Transcript Master Class 1

Masterclass 1
Stratford Grammar School for Girls
July 6th, 2010
A Brief Introduction
to
Corpus Linguistics
Corpus Linguistics - definition
• the study of language use in a collection or ‘corpus’
of texts which is stored and accessed electronically
• written text or spoken language in transcription
• purpose is to study naturally occurring language
produced by one or many writers or speakers
• more informative than consulting one’s own intuition,
or asking people what they do
• ‘quantitative’ – counts show which words and
features are common/ typical, and which are rare
• used as basis for decisions and descriptions by
linguists, teachers, learners, lexicographers,
translators (e.g. Collins Cobuild Dictionary)
Precursor to modern-day electronic corpora
 1959 - Survey of English Usage
(SEU)
- UCL, London
- 200 text samples, 5,000 wds
- speech and writing
- stored on cards
- in chests of drawers
Some modern-day corpora




small, finite, static corpora
1961 - Brown corpus;
1 mill. words 1961
1967 - LOB corpus;
1 mill. words 1961
1961 - Brown ‘family’
1 mill. words 1931-1991
1975 - London /Lund corpus (100 sp. samples) ½ mill. words
large, finite, static corpora
 1991 British National Corpus (BNC) 100 million words
 1986 Bank of English
450 million words
modern, chronological, open-ended corpora
 1989 - RDUES news corpus
1 bill. words
1984-ongoing
 2006 - WebCorpLSE – ‘mini-web' 12 bill. words
ongoing
 2008 - Corpus Contemp. Am. Engl. (COCA) 400m wds 1990-ongoing
……the sky is the limit
Corpus; pl. corpora - definition
A corpus is a collection of texts, written or spoken,
built to answer a question about language in use.
i. this could be:
“what was the language of Dickens like?”
and the corpus consists of all known works of Dickens
ii. or the other extreme:
“what is the language of today like?”
and the corpus ‘represents’ ‘the language’ in use today
• of course, this is impossible in the strict sense
• the normal compromise is to select texts from wide
range of text types
• or take a single, varied text type like UK journalism
Concordance - definition
• term introduced in 1244 by first concordancer
- Hugues, de Saint-Cher
• a concordance was an index of some or all of
the words in a manuscript/collection of manuscripts
• words might also be extracted within their contexts; with
definitions or annotations; cross-referencing to their
locations in the original text(s) or to topic headings
• purpose: to aid devotional, and later, literary study
Evolution of ‘concordances’
1. as general research resources
•
1230 –index to the Vulgate Bible;
by Hugues, de Saint-Cher
+ 500 fellow-Dominicans
printed 1470
•
1790 – Shakespeare index
by Samuel Ayscough
•
1845 – full Shakespeare
concordance
by Mary Cowden Clarke →
Cowden Clarke concordances
The complete concordance to Shakspere: being a verbal index to all the passages
in the dramatic works of the poet by Mary Cowden Clarke, compiled 1809-1898.
Evolution of concordances
2. as aid in dictionary preparation
•
back to 1755 - Samuel Johnson’s
archive of 15,000 illustrative citations
on slips of paper, for 40,000 head words
•
1879- 1928 - Oxford English Dictionary
447, 000 word forms, 2.4 mill. quotations
by James A. H. Murray
Modern-day concordances/concordance lines - definition
• nowadays, a full concordance is a set of all the
instances of every single word in the corpus,
extracted with their contexts
• words, sub-words and phrases can be the object of
study
• the concordance lines (or informally, concordances)
for a word are presented as a series of single-line
extracts, with the node word situated centrally
Concordance with node word centrally placed
speak to her, and do a sad face, to show I feel her
did nothing to intervene. What a sad waste of a young life. What
in Las Vegas tomorrow night. How sad does it get? These are two
contract is illegal and irrelevant. The sad reality is that a proud Premiership
measured, and it would be rather sad if we didn't take some pride
again soon and that is very sad . "His aim was to play in
myself finally moved by this desperately sad film and by the performances of
a concordance; concordance lines
• but the accompanying context can also be longer sentence or paragraph length,
• with the node word falling where it may
Sentence-length concordance lines
And I put my head to the side when I speak to her, and do a sad face, to show I feel
her pain.
What a sad waste of a young life.
How sad does it get?
The sad reality is that a proud Premiership club has brought our game into disrepute.
Greenwich mean time is the standard by which time in the rest of the world is
measured, and it would be rather sad if we didn't take some pride in that.
He is unlikely to be playing again soon and that is very sad. "
I don't know but found myself finally moved by this desperately sad film and by the
performances of Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson as the lovers themselves.
Ordering of concordance lines
• concordance lines are ordered in different ways
• usually alphabetical
• usually by first word to the right/left of the node
word
• ordering is important because it helps to find
patterns of meaning for the node word
Concordance lines ordered to left
confirm that it's the most beautiful
creature
ever to inhabit this earth. It's
satisfaction of having helped a fellow
creature
at the risk of your own
1940 s, Berry spotted "a gorgeous
creature
who was a librarian. We got
to be thought a cold, heartless
creature
, but unless you survive, you can't
a selkie, a legendary
creature
that's a seal in the water
Darko might be right, every living
creature
on the horizon, grilling any living
creature
is apparently a "selkie", a mythical
creature
fun. David Willetts is a rare
creature
A good risotto is a rare
creature
on earth dies alone but we
in the immediate vicinity that
couldn't
from the seas, whose singing
charms
. Britain does not produce many
public
, and this was very good indeed
the distance a huge dinosaur type
creature
grazed. I don't think I'd be
had to pick which furry woodland
creature
to sport, it's a toss up
Concordance lines ordered to right
used to a high level of creature comforts, and money sloshing around
the landscape. There are all the creature comforts you'd expect, yet it has
him like an alien, like a creature from outer space, so he became
from this year's Coraline is a creature from your worst nightmares. But earlier
expected." Are you a creature of habit? If not,
Pizza Express. I'm a creature of habit, me, and
this predatory choice. You become a creature of the night, unable to stand
artist of the decade. Entirely a creature of the noughties, she arrived
happy to be compared to a creature on the verge of extinction. Serious
collocation, collocate (n/v) -definition
• the words to the left and right of the node word in a text
are its ‘collocates’ – they ‘co-locate’ with it.
• why do we study words in context, with their collocates?
sole
sole
•a living from catching sole and other fish in the channel
•species like cod, haddock, sole, plaice , shrimps and langoustines
•I tried to get a large unfilleted sole to come apart on the plate
•oysters, followed by roast dover sole with cherry tomatoes
sole
•investigators believe he may be the sole survivor from the crash
•I accept sole responsibility for the military action in Cyprus
•although their sole aim is to live in Israel
•officers whose sole aim was the harassment of black youth
•businesses run by sole traders, partnerships, and companies
sole
•It's a Tudor leather shoe sole . Look at that tiny instep
•detonate explosives hidden in the hollowed-out sole of his shoe
•more chunky, yet the heavy sole and heel flatter the leg
•the shoes I'm wearing have been repaired, heel and sole.
•Heel pain is a soreness or tenderness on the sole of your foot.
sole
•
•
•
•
a living from catching sole and other fish in the channel
species like cod, haddock, sole, plaice , shrimps and langoustines
I tried to get a large unfilleted sole to come apart on the plate
oysters, followed by roast dover sole with cherry tomatoes
---
•
•
•
•
•
investigators believe he may be the sole survivor from the crash
I accept sole responsibility for the military action in Cyprus
are a part. Although their sole aim is to live in Israel,
officers whose sole aim was the harassment of black youth
businesses run by sole traders, partnerships, and companies
---
•
•
•
•
•
It's a Tudor leather shoe sole . Look at that tiny instep
detonate explosives hidden in the hollowed-out sole of his shoe
more chunky, yet the heavy sole and heel flatter the leg
the shoes I'm wearing have been repaired, heel and sole
Heel pain is a soreness or tenderness on the sole of your foot
sole
•
•
•
•
a living from catching sole and other fish in the channel
species like cod, haddock, sole, plaice , shrimps and langoustines
I tried to get a large unfilleted sole to come apart on the plate
oysters, followed by roast dover sole with cherry tomatoes
---
•
•
•
•
•
investigators believe he may be the sole survivor from the crash
I accept sole responsibility for the military action in Cyprus
are a part. Although their sole aim is to live in Israel,
officers whose sole aim was the harassment of black youth
businesses run by sole traders, partnerships, and companies.
---
•
•
•
•
•
It's a Tudor leather shoe sole . Look at that tiny instep
detonate explosives hidden in the hollowed-out sole of his shoe
more chunky, yet the heavy sole and heel flatter the leg
the shoes I'm wearing have been repaired, heel and sole
Heel pain is a soreness or tenderness on the sole of your foot
collocation, collocate (n/v)
so in corpus linguistics, we look at words together
with their collocates
- because the collocates help us to find the senses
and uses of the word
collocational span - definition
‘immediate –neighbour’ collocates have the strongest
and most important relationship with the node word
(they often form a compound)
• pastimes like stamp collecting and writing poetry
the order is not always fixed, and they can also be separated:
• like all children in those days, I collected stamps
• Sir Graham Day is a collector. Not stamps but
chairmanships.
• Pupils at several schools collect and swap stamps
so we may look at the node word in a span of 1 or more
words to left and right, depending on the kind of word
What is the missing word? Which clues tell you?
08/10/88
elderly couples tend ______ vegetable gardens. The farmers
02/06/90
whole building looks in ______ condition. In the Chapel,
16/03/91 decorated bedrooms, with an ______ garden with a swimming pool
15/09/91
a gleaming building amid ______ lawns and flower beds
22/09/92
no woman to launder the ______ jeans and shirt he is wearing
22/08/93
charmless perfection. The ______ gardens and leafy cul-de-sacs
24/06/95
As dew glistened on the ______ lawn of the residence
27/09/96
to which he replied in his ______ italic handwriting
30/09/97
the house next door was in ______ condition, Mr Bowes did no
26/09/97 Mrs Thatcher, because their ______ coiffeurs were their power
14/10/99
maintain his croquet lawn in ______ condition. Mr Farmer,
18/05/99
suggest that his was an ______ conception and a virgin birth
08/05/99
Both women looked ______ in designer tennis dresses
22/08/99 in her tan trouser suit, with ______ nails and shiny blonde hair
03/08/99 lounger in the garden of his ______ bungalow, sipping tea
What is the missing word? Which clues tell you?
08/10/88
elderly couples tend ______ vegetable gardens. The farmers
02/06/90
whole building looks in ______ condition. In the Chapel,
16/03/91 decorated bedrooms, with an ______ garden with a swimming pool
15/09/91
a gleaming building amid ______ lawns and flower beds
22/09/92
no woman to launder the ______ jeans and shirt he is wearing
22/08/93
charmless perfection. The ______ gardens and leafy cul-de-sacs
24/06/95
As dew glistened on the ______ lawn of the residence
27/09/96
to which he replied in his ______ italic handwriting
30/09/97
the house next door was in ______ condition, Mr Bowes did no
26/09/97 Mrs Thatcher, because their ______ coiffeurs were their power
14/10/99
maintain his croquet lawn in ______ condition. Mr Farmer,
18/05/99
suggest that his was an ______ conception and a virgin birth
08/05/99
Both women looked ______ in designer tennis dresses
22/08/99 in her tan trouser suit, with ______ nails and shiny blonde hair
03/08/99 lounger in the garden of his ______ bungalow, sipping tea
What is the missing word? Which clues tell you?
08/10/88
elderly couples tend ______ vegetable gardens. The farmers
02/06/90
whole building looks in ______ condition. In the Chapel,
16/03/91 decorated bedrooms, with an ______ garden with a swimming pool
15/09/91
a gleaming building amid ______ lawns and flower beds
22/09/92
no woman to launder the ______ jeans and shirt he is wearing
22/08/93
charmless perfection. The ______ gardens and leafy cul-de-sacs
24/06/95
As dew glistened on the ______ lawn of the residence
27/09/96
to which he replied in his ______ italic handwriting
30/09/97
the house next door was in ______ condition, Mr Bowes did no
26/09/97 Mrs Thatcher, because their ______ coiffeurs were their power
14/10/99
maintain his croquet lawn in ______ condition. MrFarmer,
18/05/99
suggest that his was an ______ conception and a virgin birth
08/05/99
Both women looked ______ in designer tennis dresses
22/08/99 in her tan trouser suit, with ______ nails and shiny blonde hair
03/08/99 lounger in the garden of his ______ bungalow, sipping tea