Collaboration on Corpora for Regional and Social Analysis

Abstract

Compilers of corpora that document regional and social languages and varieties of languages have different needs and goals, and yet we also face common problems, and we should have an interest in collaboration. In this paper, we set forth our intention to begin such a collaboration. We begin by exploring the parameters of our various corpora. We then explore issues of access and analysis, whether public or private, whether for general audiences or for specialists. Finally, we assert that it is indeed possible, practical, and desirable for us to apply common methods to our common problems, and we propose specific recommendations.