Introducing Electronic Text Analysis: A Practical Guide for Language and Literary Studies

by Adolphs; Svenja

• ISBN13: 9780415320221
• ISBN10: 0415320224
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-07-24
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Introducing Electronic Text Analysis is a practical and much needed introduction to bodies of linguistic data known as corpora. Written specifically for students studying this topic for the first time, the book begins with a discussion of the underlying principles of electronic text analysis. It then examines how these corpora enhance our understanding of literary and non-literary works.In the first section the author introduces the concepts of concordance and lexical frequency, concepts which are then applied to a range of areas of language study. Key areas examined are the use of on-line corpora to complement traditional stylistic analysis, and the ways in which methods such as concordance and frequency counts can reveal a particular ideology within a text.The book also includes chapters on fields of study which have been 'revolutionised' by corpus techniques, such as translation studies, where the encoding of cultural values by corpora can influence the translation process, and language teaching, where data-driven learning is on the increase.Presenting an accessible and thorough understanding of the underlying principles of electronic text analysis, the book contains abundant illustrative examples and a glossary with definitions of main concepts. It is also supported by a companion website with links to on-line corpora so that students can apply their knowledge to further study.

Author Biography

Svenja Adolphs is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the University of Nottingham.

Table of Contents

List of tables and illustrations	viii
Preface	x
Acknowledgements	xii
1 Introduction	1	(15)
Electronic text analysis: corpus linguistics by another name?	1	(3)
A brief background to techniques in electronic text analysis	4	(2)
Studying language: theory and practice	6	(1)
Why use electronic text analysis?	7	(2)
The scope of electronic text analysis	9	(2)
Projects in electronic text analysis	11	(2)
Organization of the book	13	(1)
Further reading	14	(1)
Notes	15	(1)
2 Electronic text resources	16	(21)
Introduction	16	(1)
What kind of resource for what kind of research?	17	(4)
From text to corpus: stages of handling electronic texts	21	(7)
Contemporary electronic text resources	28	(6)
Summary	34	(1)
Activities	34	(1)
Further reading	35	(1)
Notes	35	(2)
3 Exploring frequencies in texts: basic techniques	37	(14)
Introduction	37	(1)
Software packages	38	(1)
Basic information about the text	39	(1)
Word lists	40	(4)
Keywords	44	(4)
Other statistical measures	48	(1)
Summary	48	(1)
Activities	49	(1)
Further reading	49	(1)
Notes	49	(2)
4 Exploring words and phrases in use: basic techniques	51	(13)
Introduction	51	(1)
The concordance output	52	(4)
Describing words and phrases in use	56	(2)
Multi-word units and collocation	58	(4)
Summary 61 Activities 62 Further reading	62	(1)
Notes	63	(1)
5 The electronic analysis of literary texts	64	(16)
Introduction	64	(1)
Using computers to analyse literary texts: basic techniques	65	(4)
An example: semantic prosodies and point of view in fiction	69	(7)
Annotating literary corpora for stylistic research	76	(1)
Summary	77	(1)
Activities	78	(1)
Further reading	78	(1)
Notes	79	(1)
6 Electronic text analysis, language and ideology	80	(17)
Introduction	80	(1)
Language, ideology and corpora	80	(1)
Electronic texts for the study of ideology	81	(2)
Key words, grammatical structures and ideology	83	(1)
A sample analysis	84	(9)
Summary	93	(1)
Activities	94	(1)
Further reading	95	(1)
Notes	96	(1)
7 Language teaching applications	97	(20)
Introduction	97	(1)
Electronic text resources for language teaching and learning	98	(1)
Language description and ELT pedagogy	99	(6)
Corpus-informed material design	105	(4)
Data-driven learning	109	(1)
Electronic text analysis and learner English	110	(2)
Summary	112	(1)
Activities	113	(2)
Further reading	115	(1)
Notes	116	(1)
8 Further fields of application	117	(17)
Introduction	117	(1)
Looking back	117	(1)
Looking sideways	118	(11)
Looking ahead	129	(1)
Summary	130	(1)
Activities	131	(1)
Further reading	132	(1)
Notes	132	(2)
Appendix 1: Transcription conventions and codes in the CANCODE data	134	(2)
Glossary	136	(5)
Bibliography of websites	141	(5)
Bibliography	146	(9)
Index	155