Home Linguistics & Semiotics Chapter 6. run away!
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Chapter 6. run away!

Exploring the iceberg of core vocabulary with English-Spanish parallel corpora
  • Belén Labrador
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company
Corpus Use in Cross-linguistic Research
This chapter is in the book Corpus Use in Cross-linguistic Research

Abstract

Drawing on a previous translation-based study on the manner and path of motion in English and Spanish (Labrador 2018), this paper examines a tier-1 word (Beck et al. 2002), the verb run, with the aim of illustrating how parallel corpora can assist in revealing the iceberg underneath the tip of core vocabulary, i.e., in providing the co-text, uses and translations of basic words. The parallel corpus P-ACTRES has been used to analyze all the occurrences of run, comparing fiction and non-fiction, identifying the most frequent collocates, and contrasting its use followed by a satellite with the corresponding translations. The results show a more frequent use of this combination in fiction and crosslinguistic differences in terms of patterns and collocates in the expression of motion.

Abstract

Drawing on a previous translation-based study on the manner and path of motion in English and Spanish (Labrador 2018), this paper examines a tier-1 word (Beck et al. 2002), the verb run, with the aim of illustrating how parallel corpora can assist in revealing the iceberg underneath the tip of core vocabulary, i.e., in providing the co-text, uses and translations of basic words. The parallel corpus P-ACTRES has been used to analyze all the occurrences of run, comparing fiction and non-fiction, identifying the most frequent collocates, and contrasting its use followed by a satellite with the corresponding translations. The results show a more frequent use of this combination in fiction and crosslinguistic differences in terms of patterns and collocates in the expression of motion.

Downloaded on 8.2.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/scl.113.06lab/html
Scroll to top button