Search types (corpora used,
corrections,
+/- sections)
 |
Note: click on any link
on this page to see the corpus data, and then
click on the "BACK" image (see left) at the top of the page to come back to
this page. Or right click on the link and then "Open link in new tab" (in
Chrome; similar in other browsers), and then close that tab after
viewing the corpus data. |
In most cases, the examples in
these linked pages comes from the Corpus of Contemporary American English
( COCA), since it is the most widely used of the corpora from English-Corpora.org
(and probably the most widely-used online corpus anywhere).
A number of examples also come from
COHA (historical),
GloWbE (dialects), and
NOW (very large and recent). But all of the information in these help files should
be applicable to any of the 17 corpora at English-Corpora.org.
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Please note that these pages were recently released (in September
2024), and there are probably still some errors, since English-Corpora.org has
been created and is run by just one person. If you find anything that needs to be corrected, please
email us. Thanks.
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The following table provides a brief overview of the different kinds of searches
that are possible with the corpora at English-Corpora.org. Detailed explanation
and more examples can be found via the links below.
|
|
Type of
search |
Brief
explanation |
Examples |
| 1 |
Word / phrase (lists) |
Frequency of individual words |
*break*,
*ize_v,
=beautiful,
@CLOTHES_n |
| |
|
Specified number of words in
string, especially words in a specific "slot" |
. ADJ
!,
soft
NOUN,
=strong argument,
LET
PRON VERB |
| |
Similar to KWIC |
"Wildcard words" |
*
fathom,
* *
fathom,
*
point * * |
| |
Similar to collocates |
See meaning / usage (genres,
historical, dialects) |
ADJ
women (COHA),
ADJ WIFE (GloWbE),
smart
NOUN (NOW) |
| |
Similar to KWIC/collocates |
Variable length queries |
was
(ADV) interesting,
PUT
(NOUN){3} away,
I
(VERB+){2} NOTICE_v |
| |
Similar to charts |
See frequency of individual
strings by section |
seldom,
several NOUN,
"like
construction",
VERB
POSS way PREP
(Note: use Chart if you want the combined
frequency of all forms) |
| 2 |
Chart |
See overall frequency
of strings by section |
seldom,
so
ADJ as to VERB (COHA), "like construction" (COCA,
GloWbE),
fake
news (NOW) |
| 3 |
Collocates |
Words in a "cloud" anywhere
near a specific word |
sprawl
(n), bodice,
alabaster,
climate
change
Note:
grouped display in COCA/iWeb,
e.g.
sprawl,
bodice,
alabaster |
| |
|
See the meaning and usage of a
word |
gay
(COHA),
chain (fic/acad),
scheme (GloWbE) |
| 4 |
Word comparisons |
Compare collocates of two
words |
utter / complete + NOUN, small
/ little + NOUN,
ADJ+
boy
/ girl,
destroy / ruin
+ NOUN |
| 5 |
KWIC (concordances) |
See the patterns in
which a word occurs; not specific # words |
fathom,
point_n,
naked
eye,
gone
the way of the |
In addition, COCA (and iWeb) provide the following additional types of
searches
-
Word
sketches: definition, pronunciation, images, videos, translations,
synonyms, topics, collocates, clusters, concordances
-
Browse words:
by word form, frequency, meaning, pronunciation, and more
-
Topics: like collocates, but co-occurring words anywhere in the entire
text
-
(COCA)
Analyze entire texts, and then see word sketches for any word, and find
similar phrases in COCA
Also note that all of the search types #1-5 above can be used to compare
different "sections" of the corpora, to look
at differences between genres, countries, and
historical periods -- in ways that are not possible with any other corpora
of English
|
