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On 12/16/2010 2:04 AM, Damir Ćavar wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:FEE1ABAA-95C6-484D-A1D0-F50B986E5781@indiana.edu"
type="cite">I think this is rather right in the sense of: using
existing corpora for the generation of colloquial language
dictionaries. Creating corpora from data collected via transcripts
of questionnaires, recordings, interviews etc. to get some
quantities out of it might be helpful. But, qualitative data is
what counts most in common such compilations, corpora are less
relevant here, fieldwork is crucial, in particular in what Mike
mentions, a diglossic situation. Corpora might be helpful as
organizations of the collected data for extraction of further
details, but they do not seem to be at the core of such an
endeavor.</blockquote>
I don't get this. Why are corpora "less relevant" in a
diglossic situation? Why aren't qualitative data just as important
in other situations?<br>
<br>
If we're going to have different procedures for making
dictionaries, it's important to come up with a more rigorous set of
criteria for when a language community is diglossic. Why do people
say that France is diglossic but the United States is not? Is
France as diglossic as German-speaking Switzerland? Where is the
line - or at least, where do various language communities like
Croatia and the western Punjab fit on the continuum?<br>
<br>
And if France is indeed diglossic, does that mean that the <i>Trésor
de la langue française</i> was a misguided endeavor because a
corpus was at its heart?<br>
<br>
I don't mean to discount the value of qualitative data; if
anything, I think they're relevant in a wider range of situations
than they're typically used in.<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
-Angus B. Grieve-Smith
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:grvsmth@panix.com">grvsmth@panix.com</a>
</pre>
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