Every method counts: Combining corpus-based and experimental evidence in the study of synonymy
- 11 January 2007
- journal article
- Published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH in Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory
- Vol. 3 (2), 131-159
- https://doi.org/10.1515/cllt.2007.009
Abstract
In this study we explore the concurrent, combined use of three research methods, statistical corpus analysis and two psycholinguistic experiments (a forced-choice and an acceptability rating task), using verbal synonymy in Finnish as a case in point. In addition to supporting conclusions from earlier studies concerning the relationships between corpus-based and experimental data (e. g., Featherston 2005), we show that each method adds to our understanding of the studied phenomenon, in a way which could not be achieved through any single method by itself. Most importantly, whereas relative rareness in a corpus is associated with dispreference in selection, such infrequency does not categorically always entail substantially lower acceptability. Furthermore, we show that forced-choice and acceptability rating tasks pertain to distinct linguistic processes, with category-wise incommensurable scales of measurement, and should therefore be merged with caution, if at all.Keywords
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