Introduction : analysing English syntax past and present

This book is an exploration of categories, constructions, and change in English syntax. A great many books are published on the syntax of English, both monographs and edited volumes, and yet another may seem unnecessary. However, we felt more than justified in adding to the sizeable literature here for two reasons. The first, to borrow from Richard M. Hogg and David Denison’s justification for A History of the English Language, is that ‘one of the beauties of the language is its ability to show continuous change and flexibility while in some sense remaining the same

Corpora and historical linguistics Corpora e linguística histórica

The present article aims to survey and assess the current state of electronic historical corpora and corpus methodology, and attempts to look into possible future developments. It highlights the fact that within the wide spectrum of corpus linguistic methodology, historical corpus linguistics has emerged as a vibrant field that has significantly added to the appeal felt for the study of language history and change. In fact, according to a historical linguist with more than fifty years of experience, "[w]e could even go as far as to say that without the support and new impetus provided by corpora, evidence-based historical linguistics would have been close to the end of its life-span in these days of rapid-changing life and research, increasing competition on the academic career track and the methodological attractions offered to young scholars" (RISSANEN, forthcoming). Historical corpora and other electronic resources have also made the study of language history attractive: working on them engages students in an individual and interactive way that they find appealing (CURZAN 2000, p. 81).<br>Este artigo objetiva fazer um levantamento e avaliar o estado da arte dos corpora históricos eletrônicos e da metodologia de estudos de corpora, assim como sugerir possíveis desenvolvimentos futuros na área. Destaca-se que dentro do espectro metodológico da linguística de corpus, a linguística de corpus histórica emergiu como um campo de investigação vibrante que tem adicionado interesse ao estudo da história e da mudança linguística. De acordo com um pesquisador da área com mais de cinqüenta anos de experiência, "pode-se dizer que sem o apoio e o novo ímpeto trazidos pelos corpora, a linguística histórica baseada em evidências teria estado próxima ao fim de sua vida nesses tempos de rápidas mudanças de vida e de pesquisa, aumentando a competição na carreira acadêmica e nas atrações metodológicas oferecidas aos jovens pesquisadores (RISSANEN, no prelo). Corpora históricos e outros recursos eletrônicos têm também tornado o estudo da história da língua atraente: eles engajam a atenção dos estudantes tanto de forma individual quanto interativa (CURZAN 2000, p. 81)