Re: [Corpora-List] Re: Google searches as linguistic evidence

From: Ramesh Krishnamurthy (r.krishnamurthy@aston.ac.uk)
Date: Mon Dec 11 2006 - 20:14:20 MET

  • Next message: Torsten Zesch: "[Corpora-List] Post-Doc "Natural Language Processing (NLP) applied to eLearning in Web 2.0""

    >I suppose I should do 'a research' on this.

    Sorry, I thought I already had: here is my posting of 8/12/06:

    The Cobuild dictionary (3rd ed 2001) entry describes "research"
    >as "N-UNCOUNT also N in pl",
    >i.e. it is uncountable (ie not used with a/an in singular form);
    >but is also used as a plural noun.
    >
    >Bank of English evidence:
    >
    >>Query is "researches/NOUN" [*Note from RK: to
    >>the extent that the POS tagging is accurate...]
    >>Term 1 in your query has been selected as the node
    >>
    >>272 matching lines
    >
    >>Corpus Total Number of Average Number per
    >> Occurrences Million Words
    >>
    >>brbooks 76 1.8/million [BRITISH BOOKS]
    >>newsci 10 1.3/million [NEW SCIENTIST]
    >>strathy 19 1.2/million [CANADIAN DATA]
    >>indy 29 1.0/million [INDEPENDENT]
    >>guard 30 0.9/million [GUARDIAN]
    >>usbooks 23 0.7/million [USA BOOKS]
    >>usacad 4 0.6/million [USA ACADEMIC]
    >>usephem 2 0.6/million [USA EPHEMERA]
    >>brmags 24 0.5/million [BRITISH MAGAZINES]
    >>brspok 9 0.4/million [BRITISH SPOKEN]
    >>times 23 0.4/million [TIMES]
    >>bbc 8 0.4/million [BBC WORLD SERVICE]
    >>econ 5 0.3/million [ECONOMIST]
    >>oznews 8
    >>0.2/million [AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS]
    >>brephem 1 0.2/million [BRITISH EPHEMERA]
    >>wbe 1
    >>0.1/million [GLOBAL BUSINESS ENGLISH]
    >>sunnow 0 0.0/million [SUN/NEWS OF THE WORLD]
    >>usspok 0 0.0/million [USA SPOKEN]
    >>npr 0
    >>0.0/million [USA NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO]
    >>usnews 0
    >>0.0/million [USA REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS]
    >
    >Of course, a lot of English texts on the Web are
    >also written by non-expert English speakers,
    >which will affect the distributions...
    >I wonder if the proportions are the same for other languages?

    [I meant by this: "I wonder to what degree
    non-native Spanish on the Web affects the Google counts for
    Spanish patterns of usage"]

    I can also now provide some concordance lines for
    the plural usage of "researches":

    > but Winthrop D. Jordan, whose researches
    > have added enormously to our
    > secretary, helped too. Henry's researches
    > in electromagnetism in the 1830s
    >of the speed of light. Michelson's researches in
    >the 1870s and 1880s helped
    >of the speed of light. Michelson's researches in
    >the 1870s and 1880s helped
    > suited to Mondrian's new researches:
    > Its diagonal edges allowed him
    > Monetary Fund <p> Private researches
    > <p> More than 100 specialized
    > Second World War, and began the researches
    > at Jodrell Bank, which
    > or, to be precise, on pioneering researches
    > he undertook into nuclear
    >with a quote from Mark Twain: `The researches of
    >many commentators have already
    > in his numismatico-metallurgic researches:
    > the British currency has been
    > the ceiling which their costly researches
    > would encounter sooner or later.
    > the data upon which the group's researches
    > are based. The database is a
    > in the course of her historical researches
    > Wertheim completely changed her
    > even the rough location of his
    > researches-around the Skerki Bank off
    >University of Cambridge. His early researches
    >were indeed remarkable, and it
    > work and lingered over one of my researches,
    > which was very small and
    > breed. John Coffin's historical researches
    > into his ancestors had caught
    >or so away, where he was doing his researches,
    >and so knew practically every
    > hysterics. <p> Somewhere in his researches,
    > Alastair had come across an
    >working in his hotel, or doing his researches on
    >his own: her secret advice
    > with the results of their researches
    > being made available to the
    > since, with any luck Bardi's researches
    > will come to a dead end there."
    > <o> But so far as the author's researches
    > suggest, this is the first
    > of the highest in Scotland. The researches
    > of my nephew Richard
    > what she had learned from her own researches,
    > Alex found that Eve's story
    >his next question. <p> How are the researches
    >going? Did Peter Brewster come up
    > shall I say # untoward? Your researches
    > and the way you're handling them
    >The first is that the young poet's researches
    >into folklore and occultism were
    >his emerging thought, and that his researches in
    >these areas therefore bear the
    > a direct knowledge of Yeats's researches
    > into magic. We could not entirely
    >For concise summaries of the major researches on
    >Yeats and occultism, see Anglo-
    > the early writings based on his researches
    > into fairylore, the book would be
    >come across dozens of times in his researches
    >into Irish folklore, a folklore
    > s valuable bibliography of researches
    > in the area, pp. 203-17. Works to
    > Von Reichenbach, Baron Karl, Researches
    > on Magnetism, Electricity, Heat,
    > of Indian society and on his own researches
    > into Mughal economic history. It
    > also in F. Braudel's polymathic researches
    > into the nature and evolution of
    > their economic studies and policy researches
    > than on imperialism theory, and
    > his attempts to carry his researches
    > on to a world stage from which
    >the implications of his historical researches
    >and their application to
    > Cournot, Augustin (1960 [1858 # Researches
    > into the mathematical principles
    > 1956) brings together his earlier researches
    > into the nature of power in the
    > of sources. Prominent are his own researches,
    > some of which had been
    > have regulating effects. In fact researches
    > implicate solar radiation levels
    > up during the present intensive researches.
    > <p> <f> Treatment <f> Not
    > indoors isn't logical. <p> New researches
    > have suggested it may be possible
    > nothing. If he had studied the researches
    > of his ostensibly more extreme
    > of the lost continents, or the researches
    > of some scientist into their
    > of research, our experimental researches
    > and our theoretical progress have
    > <f> RKP, 1972). In his researches,
    > he detected what he called an #
    >the pioneer racing driver although researches
    >reveal that he did very little
    > homeland or areas adjacent. The researches
    > of Nabia Abbott have revealed at
    > health. <f> I <f> <p> My own researches
    > have tended to indicate that the
    > the development of Geoffrey's researches
    > in the course of writing the <f>
    > the term of his long Hermetic Researches
    > by directing him on the true path
    > that Waite had obtained from his researches
    > at the British Museum. This is
    > to build, as it must, upon his researches.
    > <p> But the outer form of the
    > to telepathy in some experimental researches -
    > although other studies have not
    > totally trivial and wasteful researches
    > have been tolerated for years,
    > story of Margaret Mead's Samoan researches
    > and their present debunking
    > at the history of diet and their researches
    > have shed much light on the
    > content, according to the researches
    > of the Shute Foundation for
    > Registered Charity. <p> Researches
    > into illnesses caused by
    >or the handicapped were opened and researches
    >into the needs of the disabled
    > appeasement gained through the researches
    > of Donald Cameron Watt, which is
    > to the detailed `wholistic" researches
    > already referred to, both
    > the Navigator. Inspired by the researches
    > of the prince and his team of
    > Appalachian field project. Liz's researches
    > had amused her, and she had given
    > inconsistencies in his researches
    > to the malevolent intentions of
    > attitudes. At the same time the researches
    > of Christian biblical scholars
    >activities were accompanied by the researches of
    >Christian biblical theologians
    >even more widely. According to the researches of
    >Werner Bergman, six to seven
    > attacked Jews, and the researches
    > of Christian biblical scholars
    > time to devote to his historical researches
    > and his subsequent verbal venting
    >jobs, stated that from a series of researches it
    >had been established that
    > seen by scientists. The team's researches
    > suggested that this species'
    > closely. Only time and further # researches
    > will determine which of these
    > time during his ornithological researches
    > at the magnificent natural
    > work on the subject, and his researches
    > for it had taken him to the Congo
    > to receive attention too, and researches
    > ultimately disclosed that in
    > findings when she published her researches
    > in 1946. Firstly, the other
    > however, Gauss, prompted by his researches
    > into the asteroids' path, had
    > important stimulus to Einstein's researches
    > was an awareness of differences
    > he had little time for his own researches.
    > While working at the hospital,
    > and he determined that his future researches
    > should be to that end. <p> THE
    > any way restrict your legitimate researches
    > and their logical formulations.
    > and superstition. Thanks to the researches
    > of psychologists, man is in a
    >Cowles Prichard, whose first book, Researches
    >into thc Physical History of
    > He was encouraged to continue his researches
    > and, indeed, liberally subsidised
    > actually write the book and his researches
    > influenced the way in which the
    >Dace summarised the results of his researches as
    >indicating that `Japanese
    >are handled between countries. The researches of
    >the Industrial Marketing Group
    > Institute at Oxford employs 25 researches
    > working on biology and
    > in various ways: in the number of researches
    > carried out, the nature of the
    > of the teacher's behaviours. Researches
    > carried out into pre-service
    > those reported in two other such researches:
    > in one study, evaluation was
    > has succeeded in marshalling her researches
    > into an attractive and readable
    > others are nudged by biology. <p> Researches
    > of chronobiology (the study of
    > ways and on different days. Researches
    > suggest that, in order to
    > The fruit of Simon's historical
    > researches-he is a scholar of Scotland'
    >were more common. <p> The Concorde researches
    >say that these preliminary
    > oval locket is testimony to their researches
    > into Japanese cloisonne work. <p>
    > simply stop fishing. <p> Tim's researches
    > into argulus suggest it has been
    > used for other functions. John's researches
    > found this particular shape was
    >of sperm.to determine the problem, researches
    >analyse a sperm sample to find
    > lecturer Cumming, who turned her researches
    > into a phd. `She was a very
    > to become homosexual." <p> The researches
    > have warned that the gene marker
    > known. The results of his researches
    > reveal an extraordinary and
    > new words to fill the gaps. My researches
    > have revealed, for example, no
    > his priests. Wojtyla's protracted researches
    > were clearly an attempt to solve
    > tramped several marathons for his researches,
    > and has clearly devoted himself
    > by primarily) male psychoanalytic researches,
    > conducted by, among others,
    > and the European community. Researches
    > could be paid to produce
    > of its recent history and his researches
    > into the earlier days have given
    > wrought in his own life by his researches
    > and about the power of this
    >is not always easy when television researches
    >ask aggressively, as they did in
    > challenge traditional scientific researches
    > into cancer cures, Kurtz warns,
    > According to Ms Lestor's hasty researches,
    > the other four did ask questions
    > of winning in every draw? My own researches
    > have yielded only one possibly
    > drawn from Rentoul's parallel researches
    > and draft" text. It amounts to an
    > from driving for 10 years. <h> Researches
    > into crocodile blood bring hope
    > that remains hidden. But his researches
    > in the east have already had
    > has come to light thanks to the researches
    > of Michael Crick, published in
    > 70,000 a year. Mr Milburn's researches
    > show that among 23 recent
    > not just those Tudor stiffs. His researches
    > range over the present lot, as an
    > to tell the world about their own researches
    > and resources. Public libraries
    > and expert on archery and his researches
    > on the range of medieval archers
    > academic in the sobriety of its researches,
    > analyses and presentation. It
    > two Congressional inquiries and researches
    > by the Washington Post, New York
    > disposition; and extensive researches
    > through the Sony rankings fail to
    > in Richmond, Virginia for `the researches
    > of the learned and the curious".
    > published six years ago, said his researches
    > uncovered one law lord, three
    > telephone directory. My own brief researches
    > some years ago suggested that the
    > Pierre Coustillas's exhaustive researches
    > have turned up a `George J
    >NOTE that Colin maccabe's incisive researches
    >into British popular culture Why
    > development if Anna Raeburn's researches
    > are any guide. She picks over the
    > the British. Raffles's zoological researches,
    > printed by the Linnaean Society
    > of drugs on the mind. Davy's Researches
    > Chemical and Philosophical,
    > poets Coleridge and Southey. The researches
    > were carried out under the aegis
    > progress of the nitrous oxide researches
    > makes little sense as a clinical
    > under the influence. The enormous Researches
    > Chemical and Philosophical,
    > have abandoned his nitrous oxide researches
    > at this point, moving on to
    > in this way." War on Want's researches
    > suggest that much speculation
    > Nixon visits while pursuing his researches.
    > Here he learns of the grand
    > heavily reliant on the original researches
    > of her betters. Previously the
    > for four years he conducted his researches
    > in her house. Dee and I often had
    > Matisse remained in his artistic researches.
    > The treasures on view belong to
    >his sleep and further his literary researches.
    >Better a first lady with a
    > war of court actions'. <p> In his researches,
    > Mr Gregory came across a
    > took him in hand, and his researches
    > for land claims led him on to
    > according to The Economist's researches,
    > is the highest of any rich-
    > before the peak. He told me his researches
    > began in the library of Britain's
    > and clumsy, but as one of the researches
    > comments, all you need to do is
    > where he can carry out his researches
    > in an atmosphere conducive to
    > effort to show beekeepers what researches
    > are directly of use to them.
    > which shows that if you look at researches
    > into left-handedness, most of the
    > which shows that if you look at researches
    > into left-handedness, most of the
    > talked to Sue Nowak about his researches
    > around the world into which kinds
    > able to provide drug companies to researches
    > in clinical areas and others who
    > supporting science in its researches
    > and teaching, seeking to promote
    > composite-critic. Kaye's careful researches
    > into Mandeville's influence found
    > of adequate funding of his own researches.
    > <p> Dean Clark's financial
    > pathology, to carry on with their researches
    > and publish the results in the
    > the clinical aspects of Connell's researches
    > with the cancer clinic which had
    > of particle sizes." In all these researches,
    > however, Gray was forced to work
    > to the support of his son's researches.
    > Nor did Gray possess the special
    > in his view, were engaged in researches
    > related to, and capable of
    > of professional knowledge; the researches
    > were demonstrably of national
    > Orrin Carson directed a series of researches
    > into metals and alloys for the
    >he directed its principal economic researches
    >and also contributed a
    > brought to fruition a variety of researches
    > and won national and
    > of Newton's earliest optical researches
    > might have been more persuasive
    > be more striking. <p> Brockliss's researches
    > reveal that in the French
    > s book, together with similar researches
    > by Hugo Ott, revealed a mass of
    > aid" society. She hopes more researches
    > will be done on this and other
    > United <p> States. Probably some researches
    > should be done on these
    > knowledge. Rothenberg, in his researches
    > on creative individuals, noted a
    > it's still in its early stages, researches
    > said they hope in the future,
    > the sake of sex; the subsequent researches
    > ot historians have revealed the
    > accorded her at some point in his researches,
    > and he uses it throughout his
    > increasingly urgent. Lucas's researches
    > allow the author to display his
    > helped her husband throughout his researches
    > and carried batches of penicillin
    > dollar export industry. Some researches
    > also believe the pine, which won'
    >pcs and Macs can narrow down their researches by
    >defining their own equipment.
    >pcs and Macs can narrow down their researches by
    >defining their own equipment.
    > We knew from the Teknoguild's researches
    > that they had created machines
    > for local and international researches
    > and industry interested in
    > 9QL <p> Tel: (061) 434 7721 <p> Researches,
    > develops and evaluates advice,
    > Gorge would have pushed the researches
    > of Bishop Ussher off their firm
    > before which his thoughts and researches
    > never touched upon the problem.
    > historical accuracy. Most recent researches
    > tend to show that the Puritans
    > continuing also his extensive researches
    > in entomology. He became a
    > said in 1830, `I have carried out researches
    > which will halt many savants in
    >things clear, than to his original researches."
    ><p> Equally inspiring to
    >the difficulties in relating these researches to
    >the contemporary state of
    > redressed. De Tocqueville in his researches
    > into the state of society in
    > of the markets it serves. It researches
    > customer needs exhaustively in
    > economic advance? A propos, the researches
    > of Denison suggest, quite the
    > it remains elusive after diligent
    > researches--the prized credentials, at once
    > zealous (and honestly reported) researches
    > often threatened to embarrass the
    > of lives, drew directly on the researches
    > of Louis Pasteur. By mid-century,
    >did their extensive, emotion-laden researches
    >into the family from the
    > with his earliest psychoanalytic researches,
    > he had given conspicuous room in
    > historians that their historical researches
    > were really a centerpiece to the
    > be: <p> Not until the historical researches #
    > and] anthropological
    >the Deep South helped him with his researches at
    >considerable personal risk to
    > temperament are the longitudinal researches
    > of the child psychiatrists
    > of depth of the investigations. Researches
    > that originate in understanding
    > and family instability. <p> Researches
    > have seldom explored the
    >satisfactorily displayed as in the researches of
    >Political Economy." The
    > the inscription: `Founded on the researches
    > of Matthew Fontaine Maury while
    >do jokes come from? As part of his researches,
    >Fry is trying to `plant" a joke
    > <p> Todd's most recent researches
    > have been in the field of
    > writing detective novels and her researches
    > into Von Fischer's past unearth
    > eye-opening discovery during his researches
    > at NASA: `You know, these
    > <p> In the course of his researches,
    > Schonfeld got a one-in-a-million
    > the apparent diversity of these researches,
    > the French chemist's career had
    > Despite her obviously exhaustive researches,
    > Alexandra Lapierre has decided
    > It seemed evident to her that the researches
    > of L'cole Nationale d'Agriculture
    > him to interrogate himself on his researches.
    > `I do wonder. whether my own
    > developing its own products, OAI researches
    > and tests drugs on behalf of
    > painter was prolific. Anfam's researches
    > reveal that he painted no fewer
    > another strand of magnetism, the researches
    > of the late Frances Nixon, that
    > Paddy" Mayne, DSO, 1987) and his researches
    > into the work of the cardiologist
    > result of their MORI-assisted researches
    > was a hideous blue-green
    > The romantic reason is that researches
    > indicated this would be the 400th
    > newspapers while continuing his researches
    > into musical theory. These first
    > Greeks to the Renaissance. After researches
    > in the British Museum, meetings
    > Bown deserves a prize for his researches,
    > though the book displays a
    > mccann, says the agency's initial researches
    > indicate that many young children
    > Ferguson's chewing-gum - Thrills' researches
    > are as timely as they are
    > on experiment and teaching, and researches
    > into language, particularly
    > from their own experiences and researches.
    > I find myself in a constant
    > and collaborating in his wife's researches
    > which, to his joy, led to her
    > our drinks cupboard, I pursued my researches
    > into Russia's national grog. In
    > had been published." Phillips's researches
    > then stalled for a couple of
    > and Fiftiese he made detailed researches
    > into malnutrition and its
    > recommend than to implement. His researches
    > continued until the children's
    >Majaj published the results of his researches in
    >the American Journal of
    > The intellectual structure of his researches
    > and his genius in finding rather
    > the ostensible subject of his researches;
    > both Jardine and his firm often
    >diagnostic computer. Biotechnology researches at
    >Glasgow University have joined
    >stake. In Wilson, his biographical researches
    >scarcely replicate these
    >there will be extra help for these researches
    >when the Financial Services
    > epidemic broke out during his researches
    > into what he had already
    > this guide are the fruits of his researches.
    > Although all are day trips, they
    > and flow uphill. He continued his researches
    > as professor of natural
    > to more important pursuits, to researches
    > after Queen Mary's comb, Wolsey's
    >an SS soldier. His urgent, furtive researches
    >begin to border on the neurotic,
    > prominently in Hoyle's postwar researches.
    > The most celebrated outcome of
    ><p> In parallel, Hoyle kept up his researches in
    >solar physics, on the origin
    > by a combination of the tireless researches
    > of her pianist and of her own
    > he has Austerlitz describe his researches,
    > `which increasingly diverged
    > though highly contentious) researches
    > into party opinion in the Commons
    >he leaves us in no doubt where his researches
    >into centuries of recreational
    > known who this was. My in-depth researches
    > suggest -- oh, all right, someone
    > odd years of previously published researches
    > is being represented here as 21st-
    > for this novel, Polynesian Researches
    > by William Ellis, an Evangelical
    > Ellis's four-volume Polynesian Researches
    > (1832-34) had been out ten years.
    > historian, whose dry academic researches
    > are brought suddenly to life by
    > happened. But despite endless researches,
    > the full truth of the Gunpowder
    > of Scottish Studies, where his researches
    > in song and folklore had made him
    > head of the NCR Knowledge Lab, researches
    > how the Internet and e-commerce
    > He <ZF0> he wants support for his researches
    > which would lead eventually <M0X>
    > a wartime success in one of his researches.
    > <M01> Oh that <PN1> Sandtex
    > was the basis of course for the researches I
    > did on illiteracy in adult
    > and erm history. Er I go in my researches
    > and see er where the origin of
    > <ZF0> I should see? Further to my researches
    > that er maybe I've overlooked
    > in the results of those researches
    > before they're published. <ZGY>
    > in a variety of different researches
    > <ZZ1> <ZZ0> policies institutions
    > of doing government-funded researches
    > and the example of the Social
    > at the time were starting to do researches
    > into <ZGY> don't think they were

    At 18:44 11/12/2006, James_L._Fidelholtz wrote:

    >David L. Hoover escribió:
    >...
    >[a bunch of interesting examinations of Google results] ...
    >>"many researches" will freqeuntly be an error for "many researchers", no?
    >...
    >Actually, I doubt it. In Spanish (similar facts
    >in many other European languages), 'una
    >investigación' *could* be the literal 'an
    >investigation', but rather more often, I think,
    >means 'a research project' or 'a piece of
    >research'. In the latter case, the error is
    >sometimes made of translating it as 'an
    >investigation', which in English sounds like
    >something a P.I. or the FBI (resp.
    >MI-whatever-the-number-is or Scotland Yard)
    >would do. But people with more experience with
    >English, especially reading experience only, and
    >who are aware of the fact that the example just
    >given is wrong in English, will frequently make
    >the error of translating the expression as 'a
    >research', or 'muchas investigaciones' as 'many
    >researches'. So the issue in evaluating such
    >collocations is whether the writer is a native
    >speaker of English. If they are, then the
    >suggestion could be correct. But if they are a
    >speaker of one of the other languages with a
    >different division of this semantic space (as
    >well as, NB, somewhat or very different usage of
    >the articles), then it seems to me that this
    >other explanation is rather more likely. I
    >suppose I should do 'a research' on this.
    >Jim
    >James L. Fidelholtz
    >Posgrado en Ciencias del Lenguaje, ICSyH
    >Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla MÉXICO
    >

    Ramesh Krishnamurthy

    Lecturer in English Studies, School of Languages
    and Social Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
    [Room NX08, North Wing of Main Building] ; Tel:
    +44 (0)121-204-3812 ; Fax: +44 (0)121-204-3766
    http://www.aston.ac.uk/lss/staff/krishnamurthyr.jsp

    Project Leader, ACORN (Aston Corpus Network): http://corpus.aston.ac.uk/



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