Introduction: the basics

Here we look at the basics of corpus linguistics, from what a corpus is to how to build one. We outline the basic functions of corpus software, such as generating word frequency lists and concordance lines of words and clusters (or chunks). We also try to give an idea of the wide range of applications of a corpus to fields as diverse as forensic linguistics and language teaching. Creating a corpus also brings up a number of issues, for example, whose language it is representing. This is particularly the case in relation to corpora of English in the context of native versus non-native speaker users of the language.

What is a corpus and how can we use it?

A corpus is a collection of texts, written or spoken, which is stored on a computer. In the past the term was more associated with a body of work, for example all of the writings of one author. However, since the advent of computers large amounts of texts can be stored and analysed using analytical software. Another feature of a corpus, as Biber, Conrad and Reppen (1998) point out, is that it is a principled collection of texts available for qualitative and quantitative analysis. This definition is useful because it captures a number of important issues: