Corpus Linguistics: Method, Theory and Practice

Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics

by Tony McEnery, Andrew Hardie

Corpus linguistics is the study of language data on a large scale – the computer-aided analysis of very extensive collections of transcribed utterances or written texts. This textbook outlines the basic methods of corpus linguistics, explains how the discipline of corpus linguistics developed and surveys the major approaches to the use of corpus data. It uses a broad range of examples to show how corpus data has led to methodological and theoretical innovation in linguistics in general. Clear and detailed explanations lay out the key issues of method and theory in contemporary corpus linguistics. A structured and coherent narrative links the historical development of the field to current topics in 'mainstream' linguistics. Practical tasks and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter encourage students to test their understanding of what they have read and an extensive glossary provides easy access to definitions of technical terms used in the text.

Genres: Linguistics, Language, Reference

312 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2011

About the author

Tony McEnery is Professor of English Language and Linguistics and Head of the Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University, UK.

Reviews

[Mohammad Aboomar · Rating 4 out of 5]

To use the authors' words, this book is a survey of corpus linguistics. A strong emphasis is made on Neo-Firthians and their ideas and approaches towards corpus studies. The authors also explored the intersections of this discipline with other linguistics disciplines as well as more general fields of study.

An important aspect that is of note here is the discussion of legal and ethical aspects of building corpora. The book also provides an excellent overview of complicated and fuzzy concepts such as collocation and semantic prosody.

[Ho'omana Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accessible introduction to corpus linguistics

This book offers an accessible overview of the field and method of corpus linguistics. The authors work hard to inform you of their own theoretical positions while still describing in great detail views which they do not share but are nonetheless prominent in the field. The practical activities and further readings are a huge help for going beyond this text.