LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Portuguese: Corpus do Português (45 million words, 1300-1999)
This corpus allows you to quickly and easily search more than 45 million words in more than 50,000 Portuguese texts from the 1300s to the 1900s. The interface allows you to search for exact words or phrases, substrings, lemmas, part of speech, or any combinations of these. You can also search for surrounding words (collocates) within a ten-word window. This corpus has been funded by the US National Endowment for the Humanities, and is now freely available online.

French: Corpus of spoken French
Ce corpus contient les transcriptions de 95 entretiens, de longueurs variées, enregistrés sur le vif dans le Lot, le Minervois, à Paris et en Bretagne. Les thèmes de discussion comprennent une gamme de fonctions linguistiques différentes: transfert d'informations sur une région, instructions, narrations, argumentations sur les relations familiales, le racisme, la politique ou linformatisation de la société. Les thèmes de conversation ont émergé des centres d'intérêt des locuteurs. Les locuteurs, dont 45 hommes et 50 femmes, sont âgés de 7 à 88 ans et incluent un éventail de niveaux d'education. Le Résumé des entretiens détaille sous forme de table les donnes démographiques, sociologiques et contextuelles (identité, longueur en minutes, sexe, âge et niveau déduction) de chaque entretien/locuteur.

Translation Studies in the UK

Translation Studies in the UK is a small but expanding field of study. Programmes are primarily at postgraduate level though some elements of translation studies are included in first degree programmes in ancient and modern languages. The cultural approach to translation is the most recent development in a field that has been growing steadily since the 1970s. What distinguishes Translation Studies from translating is the emphasis on cultural history and the role and function of translation in the broader socio-cultural context.

Using parallel corpora in translation
Parallel corpora are large collections of texts in two languages. They can be used for teaching and research in translation, bilingual lexicography, and linguistics.

Corpus Linguistics
This paper discusses the matching of corpora to answer research questions. Programmes for annotating a corpus are examined as well as the use of corpora in teaching. Some useful links are provided for those interested in using corpora.

Linguistics and the social sciences
This note is intended for teachers of courses with titles like 'Language in Society'. It outlines some key themes of current social theory that are relevant to linguistics, and suggests some areas of linguistics that may be of interest to social scientists. It includes some suggested web sites and further readings.