“搭配”研究是弗斯语言学的重要课题。Firth关于搭配的论述应该放在他的意义理论的大背景中来考虑。这一理论是对长期以来占主导地位的意义研究的指称方法的一种反叛 ,体现了他对词汇的意义潜势的横组合方面的关注 ,也是他对话语的可预测性的兴趣的具体表现。这一理论反映了他关于语言本质上是“正在进行的”(on- going)这一哲学思想。他对 Lear的打油诗和 Swinburne的抒情诗的搭配分析实践了他关于研究“限制性语言”的一贯主张。通过对 James Joyce的一个短篇小说的个案分析 ,我们展示了搭配分析的基本方法以及存在的问题 ,也揭示了通过大型语料库运用计算机技术研究搭配为势在必行。 Collocation research is an important issue of Firth linguistics. Firth’s argument about collocation should be considered in the context of his theory of meaning. This theory is a rebellion against the allegation of a long-held and significant study of meaning that reflects his horizontal concern with the potential of words and the concrete manifestation of his predictable interest in discourse . This theory reflects his philosophical thinking that language is essentially “on-going.” His analysis of the pairing of Lear’s Greatest Hits and Swinburne’s lyrics embodies his consistent advocacy of “restricted language.” Through a case study of a short story by James Joyce, we show the basic methods of collocation analysis and the existing problems. It also shows that it is imperative to study collocation through large corpora using computer technology.