Corpus Linguistics and Vocabulary: A Commentary on Four Studies

Abstract

Tools and methods developed in the field of corpus linguistics play an often understated but important role in much of vocabulary research. This article offers a commentary on four vocabulary studies that explicitly reference the use of corpus linguistics in the development of new vocabulary resources, tools, and concepts. First, the article categorizes corpus linguistics research into two distinct areas and then positions the four studies in these areas. Next, the article summarizes the results of the four studies, before making suggestions for strengthening the works from the perspective of mainstream corpus linguistics research. The article concludes with a general comment on the value of the studies as they relate to corpus linguistics and vocabulary research in general.