Venue: Rm. 100, Second Social Sciences Building, Jinan University
Lecture 2
Corpus as a reference tool and research resource
Date: April 25, 2015
Time: 9:00 - 11:00 am
Guest speaker: Dr. Lan LI
Venue: Rm. 402, Main Teaching Building, Jinan University
Guest speaker's bio:
Dr. Lan LI, Associate Professor at Department of English, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, received her PhD in Applied Linguistics from University of Exeter, UK in 1998. She has been a fellow of Chartered Institute of Linguistics, UK since 2005, and she is a council member of Asian Association of Lexicography and The Association of Chinese Bilingual Lexicography. Her research interests include lexicography, semantics and lexis, corpus-driven language learning, English for special purpose and neolism. She has been a principal investigator for many international and national research projects.
Lecture abstract
1. Neologisms, translation and dictionaries
This talk reflects how languages change in tandem with the development of the society. New technology, new concepts and new social events have dramatically boomed the creation of neologisms, such as monetize, gayriage, staycation and unfriend, selfie, etc. in the ever-expanding English lexicon. Whether these words can survive in the language can be assessed by FUDGE factors: Frequency of use, Unobtrusiveness, Diversity of use, Generation and Endurance of the referent (MetCalf 2002). New words in different semantic fields will be analyzed morphologically, semantically and pragmatically and also from different social and cultural perspectives.I argue that although a large number of new words emerge every year, some can gain international recognition and have EFL importance, others are limited to local interest, still others are like flash in the pan. Translation of neologisms and their role in bilingual dictionaries will also be discussed.
2. Corpus as a reference tool and research resource
Vastly expanded computer power has made corpus linguistics an influential force in language study and research, therefore using corpora has become indispensible for lexicographers, linguists and educators. This talk will introduce a number of English corpora freely available online, and how they can be used in learning and research. The talk will demonstrate how Sinclair’s five co-selections in analysing words and phrases and what type of research can be done in this area, especially for MA dissertation. Students will also be encouraged to use corpus as a reference tool for improving their academic writing.
