A corpus linguistics study of translation correspondences in English and German

[摘要] This thesis aims at developing an analytical model for differentiation of translation correspondences and for grouping lexical items according to their semantic similarities. The model combines the language in use theory of meaning with the distributional corpus linguistics method. The identification of translation correspondences derives from the exploration of the occurrence of lexical items in the parallel corpus. The classification of translation correspondences into groups is based on the substitution principle, whereas the distinguishing features used to differentiate between lexical items emerge as a result of the study of local contexts in which these lexical items occur. The distinguishing features are analysed with the help of various statistical measurements. The results obtained indicate that the proposed model has advantages over the traditional approaches that rely on the referential theory of meaning. In addition to contributing to lexicology the model also has its applications in practical lexicography and in language teaching.

[发布机构] University:University of Birmingham;Department:School of English, Drama and American & Canadian Studies, Department of English Literature

[关键词] P Language and Literature;P Philology. Linguistics