Category Archives: Research

Corpus linguistics and the discursive construction of migrants

Online talk November 9, 12:00 (Madrid time) / 11:00 (UK time)

Dr Charlotte Taylor, University of Sussex

This talk is part of the Corpus & applied linguistics research 2022 online event.

Free registration link.

Abstract

The ways in which migration is framed in our public spaces influence who we think of when we think of migration, how we think about those people, and what kinds of responses are considered appropriate to their movement. In this paper, I want to show how corpus linguistics can be used to build a fuller picture of how migration is framed. I will start by addressing how corpus linguistics can help determine ‘who’ we should analyse when investigating the discursive construction of migrant groups. Then I will move on to what corpus linguistics, combined with discourse analysis can tell us about ‘how’ they are represented. Finally, I will discuss how we can use corpus linguistics to compare such representations across cultures and languages. 

Charlotte Taylor is Senior Lecturer in English Language & Linguistics at the University of Sussex. Her work is broadly concerned with language and persuasion and the rhetorical uses of language. Her current project examines the role of memory in migration discourses and unpicks the ways in which our contemporary public discourses both recycle past frames, and elide and re-shape past experiences. She also has a keen interest in methodological issues in corpus and discourse work. Her book-length publications include Corpus Approaches to Discourse (with Anna Marchi), Exploring Absence and Silence in Discourse (with Melani Schroeter), Patterns and Meanings in Discourse (with Alan Partington & Alison Duguid) and Mock Politeness in English and Italian. She is working on a new monograph titled Migration Discourses and Memory which will be coming out in 2023.

You can check out the 2021 talks here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKjKIIQL6u1mXD2V9ZaT-_Q/featured

This online event is organized by the Universidad de Murcia and the E020-07 research group (Lenguajes de especialidad, corpus lingüísticos y lingüística inglesa aplicada a la ingeniería del conocimiento).

A corpus-friendly analysis of fragmentary constructions in English

Online talk. October 26, 18:00 (Madrid time) / 17:00 (UK time)

Prof Javier Pérez-Guerra, Universidade de Vigo

This talk is part of the Corpus & applied linguistics research 2022 online event.

Free registration link.

Abstract
The concept of ‘fragment’ covers a wide array of structures of a very diverse nature, from interjections and headings to lists. In this talk, ‘fragment’ is narrowed down to encompass only stand-alone constructions which, despite their reduced, non-canonical, fragmentary structure, convey a propositional meaning comparable to that of complete sentences, as in Well done to Giles! and Good old Hendon next stop. The talk presents a theoretical (couched within Cognitive Construction Grammar) and an empirical characterisation of fragmentary expressions in contemporary English, based on the corpus analysis of sentence fragments in written and spoken English in recent diachrony (BNC1994 and BNC2014).


Javier Pérez-Guerra is Professor in the English Department of the University of Vigo (Spain). Javier is the coordinator of the LVTC (Language Variation and Textual Categorisation) research group in this institution, and the principal investigator of a number research projects funded by mainly the Spanish Ministry of Innovation and Science. His areas of specialisation are information packaging in the clause, multidimensional approaches to register variation as applied to earlier periods of English, the study of grammatical variation between Early Modern and Present-day English by means of computational techniques, and the impact of performance preferences and ease of processing on the design of grammars.

You can check out the 2021 talks here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKjKIIQL6u1mXD2V9ZaT-_Q/featured

This online event is organized by the Universidad de Murcia and the E020-07 research group (Lenguajes de especialidad, corpus lingüísticos y lingüística inglesa aplicada a la ingeniería del conocimiento).

Corpus Linguistics, Learner Corpora, and SLA: Employing Technology to Analyze Language Use

Online talk. October 5, 18:00 (Madrid time) / 17:00 (UK time)

Prof Tony McEnery, University of Lancaster

This talk is part of the Corpus & applied linguistics research 2022 online event.

Free registration link.

Abstract

In this talk I will explore the relationship between learner corpus and second language acquisition research. I begin by considering the origins of learner corpus research, noting its roots in smaller scale studies of learner language. This development of learner corpus studies will be considered in the broader context of the development of corpus linguistics. I then consider the aspirations that learner corpus researchers have had to engage with second language acquisition research and explore why, to date, the interaction between the two fields has been minimal. By exploring some of the corpus building practices of learner corpus research, and the theoretical goals of second language acquisition studies, I will identify reasons for this lack of interaction and make proposals for how this situation could be fruitfully addressed.

Tony McEnery is distinguished professor of Linguistics and English Langauge in the Department of English Language and Linguistics at Lancaster University and Changjiang Chair at Xi’an Jiaotong University in China. He has published widely on corpus linguistics and is the author of Corpus Linguistics: Method, Theory and Practice (with Andrew Hardie, Cambridge University Press, 2011). His latest book, Fundamental Principles of Corpus Linguistics (with Vaclav Brezina) is due out from Cambridge University Press soon.

You can check out the 2021 talks here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKjKIIQL6u1mXD2V9ZaT-_Q/featured

This online event is organized by the Universidad de Murcia and the E020-07 research group (Lenguajes de especialidad, corpus lingüísticos y lingüística inglesa aplicada a la ingeniería del conocimiento).

Obesity in the News: Combining Corpus and Critical Perspectives

Online talk. October 12, 18:00 (Madrid time) / 17:00 (UK time)

Dr Gavin Brookes, University of Lancaster

This talk is part of the Corpus & applied linguistics research 2022 online event.

Free registration link.

Abstract

In this talk, I describe findings from a recently completed programme of research which combined corpus linguistics and critical approaches to discourse analysis in order to investigate how language is used to represent obesity in British newspapers. In particular, I will demonstrate how corpus linguistics techniques can be used to compare broadsheet and tabloid discourses around obesity, as well as to investigate how aspects of identity such as gender and social class intersect with such discourses in the specific representation of people with obesity. I will offer a critical appraisal of the corpus approach to critical discourse studies taken in this project, and briefly outline some of the ways we have set out to apply our findings to real world contexts of communication around obesity.

Gavin Brookes is UKRI Future Leader Fellow in the Department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University. He is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Corpus Linguistics and co-editor of the Bloomsbury Corpus and Discourse book series. He has published five books and over thirty journal articles in the fields of corpus linguistics, applied linguistics, discourse studies and health communication.

You can check out the 2021 talks here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKjKIIQL6u1mXD2V9ZaT-_Q/featured

This online event is organized by the Universidad de Murcia and the E020-07 research group (Lenguajes de especialidad, corpus lingüísticos y lingüística inglesa aplicada a la ingeniería del conocimiento).

Corpus linguistics & applied linguistics research 2022

“Corpus linguistics & applied linguistics research 2022“ es un ciclo de conferencias organizado por la Universidad de Murcia entre el 5 y el 26 de octubre de 2022. Las conferencias tendrán lugar a las 18:00 (hora de Madrid) los días 5, 12, 19 y 26 de octubre via ZOOM.

–Corpus Linguistics, Learner Corpora, and SLA: Employing Technology to Analyze Language Use,

Prof Tony McEnery, University of Lancaster

October 5, 18:00 (Madrid time) / 17:00 (UK time)

–Obesity in the News: A Corpus Linguistics Perspective

Dr Gavin Brookes, University of Lancaster

October 12, 18:00 (Madrid time) / 17:00 (UK time)

–A corpus-friendly analysis of fragmentary constructions in English

Prof Javier Pérez Guerra, Universidad de Vigo

October 26, 18:00 (Madrid time) / 17:00 (UK time)

–Corpus linguistics and the discursive construction of migrants

Dr Charlotte Taylor, University of Sussex

November 9, 12:00 (Madrid time) / 11:00 (UK time) New date!!!!!!

Registration link: https://umurcia.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ey8fEpC3RkC7_vAUKEpAgg

Tras la inscripción, se enviará un correo electrónico con el enlace del seminario web para las cuatro charlas.

Las charlas de la edición de 2021 se encuentran aquí:

You can check out the 2021 talks here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKjKIIQL6u1mXD2V9ZaT-_Q/featured

“Corpus linguistics & applied linguistics research 2022“ está organizado por el grupo de investigación E020-07  de la Universidad de Murcia “Lenguajes de especialidad, corpus lingüísticos y lingüística inglesa aplicada a la ingeniería del conocimiento” y esponsorizado por la Facultad de Letras y el Departamento de Filología Inglesa de la Universidad de Murcia.

Para más información:

Corpus & applied linguistics research 2022

Texts, corpora, evidence: using a NLP pipeline to examine textual genres

Prof Pascual Pérez-Paredes

Universitat Jaume I, 9 September 2022

In this workshop we will discuss how corpus approaches to textual analysis have increased our understanding of genres and registers. By looking at existing research designs, we will explore both what corpora can and can’t offer to researchers. The main focus of the workshop is to explore the use of ProTool GENTT, a natural processing (NLP) pipeline that makes use of basic machine learning algorithms.