Corpus Linguistics in Media Studies – a Historical and Practical Approach

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the benefits and risks of implementing corpus linguistics for discourse analysis. The authors describe the origins and development of Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools in a historical perspective and provide examples of their application in social sciences, particularly in the methodology of Social Communication and Media Sciences. Fragmentary findings of studies carried out at the Institute of Journalism, Media and Social Communication at the Jagiellonian University in collaboration with the CLARIN-PL consortium illustrate a practical approach to the topic. The article presents the application of NLP tools in the analysis of the corpus of parliamentary discourse from 1989-2019 in terms of determinants for the institutionalization of civic dialogue in Poland and also in the comparative analysis of multiculturalism in the city council discourse and media discourse in Krakow between 2014–2018 (7th term of the Krakow City Council). The authors indicate in which phase and at which stage of communication research the use of computational linguistics can support the conclusion.