Corpus-assisted analysis of the collocational profiles of the terms denoting elderly care workers

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the terms used in the Macmillan Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary to identify the people who are paid to provide care to the elderly and check their presence in a corpus – professional home care (PHC) – of three UK-based specialised websites. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on the frameworks and methods of corpus-assisted Discourse Analysis (Baker, 2006). The terms were extracted from a corpus of British websites of companies providing PHC services. Findings This study highlights that in the PHC corpus, the words “caregiver” and “carer” are used as synonyms at the level of popular communication, whereas “care assistant” and “care worker” are used for intra-specialistic communication. The analysis also points out the variations in terminology observed in the corpora that are intended for different communication contexts, e.g. how professionals define themselves compared to how external actors identify them. Originality/value This paper provides insight into the terminological aspects of caregiving in the professional field through a corpus-based study on specialised terminology integrating lexicographic considerations. This methodological framework can capture the sociolinguistic attitudes of speakers.