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Searching for similarity using corpus-assisted discourse studies
It has often been noted that corpus-assisted discourse analysis is inherently comparative (e.g., Partington, 2009), but, in this paper, I want to emphasise that such comparison does not exclusively entail the analysis of difference and that the analysis of similarity can be productively incorporated into the framework. As Baker (2006: 182) notes, the way that differences and similarities interact with each other is ‘an essential part of any comparative corpus-based study of discourse’. In this paper, first, I outline why the search for similarity is relevant to the analysis of discourse using corpus linguistics; I then go on to assess some possible ways of doing this; and, finally, I take the representation of boy/s and girl/s in British broadsheet newspapers as an example.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
CorporaISSN
1749-5032Publisher
Edinburgh University PressExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
8Page range
81-113Department affiliated with
- English Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes