[Corpora-List] Corpus vs Intuition

[Martin Wynne]

The paper which you cite may well focus explicitly on this area in a 
useful way, but of course anyone who uses corpus data always uses  both 
intuition and corpus data. Or has anyone worked out how to turn their 
intuition off? (I guess you could try to do corpus linguistics on a 
language that you don't know, but I don't imagine you'd get very far.) 
The point is surely that a corpus linguist doesn't rely on intuition 
only, but checks intuitions against corpus data.

And thus, (to be a bit more provocative) by constantly testing, refining 
and sometimes refuting one's intuitions, the corpus linguist can become 
better at knowing when and when not to trust introspection, and can 
become a much better armchair linguist than the armchair-bound linguist.

Martin Wynne

nina at scils.rutgers.edu wrote:
> James Pustejovsky and Anna Rumshisky have recently published an article 
> advocating an approach that uses both intuition *and* corpus data to 
> develop and test linguistic theory.
>
> Pustejovsky, J., & Rumshisky, A. (2008). Between Chaos and Structure: 
> Interpreting Lexical Data Through a Theoretical Lens. Int J 
> Lexicography, 21(3), 337-355. doi: 10.1093/ijl/ecn023.
> Abstract: In this paper, we explore the inherent tension between corpus 
> data and linguistic theory that aims to model it, with particular 
> reference to the dynamic and variable nature of the lexicon. We explore 
> the process through which modeling of the data is accomplished, 
> presenting itself as a sequence of conflicting stages of discovery. 
> First-stage data analysis informs the model, whereas the seeming chaos 
> of organic data inevitably violates our theoretical assumptions. But in 
> the end, it is restrictions apparent in the data that call for 
> postulating structure within a revised theoretical model. We show the 
> complete cycle using two case studies and discuss the implications.
>
>
>
> Mai Zaki wrote:
>   
>> Dear colleagues,
>>  
>> My question may be a bit basic but I would appreciate your feedback. 
>> My own research is corpus-based and I am working in the field of lexical semantics/pragmatics where the majority of the literature is based on made-up examples and testing of native speakers' intuitions. So, I still get stuck in my discussions with others trying to convince them that corpus work and real life examples add a different angle to any research. The usual objections are that it's not about numbers and percentages, and that patterns of use are questionable because of the issue of how representative they are. 
>> I want to include in my own work a part about the advantages of corpus-based work as opposed to arm-chair linguistics, and I would appreciate if you could guide me to any references on this topic as well as your own ideas. 
>>  
>> Thank you. 
>>  
>> Mai Zaki
>> Middlesex University
>>
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