Corpus
Linguistics can be described as the study of language based on
examples of “real-life” language use. These examples are stored
in computer-accessible collections, so-called corpora.
While corpus linguistics is
primarily a method, it has profound effects on theories of language
and how language can be described. This being so, the course will
combine theoretical discussions with practical hands-on exercises
which will introduce students to the practical aspects of working
with corpora and relevant software. Concerning the theoretical part,
we will be dealing with corpus-based research from different areas of
linguistic inquiry, from metaphor research to sociolinguistic
analysis.
Given
that this course is offered as part of the "Methodenmodul",
the course will guide you through the individual steps of carrying
out a corpus-linguistic research project. This includes a detailed
introduction to how a research paper is best structured and written.
Given
that we will working with corpora in a hands-on fashion, you should
have a portable computer (with either Windows or Mac OS) that you can
bring to class.
The
course is aimed at anyone interested in working with “real-life”
language data – you don't have to be a computer expert!