Limitations of Corpus linguistics
CASS Corpus Approaches to Social Science
Corpus Linguistics 1. Introduction to Corpora
Corpora and Language Teaching • • • • •
Textbooks Dictionaries Classroom Exercises Tests Learner Corpora
Limitations of Corpus linguistics • It won’t tell us if something is possible in a language, or well-formed. E.g. is “he expired of heart disease” acceptable English? • Any generalisations we make from corpus data can only be deductions – not facts. • Corpora give us evidence, but not information or explanations. Why do women say “wash” more than men? • Corpora give us language out of context – so no visual information e.g. pictures, fonts etc. And with spoken data – no information on what the speakers look like, behaviour or body language.
Further Reading • McEnery, Tony & Wilson, Andrew (2001) Corpus Linguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Chapter 1. • Hunston, S. (2002) Corpora in Applied Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1.
Corpus Linguistics 1. Introduction to Corpora
Corpora and Language Teaching • • • • •
Textbooks Dictionaries Classroom Exercises Tests Learner Corpora
Limitations of Corpus linguistics • It won’t tell us if something is possible in a language, or well-formed. E.g. is “he expired of heart disease” acceptable English? • Any generalisations we make from corpus data can only be deductions – not facts. • Corpora give us evidence, but not information or explanations. Why do women say “wash” more than men? • Corpora give us language out of context – so no visual information e.g. pictures, fonts etc. And with spoken data – no information on what the speakers look like, behaviour or body language.
Further Reading • McEnery, Tony & Wilson, Andrew (2001) Corpus Linguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Chapter 1. • Hunston, S. (2002) Corpora in Applied Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1.
