Corpus like satellite image of word usage

Tittle: Corpus like satellite image of word usage.
Source: wwww.buenosairesherald.com
Date of Publication: Wednesday, August 1, 2007.
Author: Erin Mckean (The nwe York Times).

Vocabulary:

- Thesaurus: noun, a book that is like a dictionary but in which the words are arranged in groups that have similar meanings.
- Coleslaw: noun, finely chopped pieces of raw cabbage, carrot, onion, mixed with mayonnaise and eaten with meat and salads.
- Facetious: adjective, trying to appear amusing and intelligent at a time when other peolpe do not think it is appropriate, and when it would be better to be serious.
- Mother Lode: noun, a very rich source of gold, silver, etc, in a mine.
- Chide: verb, formal, to criticize or blame somebody because they have done something wrong.
- Lambaste: verb, formal, to attack somebody or criticize somebody very severelly, especially in public.
- Edible: adjective, fit or suitable to be eaten, not poisonous.
- Coerce: verb, formal, to force somebody7 to do something by using threats.

Main ideas:

- A corpus is like a photograph of the language.
- A corpus makes patterns in language more visible.
- The Oxford English Corpus is the mother lode of such insights of language.
- It is compliled from 32,000 different sources, all published since 2000, representing English from all over the world.
- It is a marvellous playground for those who love to explore language.
- The corpus shows how some words literal senses are losing ground to more figuratives ones.
- Information from the corpus gives hints about why peolpe use a certain word.
- Occasionally, consulting the corpus shows unfortunate patterns, not just for a word but in the wrold.
- By using the cropus to show patterns in language that are not visible to the naked eye, we come to a better understanding of our language and ourselves.
- Lexigraphers communicate that new understanding through better dictionary and thesaurus entries, one that more accurately reflects what words means and how they are used.

Personal Reaction:

With any doubt, a corpus is a magnificent database about language usage. It goes beyond the literal meaning of words to the social connotation that they have and the use that peolpe give to them.
From a semantic perspective we can say that language is not a steady fixed system. It changes as time goes by and the human race develops. Language addopts the social frames of each time in history and serves for the purpose of communication in an extremely modifiable way. Some aspects of the meaning of words are modified to cope with the necessities of people in language terms. As new words are coined into the language, the ones that already exist suffer variations in their meaning and usage according to the context in whch they are used and to the purposes for which they are used.
That a corpu can register all this fascinating changes in language is admirable. Through it, even our behaviour can be analyzed. The way we speak reflects more than we think. It shows our inner perceptions, our beliefs and ideas. We are what we say...and a corpus can show that!.