[Corpora-List] corpus linguistics

[Santos Diana]

Dear all,

This has been the most interesting discussion on the corpora list I have
read since I signed up around 8 years ago.

I am puzzled about how any member of the corpora community can think
that the purpose of using corpora and of developing analyses from
corpora and relating this to the meaning of language and to the
experimental paradigm is science are "topics having little to do with
corpus linguistics" :-(

And I think that if not many other people have entered the discussion
was mainly because we agree that e.g. John Sowa or Yorick Wilks are some
of the most brilliant/knowledgeable scholars around and therefore they
make their points extremely well (and quickly, too :-), leaving no time
for us other :-)

I think that by trying to remove this discussion from our list we are
impoverishing the intellectual horizons of its members. 

The only thing I may agree with the complaint is that some of the
replies have been too short and therefore require a lot of
terminological clarification... that might have been avoidable... but
then maybe not. It's from dialogue that more precise ideas appear. 

That people are aware of what they can or cannot do (or should be doing)
with corpora, is I think the most important topic the whole corpus
community whould be discussing. Now that Rob Freeman has suggested a lot
of ideas, why not invite Antoinette Renouf to express her views of what
is corpus linguistics all about and its relationship with semantics,
syntax, engineering and science?

Here is my invitation :-) After all, a list to discuss different points
of view.

Best
Diana


> -----Original Message-----
> From: corpora-bounces at uib.no [mailto:corpora-bounces at uib.no] 
> On Behalf Of Michael Swanton
> Sent: 14. september 2007 15:56
> To: Antoinette Renouf; corpora at uib.no
> Subject: Re: [Corpora-List] corpus linguistics
> 
> Dear Antoinette,
> You are now receiving a complaint from me. There has been an 
> interesting and relevant discussion on this list. Indeed, it 
> has been the most interesting discussion regarding 
> linguistics I have read since I have signed up.
> 
> If this discussion is considered to be irrelevant to the 
> field and you wish to censure it in this forum, I would 
> suggest you change the name of your listserv to "language 
> corpus engineering".
> 
> Sincerely,
> Michael Swanton
> 
> --- Antoinette Renouf <Antoinette.Renouf at uce.ac.uk>
> wrote:
> 
> > Dear List members,
> > Corpora-list was set up by ICAME (International Computer Archive of 
> > Modern and Mediaeval English) to impart information and discuss 
> > matters of relevance to the field. We have been receiving 
> complaints 
> > that Corpora-list has recently been dominated by 3 or 4 
> people talking 
> > about topics having little to do with corpus linguistics.
> > Far be it from me to
> > spoil the fun or stifle debate, but we are all anyway swamped with 
> > information beyond our capacity to process, so please do 
> restrict your 
> > comments to issues of more central relevance to the particular list 
> > community, and/or consider whether private emails might be a more 
> > appropriate mechanism for continuing debate once you have found a 
> > conversation partner.
> > All good wishes
> > Antoinette Renouf
> > Chair of ICAME
> > 
> > --------------------------
> > Antoinette Renouf
> > Professor of English Language and Linguistics School of English 
> > University of Central England in Birmingham
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > Corpora mailing list
> > Corpora at uib.no
> > http://mailman.uib.no/listinfo/corpora
> > 
> 
> 
> 
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