Introduction: On context and culture in corpus linguistics

Citation

Wiegand V & Mahlberg M (2019) Introduction: On context and culture in corpus linguistics. In: Wiegand V & Mahlberg M (eds.) Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110489071-001

Abstract
First paragraph: Corpora provide invaluable insights into language in use. The texts in corpora capture evidence of social interactions and behaviours. Hence, in corpus linguis-tics, ‘context’ is a key concept. In very practical terms, most general corpus soft-ware packages will have KWIC (“key word in context”) display options. The KWIC display played a crucial part in the “corpus revolution” in the 1980s when the systematic observation of lexico-grammatical patterns fundamentally changed approaches in lexicography (Sinclair 1987). As corpus linguistics developed, the concordance was the central tool that enabled a fresh view on words and their meanings, recognising the crucial role of collocation and phraseology.