Size matters: a quantative approach to corpus representativeness

Corpus Linguistics (CL) has not yet come of age. It does not make any difference whether we consider it a full-fledged linguistic discipline (Tognini-Bonelli 2000: 1) or, else, a set of analytical techniques that can be applied to any discipline (McEnery et al. 2006: 7). The truth is that CL is still striving to solve thorny, central issues such as optimum size, balance and representativeness of corpora (of the language as a whole or of some subset of the language). Corpus-driven/based studies rely on the quality and representativeness of each corpus as their true foundation for producing valid results. This entails deciding on valid external and internal criteria for corpus design and compilation. A basic tenet is that corpus representativeness determines the kinds of research questions that can be addressed and the generalizability of the results obtained (cf. Biber et al. 1988: 246). Unfortunately, faith and beliefs do not seem to ensure quality. In this paper we will attempt to deal with these key questions. Firstly, we will give a brief description of the R&D projects which

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