THE ROLE OF CORPUS LINGUISTICS IN TRACING THE SEMANTIC DEVELOPMENT OF WORDS

Abstract

This study highlights the role of corpus linguistics in tracing the semantic development of lexical items by exploring the potential of automated analysis tools to track patterns of lexical usage and their changes across different periods. The study presents the concept and methodology of corpus linguistics, as well as the characteristics of corpus-based linguistic analysis. It then examines the most prominent tools for semantic analysis in computerized corpora, particularly frequency analysis, collocation analysis, and concordance tools, while explaining the functions of each tool and the limitations of their use in tracing semantic change. The study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach and provides practical examples based on the lexical items “Sanad” (سند) and “Sayūla” (سيولة) in the Arabic corpus KACSTAC, by examining their frequencies, lexical collocations, and various contexts of use. The study concludes that integrating the quantitative and qualitative findings generated by corpus-linguistic tools contributes to revealing the diversity of lexical usage and tracing the associated semantic shifts across different periods.