Studying at York
Corpus Linguistics - LAN00127M
- Department: Language and Linguistic Science
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: M
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Module summary
The aim of this module is to provide students with the skills to carry out quantitative corpus work that can in principle be used for research across a range of languages. The first half of the module will introduce the theory and practice of corpus linguistics. The second half will involve individual project work. The assessment is designed to test students’ skills in designing a research project and using corpus tools. It will test students’ ability to access and understand primary literature, develop research questions and hypotheses, and operationalise these in their corpus study of a chosen language.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Module aims
The aim of this module is to provide students with the skills to carry out quantitative corpus work that can in principle be used for research across a range of languages. The first half of the module will introduce the theory and practice of corpus linguistics. The second half will involve individual project work. The assessment is designed to test students’ skills in designing a research project and using corpus tools. It will test students’ ability to access and understand primary literature, develop research questions and hypotheses, and operationalise these in their corpus study of a chosen language.
Module learning outcomes
On completion of this module a student should be able to:
-
understand and discuss the main issues and methodologies of corpus linguistics
-
understand the role of corpus data in linguistic research
-
be able to evaluate the quality of corpus-resources for languages that they focus on in their research
-
carry out linguistic investigations using a variety of corpora and corpus methodologies
-
be able to understand the principles underlying widely-used quantitative methods in corpus-based studies
-
perform simple statistical tests
A student will develop competence in the following skills:
-
recognising and explaining complex patterns in linguistic data
-
forming valid generalisations about language from corpus data
-
expressing grammatical concepts clearly and concisely
-
designing and carrying out a small research project using corpus data
-
summarising and presenting findings in a style appropriate to the norms of the discipline
-
understanding and applying basic statistical concepts relevant to linguistic analysis
Module content
|
Week |
Topic |
Asynchronous Work |
Synchronous / live work |
Face to face work |
Online alternative to f2f |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
What is corpus linguistics? |
- Work on practical sheet - Reading |
1 lecture 1 practical |
1 lecture 1 practical |
Lecture: Lecture capture Practical: practice sheet |
|
2 |
Corpus design and compilation |
- Work on practical sheet - Reading |
1 lecture 1 practical |
1 lecture 1 practical |
Lecture: Lecture capture Practical: practice sheet |
|
3 |
Corpus annotation |
- Work on practical sheet - Reading |
1 lecture 1 practical |
1 lecture 1 practical |
Lecture: Lecture capture Practical: practice sheet |
|
4 |
Research design in corpus linguistics |
- Work on practical sheet - Reading |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
Lecture: Lecture capture Practical: practice sheet |
|
5 |
Research questions in corpus linguistics |
- Reviewing corpus methodology - Reading |
1 Lecture 1 Seminar |
1 Lecture 1 Seminar |
Lectures: Lecture capture Seminar: open hour via zoom link |
|
6 |
Variables |
- Work on practical sheet |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
Lecture: Lecture capture Practical: practice sheet |
|
7 |
Data handling; basic statistics |
- Work on practical sheet |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
Lecture: Lecture capture Practical: practice sheet |
|
8 |
Significance testing |
- Work on practical sheet |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
Lecture: Lecture capture Practical: practice sheet |
|
9 |
Your project step by step |
- Individual project work |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
1 Practical |
Work on summatives |
|
10 |
Telling your story |
- Individual project work |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
1 Practical |
Work on summatives |
|
11 |
The structure of a project report |
- Individual project work |
1 Lecture 1 Practical |
1 Practical |
Work on summatives |
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
Individual feedback returned within the university-mandated marking frame
Indicative reading
Required and optional readings will be posted on the VLE.