[Corpora-List] Re: Google searches as linguistic evidence
Ramesh Krishnamurthy
r.krishnamurthy at aston.ac.uk
Mon Dec 11 19:14:20 UTC 2006
>I suppose I should do 'a research' on this.
Sorry, I thought I already had: here is my posting of 8/12/06:
The Cobuild dictionary (3rd ed 2001) entry describes "research"
>as "N-UNCOUNT also N in pl",
>i.e. it is uncountable (ie not used with a/an in singular form);
>but is also used as a plural noun.
>
>Bank of English evidence:
>
>>Query is "researches/NOUN" [*Note from RK: to
>>the extent that the POS tagging is accurate...]
>>Term 1 in your query has been selected as the node
>>
>>272 matching lines
>
>>Corpus Total Number of Average Number per
>> Occurrences Million Words
>>
>>brbooks 76 1.8/million [BRITISH BOOKS]
>>newsci 10 1.3/million [NEW SCIENTIST]
>>strathy 19 1.2/million [CANADIAN DATA]
>>indy 29 1.0/million [INDEPENDENT]
>>guard 30 0.9/million [GUARDIAN]
>>usbooks 23 0.7/million [USA BOOKS]
>>usacad 4 0.6/million [USA ACADEMIC]
>>usephem 2 0.6/million [USA EPHEMERA]
>>brmags 24 0.5/million [BRITISH MAGAZINES]
>>brspok 9 0.4/million [BRITISH SPOKEN]
>>times 23 0.4/million [TIMES]
>>bbc 8 0.4/million [BBC WORLD SERVICE]
>>econ 5 0.3/million [ECONOMIST]
>>oznews 8
>>0.2/million [AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS]
>>brephem 1 0.2/million [BRITISH EPHEMERA]
>>wbe 1
>>0.1/million [GLOBAL BUSINESS ENGLISH]
>>sunnow 0 0.0/million [SUN/NEWS OF THE WORLD]
>>usspok 0 0.0/million [USA SPOKEN]
>>npr 0
>>0.0/million [USA NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO]
>>usnews 0
>>0.0/million [USA REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS]
>
>Of course, a lot of English texts on the Web are
>also written by non-expert English speakers,
>which will affect the distributions...
>I wonder if the proportions are the same for other languages?
[I meant by this: "I wonder to what degree
non-native Spanish on the Web affects the Google counts for
Spanish patterns of usage"]
I can also now provide some concordance lines for
the plural usage of "researches":
> but Winthrop D. Jordan, whose researches
> have added enormously to our
> secretary, helped too. Henry's researches
> in electromagnetism in the 1830s
>of the speed of light. Michelson's researches in
>the 1870s and 1880s helped
>of the speed of light. Michelson's researches in
>the 1870s and 1880s helped
> suited to Mondrian's new researches:
> Its diagonal edges allowed him
> Monetary Fund <p> Private researches
> <p> More than 100 specialized
> Second World War, and began the researches
> at Jodrell Bank, which
> or, to be precise, on pioneering researches
> he undertook into nuclear
>with a quote from Mark Twain: `The researches of
>many commentators have already
> in his numismatico-metallurgic researches:
> the British currency has been
> the ceiling which their costly researches
> would encounter sooner or later.
> the data upon which the group's researches
> are based. The database is a
> in the course of her historical researches
> Wertheim completely changed her
> even the rough location of his
> researches-around the Skerki Bank off
>University of Cambridge. His early researches
>were indeed remarkable, and it
> work and lingered over one of my researches,
> which was very small and
> breed. John Coffin's historical researches
> into his ancestors had caught
>or so away, where he was doing his researches,
>and so knew practically every
> hysterics. <p> Somewhere in his researches,
> Alastair had come across an
>working in his hotel, or doing his researches on
>his own: her secret advice
> with the results of their researches
> being made available to the
> since, with any luck Bardi's researches
> will come to a dead end there."
> <o> But so far as the author's researches
> suggest, this is the first
> of the highest in Scotland. The researches
> of my nephew Richard
> what she had learned from her own researches,
> Alex found that Eve's story
>his next question. <p> How are the researches
>going? Did Peter Brewster come up
> shall I say # untoward? Your researches
> and the way you're handling them
>The first is that the young poet's researches
>into folklore and occultism were
>his emerging thought, and that his researches in
>these areas therefore bear the
> a direct knowledge of Yeats's researches
> into magic. We could not entirely
>For concise summaries of the major researches on
>Yeats and occultism, see Anglo-
> the early writings based on his researches
> into fairylore, the book would be
>come across dozens of times in his researches
>into Irish folklore, a folklore
> s valuable bibliography of researches
> in the area, pp. 203-17. Works to
> Von Reichenbach, Baron Karl, Researches
> on Magnetism, Electricity, Heat,
> of Indian society and on his own researches
> into Mughal economic history. It
> also in F. Braudel's polymathic researches
> into the nature and evolution of
> their economic studies and policy researches
> than on imperialism theory, and
> his attempts to carry his researches
> on to a world stage from which
>the implications of his historical researches
>and their application to
> Cournot, Augustin (1960 [1858 # Researches
> into the mathematical principles
> 1956) brings together his earlier researches
> into the nature of power in the
> of sources. Prominent are his own researches,
> some of which had been
> have regulating effects. In fact researches
> implicate solar radiation levels
> up during the present intensive researches.
> <p> <f> Treatment <f> Not
> indoors isn't logical. <p> New researches
> have suggested it may be possible
> nothing. If he had studied the researches
> of his ostensibly more extreme
> of the lost continents, or the researches
> of some scientist into their
> of research, our experimental researches
> and our theoretical progress have
> <f> RKP, 1972). In his researches,
> he detected what he called an #
>the pioneer racing driver although researches
>reveal that he did very little
> homeland or areas adjacent. The researches
> of Nabia Abbott have revealed at
> health. <f> I <f> <p> My own researches
> have tended to indicate that the
> the development of Geoffrey's researches
> in the course of writing the <f>
> the term of his long Hermetic Researches
> by directing him on the true path
> that Waite had obtained from his researches
> at the British Museum. This is
> to build, as it must, upon his researches.
> <p> But the outer form of the
> to telepathy in some experimental researches -
> although other studies have not
> totally trivial and wasteful researches
> have been tolerated for years,
> story of Margaret Mead's Samoan researches
> and their present debunking
> at the history of diet and their researches
> have shed much light on the
> content, according to the researches
> of the Shute Foundation for
> Registered Charity. <p> Researches
> into illnesses caused by
>or the handicapped were opened and researches
>into the needs of the disabled
> appeasement gained through the researches
> of Donald Cameron Watt, which is
> to the detailed `wholistic" researches
> already referred to, both
> the Navigator. Inspired by the researches
> of the prince and his team of
> Appalachian field project. Liz's researches
> had amused her, and she had given
> inconsistencies in his researches
> to the malevolent intentions of
> attitudes. At the same time the researches
> of Christian biblical scholars
>activities were accompanied by the researches of
>Christian biblical theologians
>even more widely. According to the researches of
>Werner Bergman, six to seven
> attacked Jews, and the researches
> of Christian biblical scholars
> time to devote to his historical researches
> and his subsequent verbal venting
>jobs, stated that from a series of researches it
>had been established that
> seen by scientists. The team's researches
> suggested that this species'
> closely. Only time and further # researches
> will determine which of these
> time during his ornithological researches
> at the magnificent natural
> work on the subject, and his researches
> for it had taken him to the Congo
> to receive attention too, and researches
> ultimately disclosed that in
> findings when she published her researches
> in 1946. Firstly, the other
> however, Gauss, prompted by his researches
> into the asteroids' path, had
> important stimulus to Einstein's researches
> was an awareness of differences
> he had little time for his own researches.
> While working at the hospital,
> and he determined that his future researches
> should be to that end. <p> THE
> any way restrict your legitimate researches
> and their logical formulations.
> and superstition. Thanks to the researches
> of psychologists, man is in a
>Cowles Prichard, whose first book, Researches
>into thc Physical History of
> He was encouraged to continue his researches
> and, indeed, liberally subsidised
> actually write the book and his researches
> influenced the way in which the
>Dace summarised the results of his researches as
>indicating that `Japanese
>are handled between countries. The researches of
>the Industrial Marketing Group
> Institute at Oxford employs 25 researches
> working on biology and
> in various ways: in the number of researches
> carried out, the nature of the
> of the teacher's behaviours. Researches
> carried out into pre-service
> those reported in two other such researches:
> in one study, evaluation was
> has succeeded in marshalling her researches
> into an attractive and readable
> others are nudged by biology. <p> Researches
> of chronobiology (the study of
> ways and on different days. Researches
> suggest that, in order to
> The fruit of Simon's historical
> researches-he is a scholar of Scotland'
>were more common. <p> The Concorde researches
>say that these preliminary
> oval locket is testimony to their researches
> into Japanese cloisonne work. <p>
> simply stop fishing. <p> Tim's researches
> into argulus suggest it has been
> used for other functions. John's researches
> found this particular shape was
>of sperm.to determine the problem, researches
>analyse a sperm sample to find
> lecturer Cumming, who turned her researches
> into a phd. `She was a very
> to become homosexual." <p> The researches
> have warned that the gene marker
> known. The results of his researches
> reveal an extraordinary and
> new words to fill the gaps. My researches
> have revealed, for example, no
> his priests. Wojtyla's protracted researches
> were clearly an attempt to solve
> tramped several marathons for his researches,
> and has clearly devoted himself
> by primarily) male psychoanalytic researches,
> conducted by, among others,
> and the European community. Researches
> could be paid to produce
> of its recent history and his researches
> into the earlier days have given
> wrought in his own life by his researches
> and about the power of this
>is not always easy when television researches
>ask aggressively, as they did in
> challenge traditional scientific researches
> into cancer cures, Kurtz warns,
> According to Ms Lestor's hasty researches,
> the other four did ask questions
> of winning in every draw? My own researches
> have yielded only one possibly
> drawn from Rentoul's parallel researches
> and draft" text. It amounts to an
> from driving for 10 years. <h> Researches
> into crocodile blood bring hope
> that remains hidden. But his researches
> in the east have already had
> has come to light thanks to the researches
> of Michael Crick, published in
> 70,000 a year. Mr Milburn's researches
> show that among 23 recent
> not just those Tudor stiffs. His researches
> range over the present lot, as an
> to tell the world about their own researches
> and resources. Public libraries
> and expert on archery and his researches
> on the range of medieval archers
> academic in the sobriety of its researches,
> analyses and presentation. It
> two Congressional inquiries and researches
> by the Washington Post, New York
> disposition; and extensive researches
> through the Sony rankings fail to
> in Richmond, Virginia for `the researches
> of the learned and the curious".
> published six years ago, said his researches
> uncovered one law lord, three
> telephone directory. My own brief researches
> some years ago suggested that the
> Pierre Coustillas's exhaustive researches
> have turned up a `George J
>NOTE that Colin maccabe's incisive researches
>into British popular culture Why
> development if Anna Raeburn's researches
> are any guide. She picks over the
> the British. Raffles's zoological researches,
> printed by the Linnaean Society
> of drugs on the mind. Davy's Researches
> Chemical and Philosophical,
> poets Coleridge and Southey. The researches
> were carried out under the aegis
> progress of the nitrous oxide researches
> makes little sense as a clinical
> under the influence. The enormous Researches
> Chemical and Philosophical,
> have abandoned his nitrous oxide researches
> at this point, moving on to
> in this way." War on Want's researches
> suggest that much speculation
> Nixon visits while pursuing his researches.
> Here he learns of the grand
> heavily reliant on the original researches
> of her betters. Previously the
> for four years he conducted his researches
> in her house. Dee and I often had
> Matisse remained in his artistic researches.
> The treasures on view belong to
>his sleep and further his literary researches.
>Better a first lady with a
> war of court actions'. <p> In his researches,
> Mr Gregory came across a
> took him in hand, and his researches
> for land claims led him on to
> according to The Economist's researches,
> is the highest of any rich-
> before the peak. He told me his researches
> began in the library of Britain's
> and clumsy, but as one of the researches
> comments, all you need to do is
> where he can carry out his researches
> in an atmosphere conducive to
> effort to show beekeepers what researches
> are directly of use to them.
> which shows that if you look at researches
> into left-handedness, most of the
> which shows that if you look at researches
> into left-handedness, most of the
> talked to Sue Nowak about his researches
> around the world into which kinds
> able to provide drug companies to researches
> in clinical areas and others who
> supporting science in its researches
> and teaching, seeking to promote
> composite-critic. Kaye's careful researches
> into Mandeville's influence found
> of adequate funding of his own researches.
> <p> Dean Clark's financial
> pathology, to carry on with their researches
> and publish the results in the
> the clinical aspects of Connell's researches
> with the cancer clinic which had
> of particle sizes." In all these researches,
> however, Gray was forced to work
> to the support of his son's researches.
> Nor did Gray possess the special
> in his view, were engaged in researches
> related to, and capable of
> of professional knowledge; the researches
> were demonstrably of national
> Orrin Carson directed a series of researches
> into metals and alloys for the
>he directed its principal economic researches
>and also contributed a
> brought to fruition a variety of researches
> and won national and
> of Newton's earliest optical researches
> might have been more persuasive
> be more striking. <p> Brockliss's researches
> reveal that in the French
> s book, together with similar researches
> by Hugo Ott, revealed a mass of
> aid" society. She hopes more researches
> will be done on this and other
> United <p> States. Probably some researches
> should be done on these
> knowledge. Rothenberg, in his researches
> on creative individuals, noted a
> it's still in its early stages, researches
> said they hope in the future,
> the sake of sex; the subsequent researches
> ot historians have revealed the
> accorded her at some point in his researches,
> and he uses it throughout his
> increasingly urgent. Lucas's researches
> allow the author to display his
> helped her husband throughout his researches
> and carried batches of penicillin
> dollar export industry. Some researches
> also believe the pine, which won'
>pcs and Macs can narrow down their researches by
>defining their own equipment.
>pcs and Macs can narrow down their researches by
>defining their own equipment.
> We knew from the Teknoguild's researches
> that they had created machines
> for local and international researches
> and industry interested in
> 9QL <p> Tel: (061) 434 7721 <p> Researches,
> develops and evaluates advice,
> Gorge would have pushed the researches
> of Bishop Ussher off their firm
> before which his thoughts and researches
> never touched upon the problem.
> historical accuracy. Most recent researches
> tend to show that the Puritans
> continuing also his extensive researches
> in entomology. He became a
> said in 1830, `I have carried out researches
> which will halt many savants in
>things clear, than to his original researches."
><p> Equally inspiring to
>the difficulties in relating these researches to
>the contemporary state of
> redressed. De Tocqueville in his researches
> into the state of society in
> of the markets it serves. It researches
> customer needs exhaustively in
> economic advance? A propos, the researches
> of Denison suggest, quite the
> it remains elusive after diligent
> researches--the prized credentials, at once
> zealous (and honestly reported) researches
> often threatened to embarrass the
> of lives, drew directly on the researches
> of Louis Pasteur. By mid-century,
>did their extensive, emotion-laden researches
>into the family from the
> with his earliest psychoanalytic researches,
> he had given conspicuous room in
> historians that their historical researches
> were really a centerpiece to the
> be: <p> Not until the historical researches #
> and] anthropological
>the Deep South helped him with his researches at
>considerable personal risk to
> temperament are the longitudinal researches
> of the child psychiatrists
> of depth of the investigations. Researches
> that originate in understanding
> and family instability. <p> Researches
> have seldom explored the
>satisfactorily displayed as in the researches of
>Political Economy." The
> the inscription: `Founded on the researches
> of Matthew Fontaine Maury while
>do jokes come from? As part of his researches,
>Fry is trying to `plant" a joke
> <p> Todd's most recent researches
> have been in the field of
> writing detective novels and her researches
> into Von Fischer's past unearth
> eye-opening discovery during his researches
> at NASA: `You know, these
> <p> In the course of his researches,
> Schonfeld got a one-in-a-million
> the apparent diversity of these researches,
> the French chemist's career had
> Despite her obviously exhaustive researches,
> Alexandra Lapierre has decided
> It seemed evident to her that the researches
> of L'cole Nationale d'Agriculture
> him to interrogate himself on his researches.
> `I do wonder. whether my own
> developing its own products, OAI researches
> and tests drugs on behalf of
> painter was prolific. Anfam's researches
> reveal that he painted no fewer
> another strand of magnetism, the researches
> of the late Frances Nixon, that
> Paddy" Mayne, DSO, 1987) and his researches
> into the work of the cardiologist
> result of their MORI-assisted researches
> was a hideous blue-green
> The romantic reason is that researches
> indicated this would be the 400th
> newspapers while continuing his researches
> into musical theory. These first
> Greeks to the Renaissance. After researches
> in the British Museum, meetings
> Bown deserves a prize for his researches,
> though the book displays a
> mccann, says the agency's initial researches
> indicate that many young children
> Ferguson's chewing-gum - Thrills' researches
> are as timely as they are
> on experiment and teaching, and researches
> into language, particularly
> from their own experiences and researches.
> I find myself in a constant
> and collaborating in his wife's researches
> which, to his joy, led to her
> our drinks cupboard, I pursued my researches
> into Russia's national grog. In
> had been published." Phillips's researches
> then stalled for a couple of
> and Fiftiese he made detailed researches
> into malnutrition and its
> recommend than to implement. His researches
> continued until the children's
>Majaj published the results of his researches in
>the American Journal of
> The intellectual structure of his researches
> and his genius in finding rather
> the ostensible subject of his researches;
> both Jardine and his firm often
>diagnostic computer. Biotechnology researches at
>Glasgow University have joined
>stake. In Wilson, his biographical researches
>scarcely replicate these
>there will be extra help for these researches
>when the Financial Services
> epidemic broke out during his researches
> into what he had already
> this guide are the fruits of his researches.
> Although all are day trips, they
> and flow uphill. He continued his researches
> as professor of natural
> to more important pursuits, to researches
> after Queen Mary's comb, Wolsey's
>an SS soldier. His urgent, furtive researches
>begin to border on the neurotic,
> prominently in Hoyle's postwar researches.
> The most celebrated outcome of
><p> In parallel, Hoyle kept up his researches in
>solar physics, on the origin
> by a combination of the tireless researches
> of her pianist and of her own
> he has Austerlitz describe his researches,
> `which increasingly diverged
> though highly contentious) researches
> into party opinion in the Commons
>he leaves us in no doubt where his researches
>into centuries of recreational
> known who this was. My in-depth researches
> suggest -- oh, all right, someone
> odd years of previously published researches
> is being represented here as 21st-
> for this novel, Polynesian Researches
> by William Ellis, an Evangelical
> Ellis's four-volume Polynesian Researches
> (1832-34) had been out ten years.
> historian, whose dry academic researches
> are brought suddenly to life by
> happened. But despite endless researches,
> the full truth of the Gunpowder
> of Scottish Studies, where his researches
> in song and folklore had made him
> head of the NCR Knowledge Lab, researches
> how the Internet and e-commerce
> He <ZF0> he wants support for his researches
> which would lead eventually <M0X>
> a wartime success in one of his researches.
> <M01> Oh that <PN1> Sandtex
> was the basis of course for the researches I
> did on illiteracy in adult
> and erm history. Er I go in my researches
> and see er where the origin of
> <ZF0> I should see? Further to my researches
> that er maybe I've overlooked
> in the results of those researches
> before they're published. <ZGY>
> in a variety of different researches
> <ZZ1> <ZZ0> policies institutions
> of doing government-funded researches
> and the example of the Social
> at the time were starting to do researches
> into <ZGY> don't think they were
At 18:44 11/12/2006, James_L._Fidelholtz wrote:
>David L. Hoover escribió:
>...
>[a bunch of interesting examinations of Google results] ...
>>"many researches" will freqeuntly be an error for "many researchers", no?
>...
>Actually, I doubt it. In Spanish (similar facts
>in many other European languages), 'una
>investigación' *could* be the literal 'an
>investigation', but rather more often, I think,
>means 'a research project' or 'a piece of
>research'. In the latter case, the error is
>sometimes made of translating it as 'an
>investigation', which in English sounds like
>something a P.I. or the FBI (resp.
>MI-whatever-the-number-is or Scotland Yard)
>would do. But people with more experience with
>English, especially reading experience only, and
>who are aware of the fact that the example just
>given is wrong in English, will frequently make
>the error of translating the expression as 'a
>research', or 'muchas investigaciones' as 'many
>researches'. So the issue in evaluating such
>collocations is whether the writer is a native
>speaker of English. If they are, then the
>suggestion could be correct. But if they are a
>speaker of one of the other languages with a
>different division of this semantic space (as
>well as, NB, somewhat or very different usage of
>the articles), then it seems to me that this
>other explanation is rather more likely. I
>suppose I should do 'a research' on this.
>Jim
>James L. Fidelholtz
>Posgrado en Ciencias del Lenguaje, ICSyH
>Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla MÉXICO
>
Ramesh Krishnamurthy
Lecturer in English Studies, School of Languages
and Social Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
[Room NX08, North Wing of Main Building] ; Tel:
+44 (0)121-204-3812 ; Fax: +44 (0)121-204-3766
http://www.aston.ac.uk/lss/staff/krishnamurthyr.jsp
Project Leader, ACORN (Aston Corpus Network): http://corpus.aston.ac.uk/
More information about the Corpora
mailing list