Possibilities of using the search system Google in linguistic research Cover Image

Paieškos sistemos Google naudojimo galimybės tiriant kalbos reiškinius
Possibilities of using the search system Google in linguistic research

Author(s): Skaistė Aleksandravičiūtė
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Lietuvių Kalbos Institutas
Keywords: Loanwords; word frequency; word-form ambiguity; homoforms Google; internet

Summary/Abstract: The paper introduces the methodology which can be used to implement Google as a tool for data accumulation and storage and investigating the spread of a linguistic phenomenon in the internet. The method is described in the framework of an investigation aimed at identifying relative frequency count of new loanwords between 2007 and 2008. First section of the article describes the main principles of filling in the slot of a query: general as well as specific for a particular descriptive research. Rather than entering only the main word form, a proposal has been launched to enter the whole grammatical paradigm of the word or its major part considering that in the Google query slot the maximum number of key words is 32. The second section identifies the ways to narrow down the search domain and reasons why it should be done. This type of research is bound to face a problem of word and word-form ambiguity. The term of ambiguity has been selected to avoid confusion of more specific terms like homonyms, homographs, homophones etc. Moreover, the explication of the above terms often emphasises the phonetic aspect of the word, which for internet search is irrelevant. Above terms are not sufficiently precise for some cases of ambiguity, when, for example, the spelling of one word form coincides with another form of the same word. The method of search is instrumental in collecting various examples of language use as well as in investigating their frequency. Also the method of relative frequency of loanwords could be applied in language standardisation, e.g. in compiling lists of new loanwords which are considered grave mistakes.

  • Issue Year: 2008
  • Issue No: 81
  • Page Range: 266-282
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Lithuanian