International Journal of Corpus Linguistics - Volume 20, Issue 3, 2015

Corpus-based researchers and traditional qualitative researchers, such as those interested in critical discourse analysis, are often required to select prototypical texts for close reading that include the language features of interest that are present in a much larger corpus. Traditional approaches to this selection procedure have been largely ad hoc. In this paper, we offer a more principled way of selecting texts for close reading based on a ranking of texts in terms of the number of keywords they contain. To facilitate this analysis, we have developed a multiplatform, freeware software tool called ProtAnt that analyses the texts, generates a ranked list of keywords based on statistical significance and effect size, and then orders the texts by the number of keywords in them. We describe various experiments that demonstrate the ProtAnt analysis is effective not only at identifying prototypical texts, but also identifying outlier texts that may need to be removed from a target corpus.

The study reported on in this article set out to test the hypothesis that linguistic operationalisations of the features of translated language will demonstrate significant differences in the work of experienced and inexperienced translators. A custom-built comparable English corpus was used, comprising three subcorpora: translations produced by experienced translators, translations by inexperienced translators, and non-translated texts. A number of linguistic operationalisations were selected for three of the features of translated language: explicitation, simplification and normalisation. The differences in these linguistic features in the three subcorpora were analysed, using parametric or non-parametric ANOVA, and T-tests or Mann-Whitney U-tests as post-hoc tests where applicable. The findings of the study indicate substantial (though not unqualified) support for the hypothesis. It is argued that experience-related variation in register sensitivity, language competence, awareness of written language conventions and sensitivity to translation norms are the main factors contributing to expertise.

This study implements an automated parser-based approach to the investigation of light verb constructions. The database consisting of ICE-GB and ICE-IRE is used to obtain qualitative and quantitative results on the use of light verb structures. The study explains and evaluates the steps employed to optimize parser output in detecting open lists of light verb constructions. It discusses the qualitative usage differences of these structures in the data between the two varieties and finds that ICE-GB favours fewer high frequency light verbs while ICE-IRE contains more diverse lower frequency light verbs and more passives. Overall, counts of light verb constructions are considerably higher than previously assumed. The projected counts suggest that attestations of light verb constructions will increase considerably if the search is not restricted to certain high-frequency light verbs as is typically done in studies employing manual or semi-automatic approaches to data collection.

The present study applies some of the approaches used in corpus stylistics to examine repetition in John Irving’s novel A Widow for One Year and its translations into Czech and Finnish. The main aim of this case study is to explore whether systematic identification of repetitive textual features in a source language may be a beneficial procedure for translators of literary texts. The underlying assumption is that, in their complexity, not all repetitive features are necessarily easily noticeable. Repetitiveness here is identified with cluster and keyword analysis that are subsequently considered in synergy. Relevant translation solutions are examined. Though repetition plays a central role in the novel, translators show a marked stylistic strategy to avoid them. The results of the study suggest that application of corpus tools may help translators to uncover the structure of the text and keep their translation consistent.

Numerous studies to date have investigated the cohesive, evaluative and formal features of semantically unspecific abstract nouns such as objective or assumption. These nouns share the property of ‘shell-nounhood’, associated with their ability to package and characterise complex discourse segments. One broad genre where this ability is widely exploited is academic discourse, which favours a markedly nominal cohesive style. Despite the extensive use of academic corpora in the study of shell-nounhood, the research focus has been primarily on specific sub-genres, formal patterns and rhetorical functions. This paper critically reviews the available evidence on this genre, using the corpora from which such evidence was obtained as its basic organising principle. In so doing, it uncovers some of the gaps to be addressed by future research, thereby setting the stage for more comprehensive descriptions that may usher in new pedagogies for the teaching of this crucial aspect of lexical cohesion in academic discourse.