MET masterclass

Corpus creation and analysis using AntConc 4


AntConc is a widely used freeware desktop corpus tool for Windows, MacOS and Linux. It has been downloaded over 2.5 million times by researchers, teachers, learners, translators and editors in over 140 countries, and it is continually maintained and updated. A major update to AntConc (version 4) was released in 2021, which offers new features and functions as well as much improved speed and scalability. The software also includes a built-in corpus repository and the ability to create massive corpora from text, Word and PDF files. In this session I will introduce AntConc 4 and show how the software can be used to create and analyze corpora for translation and editing purposes. 

Developer and facilitator: Laurence Anthony

Purpose: A practical introduction to AntConc 4 with a focus on new features and functions useful for editors and translators.

Description: First, I will give a brief history of AntConc, explaining why it was developed, how it has evolved and what its characteristic features are. Second, I will introduce the new features and functions of AntConc 4 and explain the rationale for the changes made. Third, I will show how AntConc can be used to create plain, tagged and annotated corpora for editing and translation purposes. Here, I will also introduce the complementary tools AntCorGen and TagAnt, which can be used to collect, segment and annotate huge amounts of discipline-specific language data. Fourth, I will demonstrate how the core tools of AntConc 4, namely the concordance, plot, file, cluster, N-gram, collocation, word and keyword tools, can be used to identify general and discipline-specific language patterns. The session will finish with Q&A and a discussion of future plans for the software.

Audience: The session is aimed at translators and editors with an interest in using corpus tools to assist them in their work. Attendees do not need to have any previous experience of using AntConc.

Outcomes: Participants should understand how AntConc 4 can assist them in editing and translation tasks.

Preparation: Although not required, participants are encouraged to download and install AntConc 4 (available at www.laurenceanthony.net/software/antconc), read the help page (accessible from the help menu) and consider how they might use the software in their work.
 
About the facilitator: Laurence Anthony is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Japan. He has a BSc degree (Mathematical Physics) from the University of Manchester, UK, and MA (TESL/TEFL) and PhD (Applied Linguistics) degrees from the University of Birmingham, UK. He is the current Director of the Center for English Language Education in Science and Engineering (CELESE), which runs discipline-specific language courses for the 10,000 students of the faculty. His main research interests are in corpus linguistics, educational technology, and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program design and teaching methodologies. He received the National Prize of the Japan Association for English Corpus Studies (JAECS) in 2012 for his work in corpus software tools design, including the creation of AntConc.