Showing papers by "Tony McEnery published in 2006"

Corpus-Based Language Studies: An Advanced Resource Book

Abstract: The corpus-based approach to linguistic analysis and language teaching has come to prominence over the past two decades This book seeks to bring readers up to date with the latest developments in corpus-based language studies In comparison with the existing introductory books in corpus linguistics, Corpus-based Language Studies is unique in a number of ways First, this is a book which covers the 'how to' as well as the 'why' In approaching 'how to', we obviously have to focus on specific concordance packages and corpora which are currently available However, our aim is to embrace a range of corpora and packages, hence hopefully offsetting any problems due to corpora being withdrawn or software radically changed It is the 'how to' focus which in large part makes this book stand out from other available volumes This book includes six case studies, each exploring a particular research question using specific tools This is where the reader learns how to do corpus linguistics, as the process of investigating the data using the package(s) concerned is spelt out step by step, using text and screenshots Thus by the end of each case study, a corpus has been introduced, the reader has learnt how to use a retrieval package and some research questions have been explored Readers are then encouraged to explore a related research question using the same corpus data, tools and techniques As well as explaining 'how to', the book also addresses 'why' While we may expect the reader to consult other books on corpus linguistics, we want this book, for two distinct reasons, to explore what one may do with corpus data and why one should want to do it Firstly, and obviously, if we want the reader to be able to 'become' a corpus linguist having read the book, we clearly have to explain the rationale for corpus-based studies, and to use case studies both to exemplify the worth of corpus linguistics as well as the features of the packages concerned Secondly, we want this book to tie in much more closely with linguistic theory than previous books in corpus linguistics have done Our goal is to engage research questions and theory with corpus linguistics with an increasing depth and intensity as the book progresses Second, this is a book which engages with a range of approaches to the use of corpus data, which makes it different from existing books in corpus linguistics, with each case study focusing on a major approach to the use of corpus data while paying little or no attention to other approaches After reading this volume, readers are expected to understand when and how to combine these approaches with other methodologies Finally, this is a book which is more focused on multilingual corpus linguistics than available corpus books While this volume is concerned mainly with English corpus linguistics, we also cover issues in multilingual corpus linguistics, and have one case study focusing on a language other than English

Collocation, Semantic Prosody, and Near Synonymy: A Cross-Linguistic Perspective

Abstract: This paper explores the collocational behaviour and semantic prosody of near synonyms from a cross-linguistic perspective. The importance of these concepts to language learning is well recognized. Yet while collocation and semantic prosody have recently attracted much interest from researchers studying the English language, there has been little work done on collocation and semantic prosody on languages other than English. Still less work has been undertaken contrasting the collocational behaviour and semantic prosody of near synonyms in different languages. In this paper, we undertake a cross-linguistic analysis of collocation, semantic prosody, and near synonymy, drawing upon data from English and Chinese (pu3tong1hua4). The implications of the findings for language learning are also discussed.

A Glossary of Corpus Linguistics

Abstract: This alphabetic guide provides definitions and discussion of key terms used in corpus linguistics. Corpus data is being used in a growing number of English and Linguistics departments which have no record of past research with corpus data. This is the first comprehensive glossary of the many specialist terms in corpus linguistics and will be useful for corpus linguists and non corpus linguists alike. Clearly written, by a team of experienced academics in the field, the glossary provides full coverage of both traditional and contemporary terminology. Entries are focused around the following broad groupings: * Important corpora * Key technical terms in the field * Key linguistic terms relevant to corpus-based research * Key statistical measures used in corpus linguistics * Key computer programme/retrieval systems used in the construction and exploitation of corpora * Standards applied within the field of corpus linguistics.

Passive constructions in English and Chinese: A corpus-based contrastive study .

Abstract: This article combines the corpus-based and contrastive approaches, seeking to provide a systematic account of passive constructions in two typologically distinct languages, namely British English and Mandarin Chinese. We will first explore, on the basis of written and spoken corpus data, a range of characteristics of passives in the two languages including various passive constructions, long vs. short passives, semantic, pragmatic and syntactic features as well as genre variations. On the basis of this exploration, passive constructions in the two languages are contrasted in a structured way. Methodologically, this study demonstrates that comparable monolingual corpora can be exploited fruitfully in contrastive linguistics.

Can completive and durative adverbials function as tests for telicity? Evidence from English and Chinese

Abstract: Telicity is an important concept in the study of aspect. While the compatibility tests with completive and durative adverbials have long been in operation as a diagnostic for telicity, their validity and reliability have rarely been questioned. This article critically explores the validity and reliability of such tests and discusses such temporal expressions in English and Chinese on the basis of written and spoken corpora of the two languages and proposes a scheme of usage categories of completive and durative adverbials with their respective proportions, which is adequately explanatory of the phenomena observed in attested language use and enables compatibility tests with completive and durative adverbials to achieve improved accuracy and reliability.