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PE2379 ch02.qxd 24/1/02 16:04 Page 127<br />

correction for guessing<br />

language varieties containing the same kinds and amounts <strong>of</strong> texts, to<br />

enable differences or equivalences to be compared<br />

4 learner corpus: a collection <strong>of</strong> texts or language samples produced by<br />

language learners<br />

corpus linguistics n<br />

an approach to investigating language structure and use through the<br />

analysis <strong>of</strong> large databases <strong>of</strong> real language examples stored on computer.<br />

Issues amenable to corpus linguistics include the meanings <strong>of</strong><br />

words across registers, the distribution and function <strong>of</strong> grammatical<br />

forms and categories, the investigation <strong>of</strong> lexico-grammatical associations<br />

(associations <strong>of</strong> specific words with particular grammatical constructions),<br />

the study <strong>of</strong> discourse characteristics, register variation, and<br />

(when learner corpora are available) issues in language acquisition and<br />

development.<br />

corpus planning n<br />

a type <strong>of</strong> LANGUAGE PLANNING<br />

a deliberate restructuring <strong>of</strong> a language, <strong>of</strong>ten by government authorities.<br />

This may be done by giving it, for example, an increased range <strong>of</strong> vocabulary,<br />

new grammatical structures, sometimes even a new or more standardized<br />

writing system.<br />

For example, in Malaysia, where Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) has become<br />

the national language, attempts have been made to construct new vocabulary<br />

in areas such as business, education and research. Similar efforts<br />

have been made for Swahili in East Africa.<br />

correct adj correctness n<br />

a term which is used to state that particular language usage, e.g. the<br />

pronunciation <strong>of</strong> a word is right as opposed to wrong. For example:<br />

This is the correct pronunciation.<br />

The term <strong>of</strong>ten expresses a particular attitude to language usage (see PRE-<br />

SCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR). It has become more common to abandon absolute<br />

judgements <strong>of</strong> right and wrong and to consider a usage as being more or<br />

less appropriate (APPROPRIATENESS) in a particular social setting.<br />

see also ERROR<br />

correction for guessing n<br />

a mathematical adjustment to correct for the effects <strong>of</strong> random guessing<br />

by test takers. It is not generally recommended in scoring a teacherconstructed<br />

test, but when it is used, test takers should be informed that<br />

their scores will be corrected for guessing or penalized.<br />

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