Abstract. Is corpus linguistics a methodology? Corpus linguistics is the study of language data on a large scale - the computer-aided analysis of very extensive collections of transcribed utterances or written texts. “One of the big insights of the scientific revolution, of modern science, at least… By Anatol Stefanowitsch. Is it theory? Corpus, the Latin word for "body," refers to the body of natural texts, and the approach involves discovering patterns of language use through analysis of the corpus.Corpus linguistics is experiencing a comeback, as computer programs have revolutionized … This book attempts to frame corpus linguistics systematically as a variant of the observational method. Noam Chomsky’s famous objection to corpus linguistics therefore needs a serious response. Most corpus linguists are not will-ing to answer that question in such terms, but when analyzing language using cor-pora, there is a “method” to employ. Introduction When the entire premise of your methodology is publicly challenged by one of the most pre-eminent figures in an overarching discipline, it seems wise to have a defence. Corpus linguistics is not a monolithic, consensually agreed set of methods and procedures for the exploration of language. Corpus linguistics as one of the branches of linguistics is a methodology because it deals with how to collect and analyze linguistic data (McEnery & Hardie, 2012; Stefanowitsch, 2020). As McEnery and W ilson (2001: 2-4) note, the basic corpus methodology was widespread in linguistics in the early 20th century. 2), their methodology was essentially ‘corpus-based’ in the sense that it was empirical and based onobserved data. Corpora are widely used in linguistics, but not always wisely. Corpus linguistics the study of language using real-life examples. Corpus linguistics is a field which focuses upon a set of procedures, or methods, for studying language. While some generalisations can be made that characterise much of what is called ‘corpus linguistics’, it is very important to realise that corpus linguistics … In the late 1950s, however, the corpus methodology was so severely criticized We can take a corpus-based approach to many areas of linguistics. This book attempts to frame corpus linguistics systematically as a variant of the observational method. Corpus linguistics is a methodology in linguistics that involves computer-based empirical analyses (both quantitative and qualitative) of actual patterns of language use by employing electronically available, large collections of naturally occuring spoken and written texts, so-called corpora. Corpus linguistics: A guide to the methodology . It is not a branch of linguistics but a methodology or approach. This chapter offers an introduction to corpus linguistics as a methodology for studying language, literature, and other fields in the humanities. The Corpus Approach (Biber, Conrad, & Reppen, 1998, p. 4) is comprised of four