The invention of computers and the possibility to store texts electronically has revolutionised linguistic study. Large data files can be searched and analysed empirically with regard to numerous features, such as the amount of types and tokens in the corpus of an individual author or the linguistic context of certain lexical items or word forms within a particular variety of English. In this seminar we will have a look at several corpora, which are either freely available on the world wide web or can be accessed on the university network, and demonstrate how these can be used for academic research. We will also learn how to work with specifically developed software intended to facilitate various searches.
