Skyped

I met S by Skype and he gave me some good steers on what needs improving. We have agreed on a strategy whereby I will include some manual analysis, some corpus (computer) analysis and then show that there are linguistic features which can only be detected by one or the other and features which show up in both methods. He says I am on track for where I should be at this time.

Tomorrow I go to see Old Faithful for the Christmas hair-style. I'm still furious about last time, when he cut it far too short. It looks better now than it did during the first week after my last visit. Its not a very private salon, so I need to have a fairly difficult conversation in front of all the other stylists and clients.

I was busy with the Skype, so for the first time TSH is putting the tree up. I've given him a few hints from my experience but he is storming ahead his own way (regular readers will not be surprised) and is then baffled because the final string of lights won't reach the socket.

And I still think I looked old on the screen during the Skype session.

My research question is firming up

I've discovered that there is an argument between Stubbs and Widdowson about how much detail corpus linguistics can really pick up. Even Stubbs - the corpus linguist - says that you can really only look for the language features you already suspect are there.

So .... suppose I start with the 5 lyrics that mention Cohen or Leonard by name. Analyse them in huge detail. Then look for the same patterns in the whole Cohen corpus. And find that corpus linguistics can't do it with the current state of the software. So my dissertation is formed. And there is so much work for the IT people to do in corpus linguistics. A word count and a concordance is just the tip of the iceberg.

I'm seeing S on Wednesday, so I'll see what he thinks.

I'm making bean stew for tonight's meal and, if I have time, banana bread for when more of our visitors arrive on Thursday. I've never made it before but it'll be fine.

Look at the detail

I am wondering if the situation is that corpus linguistics can't pick up the subtleties of a writer like Cohen and that all I can do is a few basic metrics and then analyse some individual lyrics. Perhaps my findings will be as much about the state of corpus linguistics as they are about Cohen. How can a computer deal with Field Commander Cohen, when the narrator seems to be at least two people having an argument? And maybe there is a third in there somewhere?

Next week we are having a number of house guests for a few days. Bed linen mostly ready. Menu spreadsheet done. First shopping list prepared.

Accepted

Sent in my dissertation proposal, which has been accepted. I am going to research the portrayal of the first person narrator in the words of the songs of Leonard Cohen. I am so excited, as these songs are really intriguing poetry.

I'll  be using stylistic analysis as well as computer methods (corpus linguistics).

And we are going to see him perform in three weeks time.

Android

Today I unpacked my first smart phone. How do I use it? Why did I buy it? What is it for? I am completely baffled. And I worked in IT for 30 years.

I hope I can copy my contacts onto it. But I fear I will have to re-key them. And get input errors.

Yesterday I bought my shoes and bag for the wedding. I found a pair of heels I can wear without worrying all the time about falling over. And they have crystal bling on the front. I feel like they are my first grown-up shoes. Maybe they are - for years I have worn flats or very low heels.

And I got my mark for the corpus linguistics assignment comparing the speeches of Miliband and Cameron. Same mark as last time, so I'm not getting worse. But I 'failed to engage with the literature'. They say this every time and I keep saying I don't know how to and they never properly answer the question and I still don't know how to do it. Its probably obvious to all the A level teachers. But not to this IT nerd. Who doesn't know how to use a smartphone.