speakers instinctively favor established collocations that create more fluidity in speaking and writing. Therefore, the phrase 'pay attention' is correct.