Corpora as a Source of

Empirical Data:

MARYAM SULTAN
ROLL NO 01
 Corpora:

Plural of corpus --- a collection of texts

Empirical data:

The data originated or based on observation or

experience.
 Role of
corpora

The development of
The study of language itself computational tools for
processing natural language.

Characteristics of empirical data:

The importance of corpora in language study is closely allied to the importance more
generally of empirical data.
1. Objective Statements: Empirical data enable the linguist to make statements which are
objective and based on language as it really is rather than statements which are
subjective and based upon the individual's own internalised cognitive perception of the
language.
2. Study Language Varieties: The use of empirical data also means that it is possible to
study language varieties such as dialects or earlier periods in a language for which it may
not be possible to use a rationalist approach.
Empirical linguistic research may be carried out without using a
corpus. Although many researchers will refer to their data as a corpus,
frequently these data do not fit the definition of a corpus –

Body of text which is

carefully sampled to be maximally representative of a language or
language variety.

These other data should more properly be thought of as collections of

texts. Corpus linguistics proper, therefore, should be seen as a subset
of the activity within an empirical approach to linguistics: corpus
linguistics necessarily entails an empirical approach, but empirical
linguistics need not entail the use of a corpus.
“ Role of Corpora in Different Fields of Study:

Corpora may play role in a number of different fields of study in which language
is the central object. In these brief discussions the focus will be on the
conceptual issues of why
corpus data are important in particular areas

”


 how they can contribute to the advancement of knowledge in those areas,

also providing real examples of the use of corpora in each area.
THANK YOU