ABSTRACT

This volume offers a critical examination of the construction of the Spoken British National Corpus 2014 (Spoken BNC2014) and points the way forward toward a more informed understanding of corpus linguistic methodology more broadly. The book begins by situating the creation of this second corpus, a compilation of new, publicly-accessible Spoken British English from the 2010s, within the context of the first, created in 1994, talking through the need to balance backward capability and optimal practice for today’s users. Chapters subsequently use the Spoken BNC2014 as a focal point around which to discuss the various considerations taken into account in corpus construction, including design, data collection, transcription, and annotation. The volume concludes by reflecting on the successes and limitations of the project, as well as the broader utility of the corpus in linguistic research, both in current examples and future possibilities. This exciting new contribution to the literature on linguistic methodology is a valuable resource for students and researchers in corpus linguistics, applied linguistics, and English language teaching.

chapter 1|6 pages

Introduction

part I|42 pages

Before Corpus Construction

chapter 2|21 pages

Why a New Spoken BNC and Why Now?

chapter 3|19 pages

Theoretical Challenges in Corpus Design

part II|130 pages

During Corpus Construction

part III|22 pages

After Corpus Construction

chapter 8|11 pages

Evaluating the Spoken BNC2014

chapter 9|9 pages

Conclusions and Further Construction Work