Description: Corpus linguistics is a long-established method which uses authentic language data, stored in extensive computer corpora, as the basis for linguistic research. Moving away from the traditional intuitive approach to linguistics, which used made-up examples, corpus linguistics has made a significant contribution to all areas of the field. Until very recently, corpus linguistics has focused almost exclusively on syntax and the lexicon; however corpus-based approaches to the other subfields of linguistics are now rapidly emerging, and this is the first handbook on corpus pragmatics as a field. Bringing together a team of leading scholars from around the world, this handbook looks at how the use of corpus data has informed research into different key aspects of pragmatics, including pragmatic principles, pragmatic markers, evaluation, reference, speech acts, and conversational organisation.
Brief description: Karin Aijmer is Professor Emerita in English Linguistics in the Department of Languages and Literatures at Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden.
Review Quotes: 'Corpus Pragmatics is a rich depository of information for graduate students and researchers. The authors successfully met the goal of overviewing and expanding the field of corpus pragmatics by keeping the right balance between theoretical background and practical aspects of analysis, including specific empirical authentic examples from corpus data ... The handbook sheds light both on the achievements and the existing challenges related to using corpora for pragmatic research ... Corpus Pragmatics provides a solid repository of knowledge and new research avenues for everybody who wants to further explore and contribute to this fascinating linguistic field.' Oksana Bomba, LINGUIST List