Corpus linguistics and the study of literature

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Biber
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Authorship Attribution ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
Statistical Research ◽  
Corpus Stylistics ◽  
Textual Features ◽  
Lexical Phrases

The present paper introduces corpus-based analytical techniques and surveys some of the specific ways in which corpus analysis has been applied to the study of literature. In recent years, those research efforts have been mostly carried out under the umbrella of ‘corpus stylistics’. Most of these studies focus on the distribution of words (analyzing keywords, extended lexical phrases, or collocations) to identify textual features that are especially characteristic of an author or particular text. Corpus-based grammatical and pragmatic analyses of literary language are also briefly considered. Then, in the concluding part of the paper, I briefly survey earlier computational and statistical research on authorship attribution and literary style. While that research tradition is in some ways the precursor to more recent work in corpus stylistics, it is also complementary to recent research in its application of sophisticated statistical and computational methods.

scholarly journals Towards an integrated corpus stylistics

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan McIntyre
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Stylistic Analysis ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Methods Of Analysis ◽  
Corpus Stylistics ◽  
Analytical Frameworks

Abstract Over recent years, the use of corpora in stylistic analysis has grown in popularity. However, questions still remain over the remit of corpus stylistics, its distinction from corpus linguistics generally and its capacity to explain complex stylistic effects. This article argues in favour of an integrated corpus stylistics; that is, an approach to corpus stylistics that integrates it with other stylistic methods and analytical frameworks. I suggest that this approach is needed for two main reasons: (i) it is analytically necessary in order to fully explain stylistic effects in texts, and (ii) integrating corpus methods with other stylistic tools is what will distinguish corpus stylistics from corpus linguistics. My argument is supported by reference to examples from Mark Haddon’s no vel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and the HBO TV series Deadwood. Both these examples rely for their explanation on a combination of corpus stylistic analytical techniques and other stylistic methods of analysis.

Towards a systematic corpus analysis of Arabic poetry

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 103-112
Author(s):  
Georges Bohas ◽  
Djamel Eddine Kouloughli
Keyword(s):  
Computer Program ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Automatic Recognition ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Significant Information ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Arabic Poetry ◽  
Arabic Script ◽  
Metrical Analysis

Recent work on Arabic metrics aims at developing a coherent research programme which relies on the systematic analysis of electronic corpora. The computer program XALIYL performs, for any line of ancient Arabic poetry, an automatic recognition of the metre used. This operation takes place whatever the length of the verses, and regardless of whether they are encoded in ordinary Arabic script (with the addition of vowels) or by means of the TRS system, which relates functionally to ordinary Arabic script. XALIYL produces a textual database that contains the syllabic decomposition for each hemistich of each line, as well as its metrical analysis. It can cope not only with the general problems linked to re-syllabification and sandhi, but also with problems of syllabification specific to Arabic metrics. Errors due to the metrical scanning or to the editing of poems can be located automatically. Moreover, by allowing a computerised search for formulae, XALIYL provides significant information on the “formulaic systems” of ancient Arabic poetry.

Modeling, Fabrication, and Testing of Micro Heat Pipes: An Update

1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (10S) ◽  
pp. S175-S183 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Flat Plate ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Heat Pipes ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Operating Characteristics ◽  
Current Test ◽  
The Status ◽  
Micro Heat Pipes ◽  
Made In

In 1992, an overview was presented which summarized the status and progress made in the development of very small, “micro” heat pipes, manufactured as stand alone devices or fabricated as an integral part of silicon wafers. Since that initial review, significant advances have been made in the analysis, fabrication and testing of these devices, for use in a wide variety of applications. Following, is a review of the more recent work in this rapidly emerging field. Included is a summary of the analytical techniques developed, the various proposed methods of fabrication, and a summary of the most current test results achieved to date. Because the fundamental operating characteristics of micro heat pipes larger than 1 mm in diameter are similar to that of conventional heat pipes, this review focuses on the analysis, fabrication, and testing of micro heat pipes with characteristic dimensions of less than 500 μm. Particular emphasis is placed on research, related to the development of arrays of micro heat pipes and flat plate micro heat pipes fabricated as an integral part of semiconductor devices.

scholarly journals A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS THROUGH CORPUS LINGUISTICS ON THE CASE OF POPULAR SCIENCE BOOK THE GRAND DESIGN

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Rosita Masfirotul Uyun
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Popular Science ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
Science Book ◽  
Concordance Analysis ◽  
Grand Design ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
The Universe

This study aims to discover the theme of popular physics book, The GrandDesign, through corpus linguistics and discourse analysis as well as how theauthors of the book describe the field of study which in fact is not their mainfocus to work on. In this case, the authors are physicists and cosmologists whoattempt to use quantum to interpret the history if the universe. There were twoterms, quantum and cosmology, which would be examined to gain the number ofappearance in the book. A computer-based corpus software, AntConc v 3.4.3w andchi square test were employed to gain the hit numbers and the significant value ofthe possible different number appeared. This result would answer the question ofwhat the theme of the book is. The procedure of corpus analysis, which raw textis directly analyzed, was used along with collocation and concordance analysis.After the data was gained from collocation and concordance analysis, discourseanalysis was applied to obtain the profound findings of how the authors asserttheir opinion of quantum in the study of the cosmology. This paper resulted thatquantum has more hit numbers than cosmology. In addition, it was found thatthe theory proposed in this book was quite inadequate in a certain circumstance.

scholarly journals The Organization of Novaculite Tool Production: Quarry-Workshop Debitage Comparisons

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary B. Trubitt
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Reduction Process ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Spatial Separation ◽  
Ouachita Mountains ◽  
Lithic Reduction ◽  
By Products

Arkansas novaculite, outcropping in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, has been an important regional lithic resource for thousands of years. Because of the stone’s durability, by-products of past novaculite procurement and tool production and use activities litter the landscape in southwest Arkansas. Recent work situates novaculite quarries in the broader context of tool production and exchange systems. This article focuses on the organization of tool production, and explores analytical techniques that can be used to identify spatial separation of the lithic reduction process between quarry, workshop, and habitation sites.

Poniendo de manifiesto: Spanish light verb constructions in Latin American newspapers

Corpora ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-226
Author(s):  
Louisa Buckingham
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Analysis Software ◽  
Light Verb Constructions ◽  
Light Verb ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Textual Features ◽  
Adjectival Modification ◽  
Latin American Countries

This study investigates Spanish light verb constructions (LVCs), or construcciones con verbo soporte, such as dar respuesta and tomar en cuenta in a seven-million-word corpus of contemporary newspaper texts from seven Latin American countries. I provide a detailed discussion of the procedure of compiling the corpus to ensure a balanced representation of newspaper registers. This is followed by a description of how the targeted verbs, dar, poner, tener and tomar, were identified and tagged using corpus analysis software. The results of the corpus search are analysed in terms of frequency, and selected morphosyntactic and textual features, such as the distance between components, tense, number and mood of the light verb, adjectival modification, article use, complex LVCs, and the occurrence of multiple LVCs. The results, supported by numerous examples in Spanish from the corpus, provide further evidence of the wide variation in form and use found among many LVCs.

Robert Frost’s poems: some light from corpus analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Iasmine Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Personal Life ◽  
Robert Frost ◽  
Semantic Domain ◽  
Semantic Prosody

Linguistics and literature seem distant fields, but they can be related. This study aims at doing a discourse analysis of Robert Frost’s poems using a corpus to investigate the most frequent semantic domain in his poetry. This analysis should also allow us to make connections with his personal life. A corpus composed by 35 poems of Frost (3,725 words) was investigated focusing on nouns. The corpus was tagged by CLAWS 7 and AntConc was the software used to generate the frequency lists and concordance lines for the analysis. Results of this research indicate that 26% of the nouns are related to nature. A connection between people and the nature elements was verified in 91% of the poems, which suggests that human experiences are portrayed through this relation. Furthermore, nature nouns may be found in different linguistic environment, affecting how they are portrayed: 31% is positive (e.g. bright flowers), 32% is negative (e.g. heavy sky) and 37% is neutral (e.g mowing field). Therefore, nature nouns can also be understood by their semantic prosody. If nature is depicted positively, negatively or neutrally, it is where “man finds himself” (LYNEN, 1962, p. 177). Frost’s poems consider all the conflicts that surround a man’s life.Key words: Robert Frost, literature, corpus linguistics, nouns, nature.

scholarly journals Computer-Assisted Legal Linguistics: Corpus Analysis as a New Tool for Legal Studies

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (04) ◽  
pp. 1340-1363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedemann Vogel ◽  
Hanjo Hamann ◽  
Isabelle Gauer
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
German Law ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Supreme Court ◽  
Legal Texts

Law exists solely in and through language. Nonetheless, systematical empirical analysis of legal language has been rare. Yet, the tides are turning: After judges at various courts (including the US Supreme Court) have championed a method of analysis called corpus linguistics, the Michigan Supreme Court held in June 2016 that this method “is consistent with how courts have understood statutory interpretation.” The court illustrated how corpus analysis can benefit legal casework, thus sanctifying twenty years of previous research into the matter. The present article synthesizes this research and introduces computer-assisted legal linguistics (CAL2) as a novel approach to legal studies. Computer-supported analysis of carefully preprocessed collections of legal texts lets lawyers analyze legal semantics, language, and sociosemiotics in different working contexts (judiciary, legislature, legal academia). The article introduces the interdisciplinary CAL2 research group (www.cal2.eu), its Corpus of German Law, and other related projects that make law more transparent.

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