Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

This course allows Masters-level students to build upon the fundamentals in corpus linguistic analysis developed by students in Corpus Linguistics (ENGLANG4032/ENGLANG5094, completion of one of which is a prerequisite). CAM will familiarise students with a wider range of advanced corpus linguistic tools and methods than offered on the base course, including natural language processing techniques and contemporary debates within corpus linguistics. These advanced techniques and discussions will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the field of corpus linguistics and the knowledge and skills to appropriately apply diverse computational tools to the investigation of linguistic data.

1 x 2hr lecture & practical class per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

This is one of the MSc options in English Language and Linguistics, and for the MSc in Speech, Language, and Sociolinguistics, and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Standard entry to Masters at College level

Prior completion of ENGLANG4032 or ENGLANG 5094.

None

None

The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Project research paper (3000 words) - 60% 

■ Research presentation (5 minutes) - 20% 

■ Data exercise - 20%  

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the Project Research Paper, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

■ One-to-one presentation out of class as alternative to presentation.

■ There are no alternatives to the Data Exercise, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

This course aims to:

■ progress basic understanding of corpus linguistic approaches to incorporate more advanced techniques and knowledge, and develop the ability to critically combine qualitative and quantitative analysis of language data;

■ provide experience in using diverse corpus tools and techniques and develop wide-ranging proficiency in corpus linguistic methods;

■ enable students to understand and discuss current and historical debates in the field of corpus linguistics;

■ enhance students' ability to conduct and produce high-quality independent research

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ apply a wide variety of specialist modern digital technologies and natural language processing methods to English language data in a range of current fields;

■ summarize, illustrate, and critically evaluate a range of current methodologies, linguistic resources, and statistical metrics for research in English corpus linguistics;

■ survey and critically evaluate historical and contemporary debates in the corpus linguistic literature;

■ synthesise qualitative and quantitative approaches to language data into coherent and perceptive corpus analysis;

■ independently address a chosen research question of appropriate complexity about the English language, contextualised in relation to contemporary corpus linguistic research.