Review of Corpus Linguistics and the Description of English (2026).

What is it about?

A key strength of this third edition lies in its clear, hands-on methodology, which demystifies corpus techniques without diluting technical accuracy. The progression from core concepts such as corpora, frequency, and annotation to substantive domains like lexis, collocation, grammar, gender, language change, and web/AI applications makes the book particularly suitable as a bridge between introductory courses and independent empirical projects.

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Photo by Ling App on Unsplash

Photo by Ling App on Unsplash

Why is it important?

At the same time, several limitations qualify this otherwise very positive assessment and suggest areas where instructors may wish to supplement the book. First, the focus on English-only, text-based corpora, though understandable for a textbook of this scope, means that readers interested in multimodal, interactional, or non-English data will find relatively little guidance on how to extend the methods presented to these domains.