Corpora of Private Correspondence as a Source of Material Focused on a Research of Diminutives
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Natural Language Processing, Corpus Linguistics, E-learning : SLOVKO 2013 |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Linguistics |
| Keywords | diminutives; corpora; private correspondence |
| Description | Specialized corpora of private correspondence have been created at the Masaryk University in Brno for many years. The contribution provides a brief information concerning their characteristics, presenting them as an almost irreplaceable source of linguistic data. The contribution is focused especially on marked items from the sphere of vocabulary, namely on diminutives (especially on the pragmatic ones), whose high number can be found in the material – in accordance with its character. This study does not strive to contribute to solving the complex issues relating to diminutives, already reflected by scholarly sources form many viewpoints, but merely to turn attention to a relevant source, suitable for investigations of this part of vocabulary. The contribution is based on material gathered from the corpus of 2,000 letters included in the corpus KSKdopisy and in detail on the material excerpted from 300 letters of young people. Types, functions and specific features of diminutives occurring in private correspondence are analysed, demonstrating the creativity in using them as well. The Appendix provides a complete list of the excerpted diminutives (including the lexicalized forms), accompanied by the data relating to frequency and by elementary data relating to their lexicographical reflection. |
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